All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Charlene Chambliss I think you had the right idea by just focusing on a few connections! Trying to meet everyone at that big event would have been very inorganic. I think I got to have some quality conversations with about 5 or 6 people... and some protestors.

On a positive note... I recognize the face of almost every Sacramento poster on BP now! I'm pretty sure I saw you there as well.

I went to an event featuring the guy from "investment property", another HGTV show, just for kicks. I knew there was a pricey pitch coming but I was curious about their business model. 

I didn't find the event to be particularly helpful in any way shape or form, but it was intriguing to see how their model functioned. Aside from the standard 3000$ "weekend getaway", the company provided a enrollment fee refund to people who would use their service to do their real estate deals with them afterwards. Basically, they brokered hard money and portfolio loans from an institutional lender at double the normal market rate in exchange for using their name, creditworthiness, liability, and support throughout the deal for you. Of course they vet your deals hard before they stick their necks out.  As an example... hard money for a flip was provided at a "low rate of 2% per month". After performing some serious calculus I was able to figure out that this is a 24% annual rate. LOL.

Don't go, unless you are as curious as I am about how things like this work. 

Some well respected BP members have online education programs that are much more accessible. I got to chat with Ben Leybovich about his at a local meetup this week, and I must say I appreciate that he steers clear of inflated optimism.

Hi Elijah,

It was nice to meet you at this Saturday's event. Sorry again for the trouble confirming your registration.

It's great that you're so active in helping deserving members of this community. I don't currently know of any properties but I will keep my eyes and ears open for you.

Hi Madhu, welcome! Luckily there are plenty of meetups in Sac that are either free or very inexpensive to attend. I think I saw something on the meetup website about a "flipping for charity" event sometime very soon?

@Sergey Tkachev is right, you definitely missed a great event (with an interesting welcoming committee outside). @Tim Kunz, weren't you there too?

 Gordon makes a good point. I would say if you're already managing from afar, and you aren't cash flowing... sell the property, get your 60k or so of cash from the deal, and purchase a couple of properties in the midwest. The only comment I would make about Gordon's suggestion is the nature of the fourplexes. Although you can find that deal, it will be of an asset class that will require a bit more sweat/stress on your part to service. Even if you hire a PM, you may have to supervise them a bit to make sure things are going smoothly.

Even if you're a very conservative rental property owner, though... you can still buy two 150k homes from a turnkey provider that are likely to be B to A class, require little management, and comfortably provide you with a 12% yearly cash on cash return. The equity ROI will be higher considering the appreciation (3% for a decent property in the midwest is a fairly safe guess) plus debt paydown.

Furthermore... considering the state of the current market... I wouldn't rely on appreciation in hot markets (like austin). Sure, it will appreciate well long term... but in the most immediate future it is likely to contract moreso than less volatile markets. I know housing values places like KC and Indy were not hit very hard at all during the 08 crash, so if you feel that we are in a toppy place right now... you can put your money in something that wont dip fast. Then, if things are low later on, you can move your funds over to a hot market that will get you that better appreciation. Lose small during down cycles, win big during up cycles!

Welcome Jeff!

A friend of mine is also an Oracle employee and a RE investor. He's been very sucessful in purchasing single family and small multifamily rehab and rent deals in Memphis TN... something along the lines of 65 doors? What is Oracle doing to scare you guys off?? Haha!

I'm also experience in direct mail marketing so please feel free to share any good info you gather with me, especially if you hear of something creative or unconventional. 

Actually, since you mentioned it... why don't we start a sacramento direct mailing thread right now and see what kind of discussions we can have..

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/87/topics/283043-sacramento-acquisition-wholesalers--direct-mail-strategies

Hi all,

I'm going to drop some direct mailers around town to get the acquisition pipeline flowing, and would like some pointers from our local family of real estate investors. 

Where are you getting your lists? Third party? Title co? 

What are some targeting strategies? I know they vary based on the context of the deal, so I would appreciate if you'd care to put things in perspective for me.

What kind of letter/mailer are you sending? 

What are some of your cost efficiency strategies?

Using any systems to manage the call influx, data tracking, etc...?

Thanks and sleep well (we all know that investors don't really sleep). Haha.

Cheers

@Jamie S.Thank you for pointing that out. I am not looking to learn how to estimate rehab costs from this posts... I was looking for the most effective approach to be taken so that I may learn how to estimate rehab costs. Building supply stores negotiating huh? Tell me more.

I've negotiated at Home Depot quite a bit, but it is always on items that are on discount for being bought and returned to the store. I was surprised to find that they negotiate pretty loosely... A 180$ saw was discounted to $169 and I grabbed it for $100 after a few words with the manager. What are some other ways to get supplies at a discounted rate?

 Great advice Patrick. Any suggestions on how to account for contractor to contractor pricing variation? Perhaps I need to take several different people to lunch before u have a clear idea.

Wow, I post this up and go away for a day and I come back to all of this.

Thanks for the great advice everyone. 

@J ScottThank you for the link. I figured my own thread might get me some well needed face time as well. I should probably dig through the forums first next time.

@Chadd Naugle and @Mindy Jensen I'm going to have to pick up J's book and get after it tonight. I have the tendency to read read read so I just need have to build some human interaction. 

Chad, thank you for the really thorough answer. I really appreciate you taking the time to itemize all of those different expenses. The variability in pricing is a really good point that I have not yet considered. Are you noticing higher labor costs with an elevated market right now? Is that how it generally works?