All Forum Posts by: Gunnar Sevart

@Ken Wang Welcome to BP! I can tell you I am more familiar with the DMV area, especially inside the beltway. There are a lot of meetups around here in NOVA as well. I am getting started as well and would be more than happy to help you with anything you may need or anything you may want to know about the DMV area. 

@Drew Eldridge I believe that the number of votes you received on this one post should be proof enough that your son and his story deserves to be written into a book for me to enjoy in my car on my way to work. I know you appreciated the kind words and were not considering writing down and publishing it, but PLEASE I want to be the first one to buy this book (and autographed). Even if it is a couple years down the road I believe that this will become successful. Don't forget that I wanted this book first! Best of luck to you both.

@Kameron Smith Welcome to BP. I can tell you that you are in the right place for information. @Brandon Turner is great and will provide you tons of information for you on BP. As a real estate investor you will need to continuously reading books and learning as you go. I do not know how far along you are with your real estate investing career, but just remember that you must make many others millionaires before you can become one yourself. I recommend finding a local real estate investor and give their your time and work. In return they will teach you and guide you in the direction of success.

I have learned more from working with a Hard Money Lender in 3 months than I did in 8 months doing self study. Books, blogs and webinars should only supplement real world application. Even if you are working part-time with a realtor or lender or developer, anyone who can show you a key aspect in real estate investing can give you a big advantage over your future competitors. Find someone who you can make rich and in return they shall do the same in knowledge and personal growth. 

If you have specific questions always feel free to reach out.

Best of Luck!

@Brent Roberts First of all welcome to Bigger Pockets! Definitely check out this website and all the content it has to offer. @Shawn Holsapple hit it on the nail with the book recommendations. I have read 4 of them and cannot wait to read the rest. Just by the size of your post it seems apparent your drive to become successful. You are already at an advantage by having partners who you can rely on and trust as you grow your business. Also like Shawn said, talk with property managers and weed out the ones you may not want to work with. Also talk to CPAs and tax consultant and entity consultants. Start building your power team for when your real estate business grows. I know I didn't answer any of your questions, but I wish you the best of luck. Stay motivated and continue asking the BP community if you have an questions.

@Drew Eldridge That is an amazing story and I am truly happy for you and your family. You obviously have done a fantastic job raising a son with a drive, passion and personality to become successful in this world. Please hear me out, but I truly believe that the story can be published into a best seller. As much as I enjoy hearing success stories on BP blogs, I would love to see that in a book. Your son alone could be famous (maybe not publicly yet for his privacy until he's 18) for his personality and his drive. I believe you would be doing a disservice to everyone if you did not share this with the world. I am glad I came across this post as it has inspired me to great things just like your son. If you decide to write a book or record an audio book, please contact me first and I will be your first customer without hesitation.

Best of Luck!

@Tyler Mutch Congratulations! Real Estate is a great place to build and hold wealth to create the lifestyle you want. I would say read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It is a little repetitive, but really drives the point home. Books are fantastic for personal growth and development, but it is only a supplement to what goes on in real estate investing. I do not know your situation, but if you have no experience, no money and little education, then the best thing to do (besides continuing to read books and do self study) is find someone more successful than yourself and learn from then. Offer them your time and hardwork at the beginning and in return, hopefully, they show you how to purchase real estate yourself. Grant Cardone says that you have to make other people millionaires before you become one yourself. Give genuinely and you will receive. Best of luck!

@Benjamin Haberman Congratulations on the opportunity to teach young minds about the world that is real estate. As a recent graduate in high school I can tell you that real estate is almost a new concept to people. When I used to hear "real estate investor" I thought a kagillionaire with nice suits and jaguars driving in California. Understanding this will allow you step back and explain more what it truly means. 

The current education system does not teach their students about business, finances and entrepreneurship (to the degree necessary to become successful). A lot of times entrepreneurs will criticize the school systems (rightly so in some cases) which would not be good for your reputation. I do not know anything about you, but talk about your family and how much you love them. Emphasize how real estate has allowed you to create the life for you and your family. If you start with this first, then real estate will make more sense to them. Of course tell them about make homes look beautiful to add pizzazz. Just my two cents, I wish you the best of luck and crush it!

@Stuart Rudy Welcome to BP! Starting off can be difficult and you hit it on the nail. "I don't know what I don't know." @Kyle McCorkel is absolutely correct about the books to read. Rich Dad Poor Dad is excellent to start off with. All I can say about getting started (because I am a newbie myself) is that you will be drinking from a fire hydrant to start.  As your knowledge increase you will come across terms you recognize and then be able to apply such terms to practical and current situations. 

The great part about BP is that most of the people live far away from you, so there is little "selling" that goes on here. That is why is it such a great place to learn and grow as an investor. 

-Best of Luck

@Account Closed Using a real estate agent can save you time and money (accounting for vacancies) on renting your places. Just remember that for one unit maybe it is not cost effective, but if you have multiple that an agent can manage, then you can increase the cost over the many properties. Think big and the smaller percentage of profit per unit will be overcome with the increased number of units in your portfolio. 

@Account Closed explains. You can be a top producing agent and make 1M in commissions a year, especially where you live man. Just remember this is a sales career and totally different than being a doctor. With the doctor and real estate agent, the average consumer will actually understand what you do and see you as a leader in your industry. Gary Keller writes Millionaire Real Estate Agent and Millionaire Real Estate Investor. Both are good reads for you.

3. Investor- Where most millionaires got and kept their wealth. It is very tough to get into and starting off will feel like a steep slope, but the passive cash flow potential is so great. You are an entrepreneur as a real estate investor because at the end of the day the purpose of being one is to not hold a "job" or be at a 9-5 lifestyle with 3 weeks vacation a year. You actually can be an investor and a real estate agent. 

Regardless what you choose, if you are the top producer in any of these fields, then you will be successful and make the money you want to sustain your lifestyle. Read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. This book has changed my life and way of thinking

-Goodluck