All Forum Posts by: Glenn Espinosa

I always do before and after pictures as well as during pictures. The during pictures are uploaded to an online picasa album that helps to keep our lenders up to date with the rehab progress.

In one of our current homes we are using before and after pictures to put together a marketing package for the home. We hope it will help reflect the extensive rehab we went through while reassuring potential homebuyers of the quality of our work.

Hi Steve,

Welcome to BiggerPockets - the #1 online resource for REI. I'm moving to the NOVA area later this year. We should connect!

Glenn

Yeaaaahhh... Don't wanna go there. Haha

Miguel Garcia We have A LOT in common. My father was a successful real estate investor and I grew up spending my summers working on houses. I knew at an early age that I wanted to do real estate above all else.

But, I had the foresight to complete college and get a good paying W2 job. My degree is my security blanket - If I go broke doing real estate the worst that could happen is that I'd be stuck doing my 9 to 5 gig for a couple years until I got back on my feet.

Stay in school, get that good earning paycheck, learn as much as you can about real estate while in school. When the time comes for you to start investing, you'll be so much more ahead of the other guys as you will have a trump card - a good profession to fall back on. Believe me, when it comes time to put up or shut up and make the big decisions in real estate, having that degree and knowledge will allow you to make bigger moves faster than your competitors.

Theres no rush and don't ever think you're missing out on a deal because you're staying in school.

Glenn

Thanks Aaron Norris! We're trying hard to build a strong brand over here in my neck of the woods. Respectable Hard money lenders like yourself (and others who posted in this thread) are helping us do that so its a win-win for everyone involved.

Everybody above me is correct.

In my case I'm using hard money as my bridge to greener pastures (better financing). Without HML's I wouldn't have been able to build my track record as fast as I would have wanted to. Because of the track record my hardmoney deals provided me Im starting to attract private money. It's all a process.

Will I use HML when my private money dries up? - everytime!

Will I have to be extra careful about my numbers to make sure I come out green on the other side? - not anymore than I do with my other deals.

Will I always be on the search for cheaper money? - yup!

In the end use it, its a tool and HMLs wouldn't be in business if your competitors didn't maximize their use.

That and the bank calling the loan due when they find out it was transferred over to an LLC.

Never heard of it happening but just from what I've read here on BP.

Take a look at your competition as well as the days on market for your area. What you find will help you realize a localized answer to your question.

No - I think stock investors will haphazardly pour back into the market at the slightest news of recovery. I read an article earlier today that stated January 2013 beat the record for the amount of money retail investors poured into the market - the last record month was set in 2000. I don't know about you but I don't usually follow the crowd when it comes to investing my money...

I think only a few savvy investors will move from paper assets to more tangible assets like real estate - and no, I'm not talking about REITS and other real estate related stocks. When you buy real estate you can buy with value and force appreciation through your actions. After you buy a stock your actions don't matter anymore and it's just playing wait-n-see, in my opinion.

Its the option to have keyword alerts sent to your phone via text message. Its an awesome way to instantly join the conversation on the topics of your choosing.