All Forum Posts by: Luis Castillo

Nancy it would depend on several things such as your investing knowledge, your risk tolerance, how hands on do you want to be both in management and rehab. Do you bring anything else to the table like are you a realtor, loan rep, general contractor etc. and do you have additional funds.

If you have some experience and no additional funds, try to get into situations where you can flip small SFR's. Investing the 20k in a long term investment probably won't leave enough cash flow to change your financial situation enough to invest in one long term deal.

If you're going to spend $25,000 so they can do all your mail outs and marketing and so on, you may as well use the money to buy an investment property from those companies that buy, rehab, rent and manage them for you. Both scenarios you get charged for everything you don't do yourself.

I know they pressure you with limited space available and time constraints but deals will always be there. Get your education at a slower much cheaper pace and then invest your $25,000 wisely.

Sorry about the typo's. Someone has and say it well. I try to proof read these things but I don't know how to scroll back up. Can someone help me out?

Great comments and great subject. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is courage. Courage to think big, to plan and execute your plan. A lot of investors are talked out of deals everyday. Plenty of us have been told certain things are impossible, only to find out someone as already done it. So here's my list:

1) courage
2) a plan. Short, medium and long term
3) focus
4) persistence
5) adapt, improvise and re-focus

Joffrey it sounds like we've been on a few of the same roads. Bill those words you have hanging on your wall says it perfectly and Ann without persistence and adaptation we would never reach our goals.

I'm sure all of you have heard the phrase the harder I work the luckier I get, I think luck plays a part but not as much as some of us believe. Education always helps but is not vital. I have seen several people without a high school education make small fortunes.

Just wanted to wish all the BP nation a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! Enjoy it and get ready to knock it out of the park in 2013.

Great advice for our area Aaron, although in many areas where houses sell for under 200k it may not be as important.

Looking back I would make sure I had a plan to buy and hold a certain amount of properties. I would still flip but my plan would definitely include properties to keep. At a certain time I would consider a1031 exchange on a few of these but it would only be to upgrade some older properties, buy something in a better area or just buy something at a great price. I would also make sure I financed no more than 50-60 percent LTV on the new properties.

Are you sure you guys aren't attorneys? In 32 years and over 1000 deals I have never seen anyone lose their personal residence, their cars or even less all of their assets from a lawsuit on a single deal. I have seen major contractors and builders put at risk that's why I said if you're doing 3-4 deals you are pretty safe. If you plan on going bigger than that it would be better to secure your business with a corp or an LLC.

Will really, how many people do you know that have lost everything from a real estate deal. On the other hand I personally know many people that have passed away in car accidents. With and without seat belts, terrible analogy Chris.

Very nicely put Jon.

I agree with Bill. Although I have and would continue to use corporations and LLC's, I only have done it because of the scope of my investments. The larger you get the less control you have of what's going on in your business. If you're buying, rehabbing, managing and marketing your properties and you own several, you probably have employees that may cut corners that you wouldn't have. It opens you up to liabilities for actions that you may have been unaware of.

But if you are flipping 3-4 properties per year, I don't see a problem with not using the LLC. I think many investors falsely believe that just forming the LLC will protect you but if you do something fraudulent or malicious a good attorney is going to piece your corporate veil and go after you personally. Do everything by the book and keep a good insurance policy and you should be ok. If your plans for the future are big, then definitely take the extra steps and form your LLC and hire a good attorney.

It's funny because I see all these people talk about protecting their great personal fortunes and then they go and form their LLC without the help of an attorney that does it for a living. A simple mistake in your LLC and your protection is out the window.

By the way if somebody wants to sue you they are going to do it regardless of how you hold title and you will have to pay to defend yourself either way.

Hey Will how many Feds do you know that keep their word for two years. It only takes a bump of 2 points to stall a good market.

Bryan, after 30 years in the business I learned never listen to people who guarantee what's going to happen in the market. However, you have to look at the facts, take everything into consideration and take a stand. Otherwise you'll just stay on the sidelines and watch the game. Not my style.