All Forum Posts by: Luis Castillo

Wow sorry about the grammatical errors. I didn't proof read before submitting it. Maybe it makes a point for going to college!

Congratulations to all of our bright bigger pockets participants and my hats off to all of you that are getting it done without the benefit of higher education. As for myself I was one of only 3 percent of my graduating class that did not continue on to a four year college. My whole life and was on the A honor roll but for some reason (real estate) in my junior year I decided that real estate was going to be my vehicle to riches.

The only college classes I have taken were the 18 college credits I needed to get my brokers license and those I earned those credits at a real estate school.

I have been in real estate since 1979. It's the only thing I have ever done.

Owned and operated 4 real estate office at one time in the late 80's.

At 16 years old worked one summer in a factory.

10-15 cut lawns, cleaned yards, helped my dad rehab prop's and blackmailed my older brothers a couple of times for $20. I am very ashamed of the last one but I needed the money to sign up for baseball.

I firmly believe that you don't need a degree to make a fortune. I have literally made and lost fortunes. Maybe if I went to college I wouldn't have lost the fortunes. I also don't believe college is for everyone but i am very fortunate that I have three bright kids that we don't ask "are you going to college? we ask "where are you going to college?" The oldest is 18 and is being recruited by 5 Ivy league colleges as I write this. My second oldest dreams of going to Wharton. So I pray that their dreams come true.

My advice if anyone cares is, if you don't have the opportunity to get a degree then real estate is a good way to go. Educate yourself. Read a lot. Get on RE websites and forums. If possible find a mentor, hang on and always look at the big picture and the long term.

Good luck to all of you!

Completely Agree with Will and Sam I like everything about your deal except the 6 month due date. Too many things can go wrong. I would ask for 1 year and explain to the seller that I have every intention to sell and pay him ASAP. He presently owns a property that needs rehab and may not be rentable and he's getting paid off by you as soon as you sell. So the one year will probably never matter.

So Carl, it seems as if you might not have the rehab money yourself. Finding the rehab money is not impossible but your chances are slim if you don't have a background with several recent successful deals. Your best bet is looking for a partner with money and experience. If there isn't enough in the deal for both of you to make enough money, you might want to consider tying up the deal and wholesaling it.

Like I have said before people are sheep. They're like herds, when people are buying they follow. When the news says real estate is declining they run. Always chasing the market with the herd usually ends up with a lot of broke investors. The truth is we should buy in declining markets and hold forever. Your children and grandchildren will thank you!

Hi Corey, I was born and raised in CA and have invested there since 1979. I have seen many times where appreciation has been high and fast. Because of the shortage of inventory combined with low interest rates, it's very possible that we could hit that kind of appreciation. However, I think that it may be temporary. Any increase in inventory or rise in interest rates would probably stall or reverse any appreciation. It's funny because if the spike in prices does hit 20 percent it might actually help a lot of owners who are upside down list their properties for sale and increase inventory which in turn could cause prices to go down. Or It could actually start a buying frenzy and get all the sheep off the sidelines.
In summary, can it happen? Yes. Will it happen? I wouldn't bet against someone with Bruce's experience, so I would have to say yes.

Thom I would like to go off topic if I can, why did the seller of the 8 units want to sell if he only got 5 percent down and I'm assuming it was cash flowing? Over the years I've come across a few sellers that were just tired and wanted to get out. Just curious about your deal.

Ryan, sounds like you're financing is set up well. You haven't mentioned purchase price or what the property is worth now and the ARV. It makes a big difference if you're putting 10k into a $75,000 house or a $250,000 house. I would make sure to keep a record of all the work done both with receipts and with film. This could be helpful if you refinance with a small local lender.

In California we use title companies. They search title and liens on buyers and sellers. Contracts are usually written by agents. The high percentage of agents get their contracts through their board of realtors. Attorneys are not commonly used. They're usually brought in after the fact when there is a dispute or in large complicated purchases.

Will, you bring up a good point about judges. Many of them have very limited real estate knowledge. I had a friend who was a commissioner in small claims court. He would call and ask me real estate questions all the time.

If attorneys specialize in certain areas of the law I think we should be able to take real estate issues to judges that specialize in real estate. It's a thought.

Welcome to BP Joey, I think you will find the sight full of information. I'm assuming by saying "no risk in wholesaling" it probably means you're not using any of your own cash.

Either way good luck.