All Forum Posts by: Hunter B.

Well actually some good news since I wrote that post. I finally got a nice agent on the phone who explained that this budget is usually pretty unattractive for most agents due to the areas the properties are usually in, so they don't want to deal with it. But she did say that one of her teammates specializes in flips and he gets decent properties for the $120-140k range outside of Columbia, so it's potentially workable if we can figure out financing. She will also talk to this flipper colleague to get information about local lenders. She'll put me on her MLS updates for a large radius around Columbia and she said I'm going to need to put in an offer within a day of the listing if it's a good deal, because this price range is extremely competitive.

To your point, she also said that the flipping agent also does a lot of off-market deals, so there's that.

Despite all of the BiggerPockets books I've read and podcasts I've heard at this point, my main takeaway from today is that beginner budgets make it difficult to even get an agent on the phone.

I've been looking around some quieter areas back home in SC and I see many distressed properties available for under $100k. I'd like to use around $20k to secure a hard-money loan, fix it up, and get a little profit out for this year.

While looking at one property for $85,000, on which I would offer $65,000, I noticed a similar house very close by sold for $65k last year, and after what looks like a 2 month flip and 6 month holding period, sold for $195,000. That looked promising.

I sent 6 messages to realtors in the area, according to their Zillow rankings, and I didn't get any responses so far. Firstly, is that normal? If I put myself in their shoes, maybe this size of a deal just isn't interesting for a top producing agent? The first agent I was able to get on the phone told me the houses I was looking at were in an undesirable area.

Will I just need to keep pushing and accept that this budget forces me to go an area that most agents aren't interested in? Should I maybe look at smaller agents who would be more interested in the deal? Curious to know what you guys think.

I'm thinking that my wife and I could use an FHA loan to buy a duplex within an hour commute of NYC (where we work) with a $50k down payment, with maybe a $600-700k budget. Rent out the other side and let the tenants pay the mortgage.

A more complicated idea involves buying a duplex to later BRRRR and set ourselves up for a larger purchase at the end of the year after that. Either way, our goal would be to continue purchasing income generating properties every year with our W2s.

I'd like some feedback on these thoughts from people with experience please. Thank you! 

The more I learn about real estate, the more I realize how little most people know about it. It makes me wonder: How many people are there that do this in a serious way? I'm not talking about REITs. How many people actively own cash flowing properties or make a significant profit on real estate every year in the US?

My guess: Random reference group of 30 people I know, 2 are real estate investors. That means ~6.67% of people invest in real estate. I would guess 20 million people in the US actively invest in real estate. 

When I put it that way, it actually makes me think there are a lot of us.

I've been studying very hard to prepare myself for a journey in real estate, and I was wondering: Are there any investors in NYC that I could watch or assist just to get the lay of the land? I would be particularly interested in meeting someone who uses the BRRRR strategy consistently.

I've read two books now talking about goal setting, and I'm learning to hone in on specific goals that are actionable. I've looked within myself, and in the same way I've pursued achievement in other areas of my life, my goal in real estate is motivated by the desire to simply do awesome things. That goal is namely to raise $1 million in equity in the next 5 years. 

My question to you guys is, what's the smartest way to achieve that?

For example I'm looking at my first property for around $150k. Would it mean something like BRRR'ing 20 of these properties with 15 year mortgages, 30% paid after 5 years totaling $1,000,000? It's a bit of a puzzle based on what I've learned so far. I'd appreciate any help from smarter investors than myself.

Hi Jacob,

Thanks for your reply! Actually I left some details out of that first post that are important to the plans that are kinda coming together in my head at the moment.

I'm originally from South Carolina, where I'm relatively familiar with the market having all of my family still living down there. My dad is also an experienced contractor who could flip a house for me if I invested in one within a certain radius of him. I think I'd have an easier time assembling a team down there and having local people available, not to mention homes down there are much more affordable. There are still a ton of unanswered questions about this plan though. Where exactly to buy, how to buy, how to spot the deal, etc... For that missing chunk of the process, I'm getting as many books and seminars as I can right now to at least get a framework down.

It feels a little overwhelming right now, but slowly I feel like there are some workable pieces of the puzzle coming together.

Hi everyone,

My name is Hunter and I've previously lived a large part of my life in Germany and China, having returned to the US permanently for three years now. I currently work as a sales executive for a large printing company, and I'm based out of New York. 

Two things at the same time led to me registering for these forums. One, my wife and I were recently looking around for our first place to own, and the financial side of it seemed rather rough for NYC. Then my wife coincidentally bought Rich Dad, Poor Dad and after reading it, my perspective has changed dramatically. I now see the money we've saved for our first residence as a good opportunity to begin our real estate portfolio and take control of our financial lives. 

I'm hoping I can build good foundations with BiggerPockets. I've seen many Google Searches with this name, and just today I also discovered the ultimate beginner investor's guide at my local bookstore, so I had to join and see what it's all about. 

I've now seen courses from BiggerPockets, I attended my first real estate seminar last Friday, made an appointment with a potential real estate coach for month's end, and lately I've now been looking into some beginner online courses from NYU. At this point, does anyone have any resources to learn that I absolutely cannot miss? Any good books, or important seminars? 

Thank everyone for reading and I'm so excited to begin this journey!