All Forum Posts by: Jacob Wathen

Sounds like a great idea Lisa! I have always wanted to own a mobile home park in Lincoln city or cannon beach. 

Happy to hear that you are excited to start a career as a real estate agent @Alex Rojesky! I can only share with you my personal experience and I really enjoyed going through ProSchools. There are some grammar/spelling errors but it is significantly cheaper than in person and I enjoyed being able to go at my own pace and finish the course within a month or so. I am not sure if it is the same in Minnesota but some brokerages like Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, and Century 21 were able to give me a lot of information as well as discounts on the online programs. I tell everyone that it is very important to interview with a few different brokerages prior to committing to one. Let me know if I can be of any help or if you have any other questions. 

Make sure you have a seller's disclosure with some sort of a profit and loss statement. Ultimately I agree with @David Sicherman in that getting a realtor to be on your side is important for your first purchase. Make sure you find one that is well versed in real estate investing. They will know the right questions to ask. If you need any suggestions I know a great agent in the area. Let me know if you have any additional questions. 

That's awesome @Alex Wilson! That and working on my parents' property is what got me started as well. I interned for HfH down in Eugene so I always like to give them a plug. I would suggest early next year talking to a lender to determine what your buying power is. The sooner you do that the better. Again, welcome to BP! 

@Holly Scott, I agree with @Russell Brazil. Contact your realtor and let her know that you are interested in making an offer on a property. If she is an investor friendly agent she will be happy to help and will make time for you. If not you should find a new realtor and stop using your current agent's E-elerts to find your deals. 

@Anthony Angotti I am glad to see you agree! 

Hello @Dan M., there are quite a few resources out there for licensed agents but unfortunately the ones available to the general public, like Zillow, are rather lackluster. Realtor.com actually pulls from the MLS so it is more accurate than Zillow and Trulia.

Full disclosure, I am an agent based out of Portland, OR. I would definitely suggest finding an investor friendly agent in your area. They provide a lot of value and most will do things like a CMA without requiring you to sign anything. We work a lot on the belief that if we help someone, they will likely use us if they ever do need our help. So reaching out to a realtor in Pennsylvania to do a full CMA couldn't hurt.

Hello @Justin Harris, I am a real estate broker in Portland, OR and the metro area is certainly growing. Although it is not necessarily in the outlying area the city of Gresham is growing rapidly. Property values there are increasing significantly because it is one of the least expensive parts of the metro area and people are flocking to that city to escape the high prices elsewhere. If you are looking for retreat like settings Mt Hood National Forest is a short hour trip away and I know many people in Portland that have a vacation home there. Sandy, Troutdale, and Eagle Creek are also great options on the east side. They are close enough in that they will experience tremendous growth as the population continues to increase. Let me know if you need any additional help or if you want me to help you find land in Oregon. I also know a few great agents in Washington and California that I can connect you with if you are interested. 

Hello @Alex Wilson!! Welcome to Bigger Pockets. There is a wealth of information on this site. It'll be nice to be able to take the next few months and look into what it takes to do a successful house hack and maybe even take time to hone your renovation skills by volunteering for a nonprofit like Habitat for Humanity or working on a friends' project. There are also many options for getting an investment property without a huge amount down so you may be ready for when your lease is up in May. If you ever have any questions regarding the Portland market, let me know. I am a real estate agent and I would be happy to help in any way I can.