All Forum Posts by: Jim S.

I'm just getting started in investing and I've been reading a lot about why it's a good idea to set up an LLC which I've already done. Recently though, I'm learning that it can be difficult to get a bank loan as an LLC. Can anyone explain how this works? If I were to get a mortgage under my own name for a buy and hold property, can I then at some point transfer the title to my LLC? If not, then what are my options? Thanks.

Having business cards will not only give you a professional look but will also show that you are serious about what you are doing and not just dabbling in it as a hobby.

@Munya B. Thank you for the assessment of Phil's mentoring program. His material was the first thing I stumbled on when looking into real estate investing. He has a lot of good free info out there and at first I was considering applying for his mentoring program. I changed my mind several months ago after reading too much inconclusive information from his students. It was hard to find anyone who had been in his program more than a few months which didn't seem like a good sign. Since you were in it for 5 years I think it's safe to say you know the ins and out of his program. Thanks for taking the time to warn others.

@Kevin Christensen Sometimes they need to see a little bit of success before getting fully on board.  

20 years ago when myself and a partner started our own business (not in real estate) my wife was a little skeptical.  To say she was a little worried when a few years later I quit my job to pursue this business full time would be an understatement!  That first year was a little rough but as our incomes grew she got on board rather quickly.  

Here we are two decades later, I've sold the business for a nice buck and am now working for the group that bought me out.  I'm also getting my start in real estate investing as a side gig that I hope will someday be full time.  After the success I had previously, she is a lot more on board this time around with regards to a new venture. I guess I proved myself!

I think that if you can show your wife a little success and then put some of these earnings towards "enjoying life" I think it would be a good compromise.

Without a doubt I would stick with the mentor for a least a year or so. Not all mentors are so willing to help young guys just starting out so it sounds like you've found a good one.  His guidance (and possible deal funding) will be invaluable to you. It will be very difficult for you guys to make beginners' mistakes under your mentor's guidance.  Don't be in such a rush to move to Richmond- learn under him and then move there after you've gained some experience.  You have your whole life ahead of you- best of luck to you!

I too am wrapping up the research phase and plan to start getting some deals done over the first quarter 2019.  Best of luck to you!

As with many beginners, I've spent a ton of time researching, reading, listening to podcasts, etc.  At this point, my plan is to start looking for my first deal in the early part of 2019.  I'm mainly interested in wholesaling, fixing & flipping as acquiring some rental properties.  With each day I'm starting to feel more and more comfortable with these concepts and feel that in order to avoid analysis paralysis I need to get off my butt and just jump in.  I've spent a good part of my career in sales so I'm perfectly comfortable talking to and "selling" strangers and the pieces and parts of this business are starting to click for me.  The one area I feel really uncomfortable with is with the various paper work and contracts that are needed for each individual situation.  I'm okay with learning on the job but the fear of not using the proper paper work and getting into financial or legal trouble really has me feeling skittish.  

Outside of potentially costly trial and error is there a good way to learn about the necessary forms and contracts so that I'll feel comfortable with this area of REI? To me, it's the most intimidating part of what I've learned so far.

 I for one actually appreciated Jim K's sarcasm but then again I've been accused of being overly sarcastic by just about everyone I've ever known.

I think the bottom line is that as long as YOU try to be ethical and do the right thing and in this case be completely honest with the sellers about what you're planning to do, in the end you'll be just fine.

I'm not a realtor but as someone who has owned a small business and had small children of my own I can't emphasize strongly enough how important it is to carve out time for your family.  Trust me from my own past experience- failing to do so will definitely create tension with your significant other.  Your working hours don't have to be MON-FRI 9-5 as this probably doesn't work really well with your profession but you definitely need to set some kind of boundaries between work hours and off hours as well as have some days off here and there to spend with your family.

I've been listening to the Bigger Pockets Podcasts every  morning while on the treadmill on the topics that interest me most- wholesaling, flipping and buy & hold and I've been doing so in chronological order.  Currently I'm up to podcasts from 2013.  A couple of the of the podcasts I've listened to over the past few days had portions where they discussed building your website and stressed the importance of SEO (search engine optimization).  They've mentioned that it is expensive but well worthwhile to spend money on SEO as it will help you rank highly in Google as well as the other search engines.

I'm wondering if those of you who were spending a lot of money on SEO in 2013 are still doing so today.  Here's why I ask- in my full time job we have drastically cut down on the amount of money that we spend on SEO over the last three or four years due to the fact that it just doesn't seem to be as effective as it was previously.  It's not just my industry but many others that I've read about on various SEO forums over the past few years.  Basically, Google has changed the rules on what causes a website to be highly ranked in organic searches and they aren't nearly as transparent as they used to be about what helps achieve a high ranking.  They also seem to change these rules on a fairly regular basis so that even if the SEO gurus can figure out what the current hot button is, before long it's changed again.  These forums are full of SEO people and small business owners who are at their wit's end due to having lost much or all of their organic traffic in recent years.

I could go on and on about how this has affected our company's online sales but that's not really the point of this post. Without suddenly jumping ahead to current podcasts and trying to find what people are saying about SEO today, I'm wondering what those of you who have websites that you use to get leads from are finding in 2018 regarding SEO.  I'm curious to know if what my industry (and many others too) has found regarding SEO is now true for real estate investing as well or if it's a different animal altogether.

Any input supporting this or countering this is appreciated.  Thanks!