All Forum Posts by: John Steele

Welcome to BP @George Ouzounian! BP is a great resource for information, good luck in getting started!

Welcome to BP @Nicole B.! This site is a fantastic resource for new and experienced investors to learn. I don't live in the Bay area myself but from what I have heard the market is crazy up there. I would imagine that it would be difficult to find 2,3,4 units that cashflow. Don't be discouraged to look into things out of state. If you do your due diligence and find a good property manager you can end up with some great investments. This is the route that my wife and I ended up going. Although not quite as hot as the Bay area market, San Diego is pretty pricey and competitive as well. We ended up getting a few rental properties in other states instead of one in SD. Everyone has different strategies and goals though so just make sure that you are comfortable in whatever investment decisions you make.

Good Luck!

I am a huge fan of Trello. It works well as a to-do/ project management software. It is completely free and has a really great mobile and desktop interface. Works well with teams too.

In my opinion a certification is not necessary, I would base it more on the agent's skills and abilities. I would bet that there are a ton of agents that would be a great resource for investors that do not have any certification and at the same time, agents that are certified and still not competent working with investors.

I think that it comes down to the investor doing their due diligence when searching for an investor friendly agent or agents. Interview them, see how they answer your questions and how they carry themselves when talking numbers, strategies and investments. Sending them properties to analyze and comp and then compare it to your analysis to see if they are coming up with similar results to what you expect. If their numbers are different from yours, see if they can defend/ support their findings when questioned.

@Dwight Green Jr

I can't imagine that there would be any downsides to getting licensed as an investor, it will only help you to gain a better understanding of how transactions work, legal stuff you need to watch out for, and you can get access to the MLS. You may just need to disclose to 3rd parties that you are a licensed agent.

@Traver Freeman, if you get the address and are looking for an idea of what it could be worth fixed up feel free to shoot me a message. I'd be happy to run comps for you and get you a solid idea of potential ARV.

@Kiem LeGrant

Hey Kiem, it is great that you are getting started so young! It sounds like what you are thinking of doing is similar to house hacking. Buying a home and fixing it, and/or renting it while living in it, then reselling. I think that this is a great way to ease into real estate investing. I would just suggest doing a lot of research on bigger pockets, go to local real estate meet-ups, network, and start learning the market that you are interested in. Good luck!

@Alex Langkamp

Welcome to BP! I'm not active in the Rochester market but grew up there and have heard there is a lot of opportunity. Good luck in your future investments!

Welcome to BP @Denise C.!