All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Greene

@Tom Shallcross yup. Usually, 3 acronyms used in a newbie post is a Bro Investor. Too many people think anyone can do it and in a way they are right, but exactly like you said, you aren't going to be a good REI by just hanging around and being lazy and only trying to get people to help in forums so you don't have to do the work yourself. That's Investor Bro.

@Ned J. there are plenty of newbie posts that are good. The ones I rail against are Investor Bro and no background info. Like "Just got my first deal, 200k ARV 340 repairs 50. Is this good?" Then you ask - Where is it? How did you evaluate the repairs? Who gave you the numbers? Have you ever done a deal? How is appreciation in the neighborhood? Then Investor Bro, "Stop coming at me bro, just chill."

The forums are clogged with a bunch of garbage because too many people just want a quick pat on the back. If you really want help on here, and the ones that do get it, you write it all out and let people weigh in. Those who post their background, the deal thoughts, and smart questions will get a TON of help. Investor Bro just wants a head nod that he is cool.

@Landon Whitt I can't solve a city's affordable housing shortage. I can only figure out to help the seller and I do not make them move if they haven't secured a place. I only buy if they have a place to go and are working on it and it can be verified. I allow them to leave everything they don't want and take only what they need. Usually they are being foreclosed on so it's coming either way.

@Ronan Donnelly yes, they can buy our bad deals, but Bro Investor is one of the biggest reasons that investing prices are overvalued in a lot of areas. First-timers who didn't learn enough buy high and then get in trouble. A couple buy highs can overinflate a block's value and then deflate it dramatically in a year when they sell low or quit the renovation and allow the cycle to start again, but for the wrong reasons.

@Mark Allen Kenny yes. So much cash to spend on RE, but that's what pushes the prices up in all of the allegedly "hot" markets.

I make everyone confirm the deposit amount before showing it and I don't do Open Houses for rentals. Any rental I put on gets hundreds of leads online. I send them the same email back outlining 3.5 months upfront and most never respond. At least if your deposit is high and confirmed, the only people showing up have the money. I am guessing that you have an area problem as described by a couple of people above. Give us more info.

I know someone who had a multi portfolio for sale last year. The price was too high. I will check my database for a SFH portfolio, I don't think I have someone with one though.

@Julie Hill with hoarder tenants I would call for a fire department check for fire safety. Usually, they will fail and be forced to modify. Similar to what someone said above about getting it condemned although that may slow your construction time. Cash for keys works, but much harder for hoarders. Remember that hoarding is a psychological disorder and usually their attachment to the stuff leaves them attached to the unit. It's very hard to break it for them, that's why municipal intervention is best and almost always their unit will be a fire hazard with all the stuff, especially if they hoard in the kitchen area. Good luck!

As long as you can afford the fees, part-timing it to start is a great way to get access to comps and homes and also to learn and find like-minded realtors who invest. You won't want a big-time brokerage if you are going part-time more for future investing, you will want to look for the no desk model, low fees, and no forced training like eXp, HomeSmart, and other 100 pct brokerages.

@Todd Rasmussen by no means is Bro Investor all new investors. There are a lot of smart, savvy, well-intentioned new investors doing the work. Bro Investor is pushing the prices up for all the first-time investors all over the country. Bro Investor just wants to wear the REI badge, but doesn't know how to make it worth something.

@Clifford Paul as Bro Investor would say, LMAO brah. See below:

Bro Investor - What the hell do I do? A tenant has a boyfriend who stays over a lot. Sure, he has already snaked the drain, fixed the shower, and repaired the steps outside for free because he is a good guy (also taking the load off of me, Shaka Bra Investor), but shouldn't I kick her out?

Bro Investor - I just read my first BP post yesterday. Today I signed up for 12 months of REI coaching with a guy on BP whose profile wasn't filled out and his website was under construction, but he said he knew the best deals in North Dakota. No one is in the market braheim.

If you don't have an agent who can actually run rental comps for you, I prefer Rentometer to Zillow by far. It's much more accurate, but still nothing will ever beat true comps. Also, remember with the rental comps that you never know about all of the off-market rentals by owner so market comps are only half the story.

@Landon Whitt well said. Bro Investor always is focused on the cash flow or cash on cash return or some other acronym they made up instead of the tenant and making the place a better place for them to live. Bro Investor just doesn't know enough to invest, but want to anyway and always gets in over his head.

That is a huge problem. The first thing I ask every off-market seller is do they have a place to go next and how are they planning on getting there? I often give 90-day leasebacks to make sure they can find a place. Bro Investor just pays someone local to kick them out and then overpays some contractors to do a Home Depot special renovation (not that there's anything wrong with that, but Bro Investor thinks it's "top of the line").

"Bro, just got my first deal. Don't know what to do. LOL. Halp!"

How many times a day are we seeing this post? Yes, everyone has to start somewhere, but the problem with the Bro Investor is that he is ruining good deals for the other real wholesalers and off-market experts in the area. Bro Investor makes too many promises, pays way too much, and relies solely on the advice of strangers on the Internet to win that first deal. Bro Investor opens himself up to every opportunist out there by unsubtly telling everyone that he has no idea what he is doing, but is determined to do it anyway.

Bro Investor wants to win a deal, not find a deal, so he overpays so he can call himself a "Rental Property Investor." But Bro Investor forgot about a repair fund because he only used a deal calculator once because "it's just numbers, bruh." So then Bro comes back to the forums:

"Bro, how much is a new furnace? Only allotted $27/month for repair. LMAO. Tenants are cold. Halp!"

Bro Investor is pushing the prices up in every market across the country right now by buying bad deals. Then, because someone in the forums told him that Oklahoma City is hot right now he bought turnkey at a monthly loss because of "appreciation and stuff." When you try to ask Bro Investor serious questions about why they are in the business or what their level of experience is or why they are taking deals if they have no clue what to do when they get one, they are like:

"Bro, chill."

But they can't answer because Bro Investor is used to being coddled and back patted and just wants people to help him solve his problems, quickly over the Internet in a warm, safe space, with no questions, only constructive solutions that also agree with him and align with his life principles.

You know if you are a Bro Investor or not. If you've done your due diligence, hit REI meetups, looked at deals in real life, made real-life connections with others in REI, you are not a Bro Investor. You will be fine. You will probably have to swoop in and buy Bro Investor's "deal of a lifetime" in 12 months when the market turns down, but by then Bro Investor will be posting in a forum about opening up a co-working space in Bali with 4-Hour Work Week on every table.