All Forum Posts by: Jason Allen Taylor

generally speaking, real estate agents only get paid when they close a deal... Any agent who would show you properties with zero chance of making any money would probably not be worth talking to.

I would not suggest being anything less than totally upfront and honest about your intentions from the start. You probably will not find anyone willing to work for you for free.

Best of luck.

@elizabeth 

@Elizabeth Atkinson, I'd usually think it best to have all of your ducks totally lined out before moving on the property. Do you have any idea of:

1. 1. Your repair costs
2. 2. Your holding costs
3. 3. Your monetization strategy (rehab and sell, repair to rent, etc)

If you provide some details I'm certain there will be some great feedback.

@Account Closed, I would still recommend creditkarma. You'll be surprised what reports and what does not. It is fairly likely that a contract cell phone by itself will not report, and your home tv/Internet is a coin toss.

I used to be with you in saying "screw them", but after seeing the flexibility and options that good credit brings, I now believe it's best to play the game.

Best of luck to you regardless of what path you take. :)

It seems that most advice given is to jump in and avoid "analysis paralysis", but I believe in knowing the lay of the land before jumping out of the plane. I think that you should start tracking sales, visiting properties, watching the market in one very specific area where you want to invest long before actually considering any kind of investment. 

Using my own experience as an example:

I have been watching an area now for 1.5 years. Specifically, the area I am in is approx. 8 square miles in one city, where I have lived for most of my life. I already had a passing knowledge of the market in this area, but after watching I have a vast, encyclopedic knowledge of the properties, neighborhoods, schools, parks, bus stops, etc.

I know each of the subdivisions in my area, when they were built and who built them. I know every style, floor plan and option that was offered in these homes. Give me an address, a size and a front of structure photo and I can sketch out the floor plan with dimensions, and with interior photos I can complete 90% accurate repair budgets before visiting the property.

I have tracked every sale from cradle to grave, and every investor working my area on every project over the past two years. I know exactly when the most successful investments were bought, exactly how long they were on the market, exactly what was done to rehab (down to the color names and cabinet manufacturers used), exactly how long the repairs took, exactly how long they took to sell after repairs, and I have a pretty good idea of the profit on the deal. I can look at photos of a newly rehabbed property hitting the market and know if corners were cut, and if the design choices will resonate with buyers. 

I waited to "jump in" until the movement of the market held absolutely no surprises. Then, I  submitted offers on three properties over the last three months, and currently have one property under contract to close in two weeks. 

Other more experienced folks here might have different or better advice, but for me this was the best way to start. The knowledge and confidence gained from this long but very inexpensive education has been invaluable, and I can confidently say that, while there are many (many many many) more experienced investors out there, I am among the foremost experts in my small market.

I hope this helps you. Please report back so that we can learn from your experience.

 I was thinking zoo-keeper. :)

Business credit can be built, but it will not help you as much as you think. You will be better served to re establish your personal credit.

In order to start rebuilding credit, the most pressing time-sensitive matter is to establish long-term open lines with good payment history as soon as possible.

Open a secured credit card with a limit of 4x of a regularly recurring bill - cell phone, water bill, etc. Have the creditor automatically charge the card every month, your bank automatically pay the credit card off every month, and your paycheck direct deposit into the account every week. Then cut up the card.

Open a small loan at selflender.com and draw it out for as long a term as you can. Pay down 50% over two months, and then make minimum payments automatic debit from your  bank account.

No matter what you do, DO NOT ALLOW EITHER OF THESE PAYMENTS TO EVER BE LATE. The easiest way to do this is to have your direct deposit split between two accounts. The account used to pay these two bills (and ONLY these two bills) should receive 130-150% of the amount needed to pay these two payments, and all of the rest of your money should go into a separate spending account. Get a separate debit card for each account. Put the debit card and checks for your bill paying account in a place where you will never use them, and don't touch that account regardless of how much money is in there.

Get a free account at creditkarma.com and track your progress. Do not take any offers, open any cards, etc., just use it to track your score and credit details.

There is much more that can be done, but these things should be done first. You can dispute, update, cajole, etc your credit reports any time, but you can't fake how long your good performing accounts have been active.

@Brandon Snyder Hard to know for sure without reading the entire document, but it looks like:

2079.18 refers to the agent in a specific transaction. This agent may not act as an exclusive buyers agent when selling a property for which he is the listing agent.

2079.22 refers to general area of practice. An agent that commonly lists properties can also commonly assist buyers of real estate without being considered a dual agent. If one of the agent's buyers happens to initiate a transaction on one of the agent's listings, then that probably changes things... but the mere act of performing different functions in unrelated transactions does not make a dual agent.

Your numbers do not account for the cost of money. You have $82500 allocated in cost of purchase and repairs, but no accounting of how much that money will cost you In points, interest, etc.

Could you be a bit more specific regarding your private funding?

When you say you're looking for someone to "look into it with you", what do you mean? More specifically, what are you bringing to the table, and what do you want that other person to provide?

http://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/real-estate-comps-house-value/

http://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/real-estate-property-analysis/

These links will give you good info on how to properly evaluate a property. A skilled real estate agent is a great resource as well, as MLS databases to give them access to extremely detailed physical data and sales records.