All Forum Posts by: John Wijtenburg

Some ideas:

1. Connect deals with capital
2. Deal feasibility advisory
3. Package a REI start up service by aligning with other professionals, like attorneys, property managers, etc.
4. Co-brand valuable content with real estate brokers, e.g. why to use SDIRA (or not?)
5. Co-host events with deal makers to build each other's network
6. Partner with brokers to provide fair market value (FMV) services for private placements
7. QuickBooks consulting for syndicators
8. Crowdfunding (Regulation A) audits
9. Notary
10. Email drip campaign mini-course on common mistakes real estate investors run into (and solutions)
    

It was a little bit of a stretch to get to 10, but I hope some of this is helpful.

1. Connect with deal sources - brokers, owners, and influential third-parties - and build fruitful relationships
2. Create a system to efficiently evaluate every deal you come across
3. Find a mentors on BP or in your area that can give you advice along the way
4. Build routines and habits help you stay consistent with your prospecting
5. Get a good deal under contract - the money will come, even if you need to flip the contract

Relationships are key in this business. Connect with people on a real level and provide mutual value.

@Alik Levin pick up Raising Private Capital by Matt Faircloth from the BP collection. This will give you a good roadmap.

On the organizational side, find an attorney and accountant that can guide you through establishing the necessary entities, writing the offering documents/agreements, and build up your operating infrastructure.

Good luck!!

@Joseph Cameron Congratulations on deciding to get started. That's often the biggest leap.

The next step is to get your hands dirty. Think less about what you should do and more about what you will do next.

I always recommend to start with building your network of deal sources - brokers, owners, and influential third-parties. The exploration will reveal opportunities that you never considered.

BP is a great place to meet mentors, and you should use it to the fullest extent possible. Real estate investors love to help people that are "young" in the business. It's a simple business, but execution is difficult. So, you will garner a lot of support if you show that you're eager, interested, and motivated.

Good luck!!

@John Liaaz There are many real estate strategies to generate cash flow, but your calculations are correct.

It takes time and effort to build up a portfolio that provides sufficient cash flow to live. That said, there are many ways you can use real estate to accelerate your business.

Consider the following real estate business strategies:

• - Buy-and-hold: Use your own money to build a cash flowing portfolio
• - Fix-and-flip: Use your own money to buy, fix, and sell assets
• - Wholesaling: Find assets, put them under contract, and sell/assign the right to buy while you keep the spread between the contract and sale prices
• - Brokerage: Connect buyers and sellers and make a commission on the sale
• - Investment management: Use your experience to arrange deals and manage them for passive investors - you make money on fees and sweat equity (carried interest or promote)

This is a high-level selection of strategies. There are many variations on these and many others that I didn't even mention.

There are many ways to get to a passive cash flowing portfolio. Scale is your friend, but it takes effort to get there. You'll never get there until you get your hands dirty, though.

Also, don't be afraid to reach out to people in the business. You'll find that they're very eager to share their knowledge.

Good luck as you continue exploring!!

I don't know the market well other than my father-in-law goes frequently for visits to the Regions Bank HQ.

That said, relationships are everything in any and all real estate.

Spend some time communicating with the top deal sources - brokers, owners, and influential third-parties - in the area. Get a good sense of where the market is currently and where they see the most opportunity. You don't need boots on the ground for this, just a daily commitment to progress.

After you have some good leads, arrange in-person meetings with your top 3-5 relationships to see properties and move the relationships forward.

Look into an SBA loan. It's very attractive financing, but the process is a little invasive and a longer lead time.

You could also close and make improvements with a bridge loan and then refinance with SBA. Get the team in place for the refinance before closing the bridge, though, to make sure you color within the lines to qualify for the best refinance.

I can recommend some good SBA lenders and intermediaries. It's definitely not something you want to do alone on the first go-round. DM me for a few names.

Talk to your attorney re: structure. Usually, separate LLCs are advisable, but every deal is unique.

@Robert A Davis I would say that it depends on the quality of the property and cash flow.

Home buyers buy based on quality and alignment with their needs and desires. Investors buy based on cash flow.

The housing market is white hot right now. Investors crowded out home buyers in many markets in the sub-$300k segment. Home buyers are being forced into more expensive homes.

You may want to discuss with your Realtor network on the appetite for homes vs. investments in your market. Maybe even give it as a pocket listing to two or three of your top investment-focused Realtors to build those relationships. Go for the full home buyer listing if they can't get you anything in an "off-market" situation within the first 3 weeks.

@Kirk Ziegler Congratulations on taking this step toward becoming a real estate investor!

The right lenders will understand your tax situation. You may have to provide a P&L for your business to show that the revenue is stable, and your CPA can vouch for you.

I'm not a huge fan of cross collateralized loans, especially for different businesses. However, you can use your business balance sheet to access some of your wealth in a line of credit or business loan. This would be a two-step process so as to avoid crossing the interests.

Assess your cash situation, and then, call around for a good mortgage broker to discuss options for financing real estate deals.

@Julian Alvarez Congratulations on taking the first steps of learning and getting out there. This is important. The next step is to create a system around it.

Nothing happens from one-off execution. A single connection, sporadic REI meet-ups, and occasional MLS browsing won't get you where you want to go.

DECIDE that you want to be a real estate investor, and then go all in.

Create some routines around the following:

• - Connecting with deal sources - brokers, owners, and influential third-parties
• - Education - books, podcasts, blogs, news, etc.
• - Underwrite a deal every day for the experience - it doesn't have to go anywhere, but you should look for patterns
• - Building your team - financing sources, property management, attorney, accountant, etc. 

This shouldn't take more than an hour each day, but consistency is essential. Little by little a little becomes a lot.