All Forum Posts by: John Wijtenburg

Banking: Azlo

Bookkeeping: Quickbooks Self-Employed

Financial modeling: Excel

Notes: Google Keep

CRM: Contactually

Email marketing: Sendinblue (can also be CRM) - automation is free

Efficiency: Fiverr

@Hilary Stalder thank you for being so candid. I know it's not easy to put it all out there.

Student loans are a pain, and lots of people are in a similar situation as you. The good news is that there are lots of loan mod options available, so I would look into income-based repayment and other, similar options, first.

Deleverage vs. invest is a difficult question. Big companies even have this issue, and their solution is something that you may want to consider.

Find a capital partner.

You have something that many aspiring real estate investors lack - track record and experience.

With the right capital partner, you can stretch $20k to $200k in equity. That would allow you to buy a $1 million property, which comes with a lot of benefits.

Get a copy of Raising Private Capital by Matt Faircloth from the BP library. It will completely change your perspective on real estate investing. This strategy will also send you down the path to financial independence  if you play it right.

@Verletta Saxon it really depends on what you plan to do to the property.

Two points:

1. Capital gain: If you buy at market and do nothing to improve the property, you'll end up selling at the stable price. However, if you buy below market, improve it, and sell above your basis, you'll make a profit.

2. Rental: you can buy a starter home that is good for the next person in your current position. Improvements or none, when you're ready to upgrade, rent there place out.

In both scenarios, market growth doesn't matter so much. In fact, stability could be an advantage, especially if the economy softens. That house in the path of progress has a lot more volatility and, probably, a lot more investors looking to exit in tough times.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Opportunities are slim in all real estate markets. But... "there's never a market bad enough to prevent a good deal, nor a market good enough to prevent a bad one."

I'm liking the $300k-$450k segment for a flipping strategy. The affordable housing shortage and low interest rates are pushing homebuyers into that price range.

In CRE, I'm LOVING net lease properties in infill locations. There's very little maintenance, and the long-term upside is tremendous for good locations. Plus, it seems like inflation should be low and stable for the foreseeable future.

Sounds like a great experience. Congratulations, BW!

Are the units in the same neighborhood? Is there opportunity to pick up additional units?

I love this strategy because you can build a platform to dominate the area. You'll be the go-to-guy for anyone looking to sell or lease.

@Basit Siddiqi thank you for the pointers. We've only done small syndications and joint ventures to this point. Our accounting team is interested to see if we can handle this volume of investors in QB.

Any other best practices you can share?

We may end up keeping capital accounts in Excel.

@Joel Owens can you provide any recommendations?

I am using Quickbooks for an LLC in my syndication with 100+ investors. Does anyone have a good set of best practices for setting up QB in managing capital accounts?

@Tiera Smith I would start by exploring the property type that you like best. Hotels found me after being an apartment broker, and now, I'm hooked.

Once you find your niche, start networking. You will learn so much from people in the market and industry you selected. They will start sending you deals. Underwrite EVERYTHING.

Networking and underwriting is the best way to accelerate up the learning curve.

@Davin Peterson Welcome to the forums.

Sounds like you are in an ideal position. @Justin Hayman gave some good advice, and I'd echo what he said.

In addition, I would spend some time with the current owner to build a good operating pro forma. Three years out should be sufficient, but you can easily extend to five years with a basic growth assumption.

Generally, I would be wary of any seller that isn't willing to share financial data. That said, you've been working at this property and should understand it. Additionally, the owners carrying the note exposes them to some risk. It makes sense for you to be aligned on the future performance of the hotel.

PM me if you'd like some help with an investment pro forma.