All Forum Posts by: Kanise Kelley

Dawn A. I thought about that too. i saw someone else's postcard and she had her picture on it and people commented that was a good idea. but i'm leaning towards not putting it on there. and then writing everything as "we". it's probably best too in case I have someone else represent me.

Bryan H. that's one of the things I considered.

Rag Man it looks like that's what i'll eventually end up doing, i just don't have the money to do both in this mail out.

I want to send out direct mail postcards to start finding deals. Does putting a picture of yourself on it make a big difference? Or does that backfire? From a psychological marketing standpoint do distressed sellers feel more comfortable if they can put a face with the name? As a real estate agent I was told to put my smiling face everywhere. I'm not sure if this applies on the other side. Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks,
Kanise

Ted Brown oh ok, $700 isn't bad. I was a civil engineer major with construction/project management minor and I would say those classes aren't necessary for RE investing either. but education never hurts. you just have to pick the way you learn best. if you like classroom settings and real teacher involvement, go for it. if it's an online course then I would just stick with bigger pockets.

Jose Garcia i'm in. as soon as i get back i'll be able to do it in person.

it depends on what you're researching. I like zillow for looking at prices. i like craigslist to see what people in the area are looking for. i like using the county website for seeing who owns each property, what they paid, etc. to determine what job trends are I'll read the news to see if companies are coming or going. but that's for the places I already picked to focus on. for general overviews on how to pick an investing location, i'm not sure. maybe forbes or realtor.com have statistics pages that say "this area is expected to increase by x%"

Hi Will Raetz, welcome to BP! I'm originally from the NOVA area. and my parents still live there so I'll always call it one of my homes. That area IS ridiculously expensive lol. But the further south you go the more affordable it becomes. like Stafford/Fredricksburg area probably still has some good deals. And the Manassas area is steadily building up and spreading out so if you found something there, appreciation would be coming. Hope this helps and you find everything you're looking for.

best,
Kanise

Hi Ted, welcome to BP. Architecture would be unnecessary as its mostly art and design. Investing is more a numbers game and requires business sense. General contracting wouldn't hurt. but i would examine the costs of classes first. if it's formal university education that can cost like $1000+ for a class I would keep that $1000 and use it for a down payment or something else like marketing for your investing business. And then you can learn from the contractors you work with as you go along. And of course you can learn from everyone on BP as well.

Happy investing,
Kanise

Hi Saul N and welcome. Read the Free BP Beginners guide. it's really helpful to learn about the different ways to invest and exit strategies. It's under the learn button up top. Once you read it you can decide which way you want to go and focus your efforts the best way.

Best of Luck,
Kanise

I don't believe roommates is one of the protected groups under the Fair Housing Act or Law. Just gender, race, sex, etc. So I'm pretty sure you don't have to rent to roommates. I rent to roommates and they're very well behaved. They all have to make 3x the rent amount, not just one. They all have parents as cosigners so that probably helps with their behavior. If they don't meet your minimum requirements you don't have to rent to them. I would accept all applications, set a deadline to review them and by then you'll probably have a family who applied.

Best luck,
Kanise