All Forum Posts by: Kim Stofan

Here's my two cents on home warranties... I'd say in general they are not worth the money...  They tend to have many exclusions. A lot of policies will not cover existing problems. The company can deny any claim you make based on the assertion that it was a pre-existing problem. Most policies will not cover you if they believe you have insufficiently maintained the item. They may use this rationale to deny many claims. You usually will still need to pay a service provider fee and will have no say in who your service provider is. The warranty will also only cover a small portion of the cost and you have to cover the rest.  All in all, it may be much less of a headache to just find your own repair person and have them take care of the issue rather than getting the run around with your home warranty company.  

Hey! @Dennis H.   Glad you found BP! Congrats on the Duplex!  Are you househacking? 

If you haven't read the UBG (Ultimate Beginner's Guide) from BP, I'd definitely read that first.  Rich Dad, Poor Dad is also a quick read and is a good one for mindset.  Then I think it is time you narrow down your niche.  Then you can focus on books that apply to the niche you choose.  "The One Thing" is also excellent.  Good luck!

Hi @Bryan Dumesnil  Glad you found BP! There's an unlimited wealth of knowledge to be found in these pages to help kickstart your journey!

A few words of advice for you...

If you haven't already, make it a priority to get out a local Real Estate Investors meet-up. Interacting face to face will help tremendously with forming those critical relationships to aid your progress. Experienced investors will want to help you if you show initiative, drive, and genuine interest. Focus on how you might be able to help them in their business!

Avoid the "shiny object syndrome" by narrowing down your niche as soon as possible. Be very specific about what you are looking for.

Use the BP calculators every day to run the numbers on prospective deals. With lots of practice you will be able to identify a good deal quickly and jump on it when the opportunity presents itself.

Good Luck!

Hi @Kito Wong-Clayton!  Glad you found BP! There's an unlimited wealth of knowledge to be found in these pages to help kickstart your journey!

A few words of advice for you...

If you haven't already, make it a priority to get out a local Real Estate Investors meet-up. Interacting face to face will help tremendously with forming those critical relationships to aid your progress. Experienced investors will want to help you if you show initiative, drive, and genuine interest. Focus on how you might be able to help them in their business!

Avoid the "shiny object syndrome" by narrowing down your niche as soon as possible. Be very specific about what you are looking for.

Use the BP calculators every day to run the numbers on prospective deals. With lots of practice you will be able to identify a good deal quickly and jump on it when the opportunity presents itself.

Good Luck!

@Mark Doty  Sounds like you have a clear sense of your goals.  Kuddos for being brave enough to jump into deals and get your feet wet.  Sounds like you have learned a lot of these deals already!  Where were you hoping to invest?  Are you going to focus on buy and hold?  Are you looking or multi-family or single family?  Are you planning on managing yourself?  I think getting very specific about what you are looking for will help answer some of your questions about your next best step.  Good luck!

Hi @Leanna Mansour. How awesome that you paid off your student loans! That must be a huge weight off your shoulders. Don't dwell too much in regrets. Have you ran the numbers on your SFH to see if it would make sense as a rental? Seeing that it's in the Bay area, that may be hard. Where you hoping to invest? In CA or out of state? What strategy were you planning on using? Were you planning on managing yourself? Something that might want to focus on would be cutting the budget back as much as possible to save more to invest. Are you open to moving out of the bay or do you need to stay close?

Hi @Rodshelle Cole Glad you found BP! There's an unlimited wealth of knowledge to be found in these pages to help kickstart your journey!

A few words of advice for you...

If you haven't already, make it a priority to get out a local Real Estate Investors meet-up. Interacting face to face will help tremendously with forming those critical relationships to aid your progress. Experienced investors will want to help you if you show initiative, drive, and genuine interest. Focus on how you might be able to help them in their business!

Avoid the "shiny object syndrome" by narrowing down your niche as soon as possible. Be very specific about what you are looking for.

Use the BP calculators every day to run the numbers on prospective deals. With lots of practice you will be able to identify a good deal quickly and jump on it when the opportunity presents itself.

Good Luck!

@Charles Wang, sounds like a pricing issue.  Converted garages can definitely be a turn off, especially if you are targeting owner occupants.  Are you planning on exchanging into another investment?  I would agree that you should not pay to fill in the pool, especially in Sacramento.  Let me know if I can be of any help!

Hi @Nigel Ford!  I would agree with other posters that if the numbers work now, you should buy now.  No one can predict what is going to happen to the market with 100% accuracy.  People have been predicting a severe downturn in the housing market for years, yet here we are.  I believe you can find some good areas to invest in Solano county.   Is house hacking an option for you?