All Forum Posts by: Kurt K.

deposited my first rent checks... sure is a good feeling!!

Found out that some tenants are moving end of march, so I will have my first crack at finding/approving new tenants. Somewhat of a daunting task, haha.

No one can answer this for you. A duplex/quad/etc... doesn't matter. Just go buy the numbers and what is available in your area. Perhaps there is a quad in your area, but a duplex is selling at much better value. Seek out the value deals and the cash flow will follow. There isn't a "this is the best type of property" to buy. Each deal is specific to how unattractive/attractive it is.

Look at things for sale in your area, breakdown income/expenses...and the numbers will make the decision for you

I don't think Matt M's thinking is straight. I would NOT suggest hiding money from your Ex, because then you will be hiding money from the IRS.

They can make your life worse than your ex.

My advise would be to play by the book and not compound your mistakes.

Why not skip wholesaling and start your long term dream of buy and hold now?

I'd agree with what William H said. Most people have goals financially and that is why they invest in real estate (or anything else). Unless you love duplexes because they are duplexes. Find what your financial goals are, then properties that help you towards that goal.

Real Estate is just the VEHICLE to get you to your destination. You have to know where you are going before you know the best way to get there!!

Look at the lease and contract.

Likely, mutual termination is fine. Deducting from deposit for damages is fine just as if they stayed there for the lease duration. The tenant has the right to disagree about paying the damages (i.e. court).

Likely the RE agent will not refund your money. Likely they will find a new tenant for another additional fee if you ask.

But look at your lease/contracts you have with each respectively.

I'm not a wholesaler, so I can't answer your question directly, (but I did just close on my first rental property last week).

I'd go so far to guess that of the 99% their dream is to live the life of a successful wholesaler but when it gets down to it, they don't have a real plan, feel inadequate to take upon the task (not enough funds, knowledge, connections, etc, etc).

But I think that goes for the public in general too. I'd guess that the vast majority of people (perhaps not 99%) are doing what they don't love to do in life (their job is not their dream job). The security of settling with the job they have now is too much to risk on the idea of their insecure dream job. Often not only their own sub-conscious talks them out of it, but also friends, family, significant others... call them crazy to give up the job they have now (especially in THIS economy) to go out and take control of their life.

If it was easy, everyone would do it, and the rewards would be less. No doubt it takes some amount of a "leap of faith" to change your career path and can seem daunting. It is in all actuality going to be a life changing experience.

Reed is definitely opinionated. But he himself has used property managers. He is just an advocate of hawking your investments at all times. And when you aren't physically there, to hawk your managers! He said he has called Tenants to find if his managers are slacking off (as he has owned properties in NJ and TX while living in CA).

He is a strong personality for sure, which he attributes to his time at West Point.

I just finished Reed's book on Managing for Maximum Cash Flow and Resale value. It was a pretty good read. He is very "No BS".

I just started his Tax book. So far it seems a good read as well. I plan on looking over his list of books and buying more. I like his style.

I have just closed on my first REI deal. I found a property I liked and the numbers worked so I put an offer and got accepted after a couple weeks of negotiating price/terms (seller financed).

During the process the seller said he'd be willing to mentor me, the house inspector, while answering my questions during the inspections, said he had some rentals over the years and I can have an open line for questions. I was had additional concerns about the electrical, the electrician has had houses over the years and said he is always open to talk. Even the seller's RE agent was willing to talk over things with me as they've had a couple of houses...

My point being. I started out completely on my own. And after 2 weeks of negotiated/closing this deal I left with my first rental property and handful of potential mentors and people to bounce questions off of that have been in the business for years, some even longer than I've been alive. I didn't set out for this, but as you get serious about deals, people in the field will take notice of you.