All Forum Posts by: Konstantin Ginzburg

@Tom Server

If this is a class A or B property, than this can typically be managed long distance as long as you have someone in the area as a boots on the group team that can show up to the property when needed. But ensuring you select a tenant that is high quality will be the key to being able to do this. Look for things such as a rental history, how they maintained previous rentals, speak with previous landlords, ect. However, if this is a C class property or below; from my experience it is better to simply get a property manager to handle the property. The work required to manage a C class property is simply above and beyond what is realistic to handle from a distance on top of the inevitable maintenance that is likely to get overlook that will wind up costing more money later.  

Quote from @Candice Youngblood:

Quote from @Konstantin Ginzburg:

@Candice Youngblood

Welcome to Bigger Pockets. This is an excellent source to gain knowledge and ask any questions you may have about real estate. If real estate investing is a goal of yours, then you can absolutely accomplish it. Although the market is saturated right now, it is still possible to find deals if you are willing to be patient and sort through many deals to find the one that suites your needs. I am primarily in the Louisiana market but travel through Houston for work from time to time so I have a little bit of familiarity with that region. What do you think is currently holding you back from pulling the trigger on your first deal? I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about real estate strategies so feel free to ask anything at all. This forum is very responsive so you will likely get an answer quickly. 

 Hi Konstantin, and thank you for your input!

Funding would be the main thing holding me back, I suppose. 

I wonder if it’s worth it to get my real estate license and do that until I have the funding I need to invest? 

I guess I also feel unprepared as far as managing property. 

If I were to purchase right now, it would be a house hack. 

There are definitely ways you can work towards getting more comfortable with those categories. For funding, you could try to reach out to lenders and get a feel for what type of funding you qualify for and what kind of down payment would be needed for that funding. Since you mentioned your goal was to house hack, then this would qualify you for primary residence funding which is typically easier to get, has lower rates, and requires lower down payments. The primary numbers any lender would look at to determine how much funding you qualify for is your DTI ratio and your credit score so those would be the two primary factors I would work on improving to help your chances of getting favorable funding.

Getting a real estate license will purely depend on what your goals are. If you want to move towards real estate as a full time profession by being a real estate agent in addition to an investor, then the license is the way to go but if your goal is just to own rental properties, a license isn't required for that. 

As far as managing a property, there are several books you can read to get a base level idea on how to manage a property. "Managing Rental Properties" by Heather and Brandon Turner was one book I thought was helpful but there are many books, podcasts, and forms that you can use to help build foundational knowledge on that subject. However, you will learn far more once you begin to actually manage the properties on your own. There is no substitute for experience. 

I hope these thoughts help you. If you are still nervous about taking the dive, don't feel bad about that. Almost everyone is nervous when they jump in and go for that first deal. Its completely natural. Its a large risk but once you get a bit of experience in the process, the nervousness begins to subside more and more. 

@Logan Macrae

I think it is difficult to say what will happen but there are many options. I am in New Orleans so am paying close attention to the situation. I think there may be an effect on rents and property prices but I do not think it would be very drastic so I don't think there will be a large surge of properties hitting the market due to this. Regardless of what the city council decides, historically they have proven unable to enforce their decisions so there will still be a supply of illegal STRs operating in the city. Many of the legal STR owners are only renting out a single room in their primary residence so forcing them out of business through regulation will not add additional rental stock to the market although it may force them to potentially sell. Others who own an STR, may accept the lower revenue and pivot to an MTR or LTR model but the demand for rentals is so high at the moment that I think the prices may lower to an extent but I do not see them crashing. I have noticed that rentals have decreased a little over the last few months and finding a tenant has been slightly more challenging but the overall rental rates are still far higher than they were just 2-3 years ago due to the substantial price inflation that had been occurring to rental prices over that course of time. There is also the possibility that the issue continues to return to court and the issue is perpetually delayed while it is stuck in legal limbo.

@Noah Bacon

I began my real estate investing journey when I was 35 (I'm about to turn 37) so I now have a little under 2 years into this venture. I got started after reading and researching about real estate investing and decided this was a pathway I was interested in so I jumped in head first and have enjoyed it a lot so far. If I could do it again, I would have started much sooner but am not just focused on the path forward. 

@Lam Van

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. To clarify, can you please specify what you mean by multifamily? There are two separate categories for multifamily properties. Any property that has 1-4 units is technically a multifamily property but is considered a normal residential property as far as lenders are concerned so the process to acquire a property like this is no different from acquiring a single family home. Any multifamily property with 5 units or more is considered a commercial property and that has it's own rules for lending and requires a different strategy. 

@Atul Mohlajee

Although it can be frustrating to need to find and place a new tenant earlier than you were expecting; this is part of the business. Taking a tenant to court may not be the best use your time and energy. Although you may get a ruling in your favor; there will likely be a long time gap between receiving your ruling and actually getting your payment. In addition, your tenant can become retaliatory and damage your property as a result which will lead to higher costs for you to fix and flip this unit for the next tenant. A better strategy may be to work with your tenant and come to a compromise. Allow her to break the lease early as long as she continue to pay the rent for the months she is occupying the unit. In return, you can ask her to show the property to the next tenant on your behalf in order the minimize the vacancy time for the unit. Ideally, your next tenant may be ready to move in as soon as the previous tenant moves out. This strategy is more likely to lead to a peaceful resolvement of the issue where everyone is able to mutually benefit. Since she is breaking the lease, you could use that as a means to withhold the security deposit if this action is allowed within your lease and with your local laws. Although I wouldn't bring up this possibility with the old tenant until she has vacated your property and returned the keys. 

@Candice Youngblood

Welcome to Bigger Pockets. This is an excellent source to gain knowledge and ask any questions you may have about real estate. If real estate investing is a goal of yours, then you can absolutely accomplish it. Although the market is saturated right now, it is still possible to find deals if you are willing to be patient and sort through many deals to find the one that suites your needs. I am primarily in the Louisiana market but travel through Houston for work from time to time so I have a little bit of familiarity with that region. What do you think is currently holding you back from pulling the trigger on your first deal? I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about real estate strategies so feel free to ask anything at all. This forum is very responsive so you will likely get an answer quickly. 

@Connor Lindsay

Have you tried to reach out to multiple lenders to see if one of them would be willing to work with you? If they are rejecting you, be sure to ask them why. Most lenders have specific criteria they require someone to meet in order to qualify for a loan. Is your DTI ratio the problem? Is your credit score the issue? If you are aware of what is holding you back from qualifying, try to begin to address that specific issue. Are you primarily asking large national mortgage lenders? If so, try to begin reaching out to local lenders or credit unions instead. Those are often more willing to work with buyers who will be investing within that community directly.

Quote from @Luis Puello:

Quote from @Konstantin Ginzburg:

@Luis Puello

Facebook groups could work, however there are so many posts, spams, and scams in those groups that your deal might get lost or ignored if you try to market it in those groups. What might be a better idea is to become actively involved in a local real estate association in your area to begin meeting and networking with investors in your market. This would allow you to build a repertoire with them that would make them more trusting of you and more open to look at your deals. You can begin building a buyers list once you meet more investors. Having a pre-made relationship with an investor will make them more willing to trust the deals you bring them. That trust is crucial since their money is on the line if the deal proves to be less than ideal. 

 Thank you I was thinking the same thing! 
great minds think alike. now I just have to find those networks 

https://boston-reia.com/

Try to look into this group. There is a National Real Estate Association in the USA with most major markets having a regional branch of this association. I am not familiar with how active the Boston branch is specifically but this would be a good place to start in my opinion. 

@Alex U.

I am not personally familiar with the San Diego market but I would imagine that the San Diego market is feeling the same pressure as most other markets. A very low supply that is over powering the increasing interest rates and keeping prices elevated. Most likely, unless there is a sudden surge in properties coming to the market, there is not likely to be a substantial price correction in any market. If the numbers within a deal make sense at 8% interest rates, then someone will still pay the price required for that property.