All Forum Posts by: Todd Faulk

@Kenneth McKeown I am a Realtor and investor in North Houston and went to school in the Klein district so I know Houston well.  Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston would all be good markets for you to build a Real Estate Agent business as well as invest personally.  I would recommend you pick the city you most enjoy and make that your 1st priority in choosing a "home".  I am partial to Houston (born and raised) but they all have their pro's and cons.  PM me if you have specific questions about the Houston market that I can help answer.  

As a side note, if you have plans to switch careers to being a full-time agent from teaching make sure you have some financial reserves to fall back on.  Being an agent has it's ups and down financially and you will be thankful to have some cushion when you start.  Also remember that when you start this career your clients will come from your friends, family and the "network" you have created...this will be a smaller pool of people if you have recently moved.  That said you can make it but you're starting a bit behind.

Good Luck to ya!

@Tony Castronovo I would say that good tenants are hard to come by and the her intent is more important than the results here.  Your right to clarify some of the language in your lease to better handle situations like this but it sounds like she intended to pay the rent before the due date.  Good move in giving her a 1 time courtesy on the late fee. 

Also I do not think you can overlook the point that the service you picked takes 5 days to give you the money which she has no control over.  I am sure you would not do this, but from the way I understand your lease language you could hold the check from being deposited and have grounds to charge her a late fee because you did not "technically receive" the money in your bank account.

Moving forward, if you were to impose a late fee in a situation like this again I think you might be on shaky ground in court seeing as she looked to make best efforts to uphold her end of the lease. 

To answer your question, I have seen late fees from $25 - $100 and day rates at $5 - $10 but you should consider the monthly rental payment when determining these fees. i.e $800 rent with $100 late and $10 daily fees would seem excessive to me.

Hope that helps.

Hey @Austin Fruechting congratulations man! 107 units across 49 properties in less than 7 year is a real accomplishment.  I hope you enjoy that well deserved cigar.  Good luck on your next 7 years. 

If it was me I would try to finance with credit cards or personal loans with friends and family.  The interest on the credit card might be high but you can always look for credit card offers with introductory rates on new purchases.  You can also call your current credit card and tell them you are doing a project and want to see if they will offer you a special rate for these purchases.  Don't forget friends and family money...you might be surprised who would be interested in a short term loan.

@Courtney Downtain, @Ben Volkman I would start with @Jessica McKinney lender first and see what options they have but let me know if you need additional resources.  A quality lender who is experienced at getting things done is worth their weight in gold.

@Michelle Rukny  I would also like the contact info for your wholesaler...I am in Magnolia/Tomball myself. 

@Christopher Makestas

Hey man, Welcome to BP and congrats on joining the real estate profession.  I applaud your excitement and think you are taking some good steps forward.   

I also got my license and am an active investor which has its pro's and cons for sure. I would say to make sure and be very upfront with your broker interviewing as some are very resistant to you being involved in personal real estate investing. There might be an additional risk for them if you decide to take the rental route and self-manage properties (E&O insurance could be effected).

My last comment is to ask around and see if you can find a broker that is very active in personal real estate investing as they will be more comfortable with what you are doing and could even be a good resource/mentor.

Good luck brother and don't hesitate to reach out if I can ever help out.

Hey @Lauren N Sellers there no better time to start than now, congratulations on your decision to jump in for 2017.  You can always search http://biggerpockets.com/meet  or the network events to see if there are any local groups you can plug into.  Good luck to ya!

Hey @Dante Groves welcome to the world of real estate investing and good luck in Indianapolis.  @Michael S. is right on with starting there first.  Good luck!

@Kelsey Toomey I do not know of one but would be interested in one.