All Forum Posts by: Louis Leone

@Account Closed 

Not to confuse the issue, but the opposite could occur in commercial real estate.  As interest rates go up, investors in commercial will usually demand more of a return for their investment.  

Therefore if when you purchased you were achieving an 8% cash flow, if interest rates climbed, an investor could expect 10% cash flow.  That would reduce the overall price you could sell that investment for.

A lot of it has to do with the leases and length of your tenants, but something to consider if you're asking regarding commercial also.

@Account Closed 

I agree with all that has been said to this point and would add that if you choose to work with serious investors, you'll have people who can purchase investments you might not want.  It will also expose you to potential mentors who could help you if you decided to transition out of brokerage at some point.

The only downside I see is when you pursue purchasing property on the MLS and are competing with bids of buyers that went direct to the listing broker. The seller then faces paying a higher commission potentially (since co-broke) selling to you then if he/she sold to the direct buyer. You could of course choose to negotiate that if your brokerage allows.

@Jonna Weber @Reggie Maggard 

Absolutely agree with Jonna as well.  I think giving your friend the option is the best way to go.  You never know, he/she may know of property that is not listed but seller may consider selling.  In any case, you'll spare them hurt feelings if you do end up purchasing with someone else.

@Tom McGrail 

Definitely check with your attorney, but most contracts require what you want fixed be significant.  Normally, they will also say that if the seller does fix the problem, you need to go through with the contract (or lose your deposit).  

It really all hangs on the language used.

@Chris T. 

Great map Chris.  Did you create it?

Curious as to how your sourced the data and/or developed it.

@Matt Hendrickson 

It really helps to work with a realtor who also invests him or herself since they usually look at property from an investor's point of view.  If there is a specific area you wish to focus in, take a look at what realtors are most active in that area.  

Realtors usually follow the 80/20 rule.  That is, 20% of the realtors are doing 80% of the business.  The more active realtors usually see more deals and will give you a heads up if they know you are serious.

Welcome @Abhiram S. .

I'm in NYC as well and looking at other markets.  I'd be glad to share what I'm finding out.  Feel free to PM me.

Take a look at this article: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/real_estate/11...

But personally, I would wait until you have more saved.  Remember, you definitely want to have money left over for any contingencies that may come up (and they will).

@Jonathan Twombly 

Interesting article.  I'm looking hard at the southeast as well even though I have a lot of knowledge of the Manhattan market.  My principal reason is to reduce my risk.  

Investing in Manhattan (not as familiar with the other boroughs) is inherently risky since you really need to count on appreciation to make the numbers work.  Luckily, Manhattan has delivered over the long run, however it's difficult to make the numbers work simply on cash flow (the transaction cost and tenant friendly rules are no picnic either).  

@Jeb Armstrong 

You can absolutely be successful WITHOUT going to college in real estate, however it doesn't mean you shouldn't educate yourself to help you as you grow.  Classes you take in college like marketing, accounting, financial analysis and similar will help you in many ways in real estate, especially if you become a broker and/or developer, etc..

If you didn't want to go full time, one option is to take college courses at night toward your real estate degree (Yes, you can major in real estate directly at many colleges).  I did this getting my MBA.  It did take forever and in retrospect, I'm not sure how much it helped overall, but I am glad I did it.