All Forum Posts by: Lori Greene

I would ask a real estate attorney if there's anything you can do to stop the sale. And contacting the banks agent and the brokerage they belong to along with the Realtor's association should get you some answers too.

I know what you mean. Honestly my heart has never been in real estate investing itself and I was only doing it for the money. My sister and I are partners and she loves real estate investing so much, her heart IS really in it.

So she keeps working all of her deals and now I just get a little involved when I feel like it. Like this new deal she's got going. It's a commercial lot that had a trailer house on it that was being used for a business office. It also has a billboard on it. She's moving the house to another lot to sell. Then she's building a retirement community on it which has already been approved by the planning commission.

I didn't feel terribly inspired to get involved in any of it to this point. But I do feel inspired to get involved in the creation of the business side of the retirement community.

You gotta go where your heart takes you. Otherwise why are we all even here?

Having said all that, who doesn't love to have more money?

I feel so lucky to have the best of both worlds in the comps service my sister and I created. I get to do what I love, business and marketing, while creating a better financial future for me and my family. And she gets to make money doing what she loves, her deals and the sales side of our business. She's the talkative one so she does all the sales and I'm more introverted computer techy person so I do all of the behind the scenes stuff.

Things just work when you follow your heart and use your strengths and let someone else cover your weaknesses. That's why we make perfect partners and why we're both so happy with what we do and making money at it too.

Sounds like the roof and window expense wouldn't take up much of your cash flow on a refi since the cost is so low. But a refi would be much more hassle than putting it on a credit card or financing with the contractors. So it's all about what's most important to you.

I'd buy a unicorn and fly around the world to party with Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Puff the Magic Dragon, the talking M 'n M's and whoever else I could find that doesn't really exist.

There's always some new software that I want to use and need to learn. I always just Google it or watch a video on the exact thing I'm trying to learn. Like today, I was trying to upload a spreadsheet to Mailchimp but the first and last name were together in 1 column.

So, I just Googled how to split it into 2 columns and within minutes I had it done. That's how I learn all kinds of software. Just Google and YouTube one step at a time.

These days you can learn how to do anything on Google and YouTube. I'm even doing my own tile for the first time and it's turning out great.

You always want to get this kind of advice from a CPA or tax attorney because of how tax laws are always changing. Seek out and talk to the tax professionals who are members of BP. Or just call some in your area. By the time you talk to several of them, you'll be pretty clear on it.

Pictures from Google Maps to assess the quality of a neighborhood isn't going to give you a picture of what's going on there with the people. It's not just the quality of properties that make a neighborhood good or bad, it's the quality of the people who live and hang out there.

That's why you or someone you trust needs to go there and get a feel for it, whether it's your Realtor, your relatives or whoever. You can't tell what kind of activities are going on there just from pictures.

But at the very least, like you said, talking to people on discussion forums who live there or could check it out for you is a good idea.

Your initial question was, Why is Memphis a good place to invest? 

Though cash flow in Memphis seems typical, cash flow isn't the only thing that makes a market a good one. Job growth and house appreciation is pretty good there. And it's also an affordable place to live which is attractive to buyers and renters.

Sounds like you had a great experience and did everything right. I especially love that you got the rehab done in 4 weeks. That's awesome.

BRRRR is a great strategy because even if your cash flows is less due to taking more cash out from the refinance, you still get to do more deals because you have more investing money. And over time rents will go up while your payment will stay the same, increasing both your cash flow and your equity in those rentals.

I've also seen a few investors Buy, Rehab, Live In, and then Refinance for cash out to buy the next one.

If you have a good relationship with your contractor there and trust him, maybe you can offer to pay him to help you manage it, at least with the maintenance anyway.

Also, if you can build relationships with some good Realtors in the area, they may know someone who can help you management it or help you keep an eye on it.

That property mgmt co doesn't deserve your business. Find a way to give them the boot!