All Forum Posts by: Mark Sewell

@Jose Nunez find people in your area, where you are stationed, doing what it is that you what to do.  Learn from them.  You may not even know yet what questions to ask.  Learn here.  Read books and then ask questions.

Your first year, you are still fresh and doing A-school and all that, just keep your head down and focus on being a squared-away sailor. Use this time to read and network with others in the REI space. Save, don't go buy anything you cannot afford. Get some credit cards open, just please, don't use them. Just because some bank gives you $1500 to spend, that doesn't mean you can pay it back on your salary. Build credit, just like you are building muscle in the gym. Be ready for applying for loans when the time comes.

Learn about VA loans. This will give you a major advantage.

Read Set for Life with Scott Trench, and then translate that to your life as an enlisted servicemember.  All the same principles apply.

And dude, stay safe, take good care of your shipmates and do us all proud.  

CTI2 (NAC) 1987-1993

And while you are doing what Scott Trench advises (definately order his book) you should be working on getting some credit lines open.  Do this in parallel while saving.  $10K cash might not be enough reserves to do a flip/rehab, even using hard money, but $10k cash AND $10-20k in credit lines (credit cards plus bank lines) very well might be adequate to do a deal in NC.

Not a fan of wholesaling.  If you are talented enough at marketing and acquisitions to be a good wholesaler, then you might find you can make as much or more money simply doing 'wholetail' deals and/or partnering up with local investors.  Way less monkey motion with 'cash buyers' and disclosures, etc.  You'll learn what I mean when you get further down the path.

They are selling new builds for that in 77084.  Cannot speak to the quality but new is new.

Not a bad area - we live nearby.

@Ethan G. this thread is getting expensive.  

@Mitchell Dyer if you need an REI attorney on your team, here is your guy.

For sure @James De Stefano in fact I just read article that we are actually underbuilt going into this downturn.

It would be interesting to see some graphs/charts on the correlation between DOM and square footage.  The only small stuff that sits on the market is the stuff that is priced crazy.  I have to wonder who is buying that 1500 sf 3/2 built in 1982 for $190K (that needs work) when they can cross the street and get a new house for $230k-$240k...?  Or maybe that's no longer true, are new houses not being built for that anymore?

Mitch, don't believe a word of it.

Ian, your check is in the mail. 

FB leads is different than just posting something for sale/rent on FB marketplace.  I agree with you on that.

@Jake Clement just got off the phone with another client.  They just completed a triplex conversion down in third ward - they moved a couple walls and turned it into a 5-unit. They are just now getting it rented out.

They had to submit plans to the city permitting department and get a new certificate of occupancy.  They review all your building plans - HVAC electrical and all that, plus parking is a big concern.  It takes awhile, from what I understand.  And the city has already announced cutbacks, so it could take longer if the staff gets hit with reductions.  But the city permit department is where you need to go.

FB marketplace is probably the new CL.