All Forum Posts by: Mark Sewell

I found that I had enough money to flip houses, and/or I had enough money to live on, pay debts, etc., but not both. Had to go back and get some kind of stable gig. The idea is not to lose sight of the goal, still do a deal here and there and reduce my financial footprint (get rid of debt). As the debt goes down, gradually, I plan to divert more and more of my income to purchasing/investing into RE. But to do BRRR, get a HELOC, get another VA loan, etc., all those things require that I can document some income.

That said, a good flip here and there would be a nice boost for you.  Not something you can rely on, but still maybe worth doing in the short term while you work on finding the next thing.

You might also get over to Quest Trust for some meet ups over there, Karl. These guys do self directed IRA accounts and I wish I had learned more about that sooner. You might want to move some of your stuff over there, you might not. But at least you will get some really good networking, and learn a lot.

They could, in theory, fund 100% but those are unicorns.  You'll probably have to have $5k-$15K to bring to closing, even with a really good deal.  Those deals are out there.

Sure man, thanks for reaching out.  But we can share the meet up info here.

I try to get out to Quest Trust on Tuesdays whenever I can (not today).  A lot of groups use their meeting room there in the evenings.  One of those is Houston Buyers Club, you will see them on FB and also on the meetup.com - there are plenty of others.

Since you are another WA state homer, like me, I think we might need to go meet up for a taco and/or a brewed beverage. 

Yessir, RE investors new and old are out here in droves. You cannot throw a rock in H-town without hitting an investor. Just come on out to a meetup or some REI club or association.

Two really good responses here from @Account Closed you made a comment about driving for dollars in certain neighborhoods.  I did a bit of driving routes for pre-foreclosures last summer, doing door hangars, leave-behind packages, etc., for other investors, while learning, and I found that this was a great way to spot other distressed properties.  It seems that life happens to more than just one resident on the same street.  So get your hands on those lists, plot them in google maps, and there you go.  Go driving.

Then go meet some wholesalers and get on their buyer lists.  Their deals will suck, I promise, but at least you can get good at running your numbers, so you can arrive at this same conclusion yourself.

You know when I started, I called some guy at Jet Lending and he sent me over their excel spreadsheet calculator. I added a few items and started using it as a simplified deal analyzer. If you can figure out ARV (running comps) and get a good handle on renovations/repairs (this was much harder for me) then you can get a good feel - at least for flips. For buy and hold guys, those guys will pay more for those houses, but that spreadsheet still works as a general indicator (the BP calculator is way better). If you connect with me, shoot me your email and I dig it up and send it over.

And go slow.  Don't get in a hurry to find that first deal (like I did). 

It is really easy to talk yourself into deals, especially on the borderline deals that look like they might just work if everything goes right.  It's like that fat ugly girl at the bar -- the one that starts looking better and better as you consume more adult beverages.

Over in West Houston... almost to Katy.

Go hit some local REI meetups in your area. Also if you use hard money, what you have is plenty. I worked with a lender down your way, and I would use them again. @Austin Pool works for them now, so you could connect with him.