All Forum Posts by: Melissa Collins

Hi again, 

I will message you with that info Ellen, would like love to meet with you when you are next here. It is daunting and I am starting much later in my life than you did so feel very behind the ball. My dad was a real estate agent and so I do have support and knowledge from him, I live in a town that I grew up in some know it and many people within it so hopefully that will help me. I hadn't planned on marrying the two together and have been fully concentrating on getting my real estate license but stumbled on this site and am now hooked! I am reading as listening to as much as I can while still getting ready to write my licensing exam. 

With the little I have to invest at the moment, I have been looking at US properties on land watch but there are so many! How do you decide what is the right parcel? Comparables? Can you do title searches on US properties? Is California a good area to look or should I steer clear due to lack of water? Florida? I am thinking raw land versus land with a house due to price point and a house is just too much concern for me buying from a distance. 

Thanks Samuel for your input on Than Merrill - we spent $197 on the three day course and got a lot of written material prior to the course which I think is worth that amount. We have no inention of doing any more with him nor do we have the money to spend any more on his masters programs, etc. It was a free info session we went to and that has really lead me into REI and here - so I have to thank him for that.

I appreciate any and all feedback on raw land flips in the US - buying from a distance, pitfalls, what to focus on, what to look for, where, etc etc I will keep searching on here too as I am sure it has all been asked before!

thanks for responding Tom Stromar and Ellen Hearsey! I would love to meet with you when you next come through Ellen! Can you both tell me how you got started? Did you start as an agent and then get into REI? I just feel it is such an uphill battle in our current financial position - two kids, mortgage, debt, lots of money going out in licensing fees/training. All I can do is work hard and try to make our lives better and learn all I can from as many experienced people as I can! Thank goodness for Bigger Pockets and people that are willing to share their success stories and strategies!

hello all, I am on Vancouver Island in Duncan (little town in between Victoria and Nanaimo). I am currently working at getting my real estate license and am almost there. I stumbled onto Bigger pockets and am so happy I did! My husband and I have wanted to get into RE investment forever it seems but never seem to have the extra cash to get started. There is so much great info here - but how does one get going? I believe the Island has a lot of potential as lots of people are moving here to live and purchasing vacation properties too. It has a ton of recreation opportunities as well as beauty. 

So how did others get going? Did you have a stash of money to purchase your first flip or did you find a willing investor? Did you purchase in your own area or go with US to start? SO many questions, sorry! Would love to chat with others in my area - does anyone have meets here on the Island? 

Thanks!

following this thread...located on Vancouver Island in BC Canada. Is this something I can do from my location? Purchase raw land in the US and re sell? Best areas to start my search for land parcels? Thank-you for being willing to share all your knowledge everyone! 

hello all, I am located on Vancouver Island in Duncan. My husband and I are interested in learning more about the possibilities of flipping here on the Island. Anyone from Vancouver Island here? We just went to Than Merrill's free lecture and have signed up for the three day course in April. I am also very close to getting my real estate license here. I find myself pondering my options - do I focus on my real estate career or do I use my real estate license as a means to find great flips or do I try to do both? 

The markets and laws/taxes are very different between the US and Canada,  as mentioned there are a lot more taxes/fees to be aware of here that will affect your end profit. Also, there are very few properties here that are under the $300,000 range that have good bones and don't require a ton of repairs. 

So, is anyone else out there having success on Vancouver Island flipping? How are you guys doing in Saskatchewan? I saw a couple comments from Vancouver - is flipping even possible in that market? It's insane there!!! 

Looking forward to talking with you all, learning and possibly moving forward with my dreams! 

Melissa