All Forum Posts by: Michael Guzik

@Kevin Larry How much money do you have to put down? What's your investing criteria?

@Josiah Patrick Zebarth I can relate 200% my friend! Had to get the hell away from those people and my so called "friends". My "friends" or "circle" became people who I read or listened to via podcast or a paperback book. There aren't too many people my age doing what I am doing so it's a bit hard to relate to most "young" people. Always down to talk or bounce ideas off of each other! I work with a company in San Antonio that focuses on developments and custom home building, and I use my license to help out of state investors find rental properties here. 

@Eric Alvarez All of the above markets are great for investing! I am biased since I was born and raised in San Antonio so I think it is the best city in the state! However it would really just depend on your budget, investing criteria, desired return, and desired time commitment. What are your goals right now?

@Poornima Shanmugam What side of town are you planning to invest in? I'm typically having to search for 200k+ purchase price for my investor client's. However they are wanting a 4 or 5 bedroom in a good part of town typically B or B+ neighborhoods.  

Matt,

This is a great idea and definitely a very cool way to help improve communities and obtain a fantastic ROI. We are currently doing this in the downtown area of San Antonio, and have ran into some obstacles with the city and neighborhoods pushing back on this. One example I can think of is that we bought half an acre in one of the best downtown neighborhoods and planned to build 6 urban style homes priced around 300-400k. The neighborhood threw a HUGE fit, so now we are building 3 homes starting at 600k. Doesn't really make sense to me because it made the homes "less affordable" but that's politics for you. It has definitely been a learning experience as we build in different areas of town since they all have their differences. The biggest obstacle is for sure finding land in a great location for a price that makes sense numbers wise, if you buy it right you will make a good ROI regardless.

Hey BP community, I haven't been active on here as much but I'm making it a point to get on here every day again! I have really been struggling with the dichotomy of being ungrateful and knowing my self worth/value I bring. When you go into deals and/or partnerships how do you determine your value and what your time and efforts are worth? In some cases I deal with larger, more experienced companies and partners and don't want to seem entitled and undervalue the value they are providing, but don't want to be underselling myself and what I bring to the table. Same thing goes when dealing with newer people and companies, in that I don't want to seem like I am overpricing or overvaluing myself. One of the things I really worked on in 2019 was being grateful and appreciative and it really has changed my life. Because of this mindset change when I am dealing with the nitty gritty numbers in a deal or partnership I don't know if I am being arrogant and entitled by thinking I should be getting this amount or percentage, or if I am being confident and know the value I'm providing. Not sure if this even makes sense, and I hope I'm not coming off as a cocky person. Any and all wisdom and insight would be appreciated, I definitely want to get input from others in the real estate community. 

@Lucy Hernandez Money is honestly over rated, happiness is drastically under rated. It sounds like you are super proud of what you have done and investing makes you happy and takes you closer to your dreams. I personally would keep doing what you are doing, live frugally, develop connections and stay involved in real estate. Patience is super key with this though! College should be looked at just like a real estate deal. What is the ROI and COC? If you are dropping 50k on that education I would hope it is giving you a pretty nice size raise.... Then again is that added stress and workload going to cause you to be an absentee owner and kill your dreams for freedom? Don't let short term happiness/vision destroy what you ultimately want. I don't see any problem with continuing down the path you are on unless you seriously need the increase in income. @Caleb Heimsoth said it plain and simple which I like, he is spot on and I agree with him. Good luck and make sure you look at this decision from all angles!

@Brad Larsen I know how you feel my friend from my somewhat brief experience in PM it really is tough to be in a place like that. I feel like you already know deep down what you should do but you want to be validated. Well here it is I agree with what you are saying my friend. That new policy is spot on and honestly a little bit lenient in my opinion. If after 60 days of no activity and the owners aren't willing to do something that's when I would send out the 30 day cancellation notice. @Matthew Paul brought up a great point and I would say is the best way to deal with it. Money talks especially in this situation. @Justin Larese brought up some great points that I was honestly going to ask myself but after reading your response with how the landlord is you should seriously just cut ties. One mindset shift that truly changed the way I did things was the 80/20 principal. I'm sure you are familiar with this but it is so critical especially in the PM area of real estate. It sounds like this guy is part of the group that takes up 80% of your time and stress, but only brings in 20% of the profit so to speak. From reading your replies you have a great head on your shoulders and I believe you have made the right decision. Now just go out and do it my friend and make sure you set your expectations up front! Good luck!

@Aaron Bihl That's a great question my friend and is honestly 100% personal preference. Yes it is a liability and I've had some investors say no to deals simply because of that fact. There is nothing wrong with that though some people have a more flexible criteria or larger "risk muscles" so to speak. I would definitely make sure that the property/properties you are looking at in that area provide enough value to compensate for this added risk and/or extra financial expense. My personal opinion is that shouldn't stop you from pursuing a good deal. If it is a home run, or you see a play to bring incredible value or upside I would not say no simply because it's in a flood zone. Just make sure you are aware of the negatives that come with it. The additional insurance costs/monthly premium, and possible extended holding time and/or vacancy due to that fact could make it a bad deal in the end.  Good luck my friend!

@Alex K. That's a great question my friend. To keep the answer short and sweet sure that's possible but is it likely....? No lol. The chances for someone to sell that low, and with that little of repairs needed are very slim. And on top of that you as an out of state investor getting that opportunity over someone who lives here and will have a face to the name to the seller, is very slim. The biggest problem is that you are going to be in a C/D area at best with that criteria. If you are comfortable with that, and have an amazing manager and team in place you will surely be successful. However as I'm sure you know finding a great manager especially as an out of state investor is tough, especially for a SF home. Most good manager won't want to waste their time on a single property in a not so nice area of town where they are maybe making 200 a month at best on it. 

Not trying to be negative just trying to be honest so your expectations are correctly aligned with how things will be. Don't get me wrong you can still find some good deals that are around 1%. They will be highly sought after and will probably require a lot of work. Now is that manageable as an out of state investor? Depends on your risk tolerance and the team you put together. 

My advice would be to search people here in San Antonio or other places you want to invest. Ask to pick their brains and hop on a call with them. Reach out to agents, brokers, wholesalers, flippers and/or landlords. Simply just message them and ask them questions and see what they say.  Good luck my friend! Feel free to ask me any questions or reach out I'm always here to help.