All Forum Posts by: Michael Strachan

Congratulations on making the decision to get started in real estate! The hardest step is definitely the first one. All of Brandon Turner's books are phenomenal for new investors. After you finish reading it through the first time, read it again! You'll pick up something new every time. I'm a real estate agent in the Bay Area so if you have any questions about our local market, feel free to reach out. Good luck and happy investing!

 Great! I'm happy to help! Let me know if you have any other questions I could potentially assist with. I'm a realtor in the Bay Area so that's more my area of expertise.

Good luck and happy investing!

First of all, congratulations to them on approaching their goal of retirement and financial independence! 

However, without more information regarding their situation it's difficult to offer advice. What I would definitely say is that if they are approaching retirement age, it would be very ill-advised to borrow from her 401k. I'm assuming based on your comment about their current residence having a tiny mortgage that they've owned the home for a while. If they are only a few years out from paying it off, then of course that would increase the monthly cash flow coming in from the property which could be the final push to get them to their goal. If they aren't quite close to paying it off but still have a good bit of equity in the property, they may want to consider leveraging that equity to purchase the next home, either by refinancing, HELOC, etc. Of course you would still want to work it out such that the original property still cash flows but it's hard to say without specific numbers. I hope any of that might be helpful to you. Good luck and happy investing!

Deciding whether to flip vs hold is really dependent on your individual goals. If you want to create passive income to fund your lifestyle over time while enjoying tax benefits and loan paydown, then of course buy and hold is the strategy for you. If you would like to quickly generate more capital to reinvest in more real estate, flipping is a great strategy. In general, if you can make a hefty profit through a flip, that's a good way to go as you can reinvest the proceeds. However, I see you're a new realtor and it may be important to realize that your career allows for scalable income. Flipping property can be very time consuming especially if you're new to it. Personally as a realtor I feel it's most advantageous to invest my time in growing my business to generate income and invest my income into real estate to create passive income. That said, every one is different and you may find another strategy that you prefer. I hope that helps. Good luck and happy investing!

I would agree with others in this thread who recommend house hacking. It can be a fantastic way to get started investing because at the end of the day you have to live somewhere anyway. While our local market is certainly at a price point that provides a high barrier to entry, by purchasing a small multifamily property and renting the units you aren't living in, you can at least reduce your housing costs while still benefiting from the wealth generating properties of real estate investing. If multifamily is out of reach for your budget, you could also purchase a single family home and rent out bedrooms. The first step is to analyze properties every day to get a feel for what to expect. If you can find a home that would bring your monthly payment below whatever your current housing costs are, I would call that a win. The tax savings and accrual of equity are incredibly powerful wealth building tools, especially at such a young age. Good luck and happy investing!

You can certainly find agents who are willing to rebate a portion of their commission, however if you choose to do that you should be prepared to work with an agent who will provide little to no value to you throughout the transaction. I don't know enough about your situation but if you just need a warm body with a real estate license, that may meet your needs. Just be aware that you get what you pay for. Good luck and happy investing!

Hey Pete, welcome to Bigger Pockets! Congratulations on your already successful business and deciding to pursue your real estate salesperson's license. I'm a realtor in the bay area so if you have any questions about the process of getting licensed I'm happy to discuss them.

Good luck and happy investing!

Congratulations on starting your real estate journey! Out of state investing is a very popular option for investors in our market because of the high barriers to entry as well as incredible difficulty creating cash flow here. If you haven't checked it out already, I highly recommend reading "Long Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene, one of the hosts of the BP podcast. He actually lives in CA as well and does all of his investing out of state. The book details all the major points to understand for getting started so it's a great jumping off point. As for purchasing property locally, I would recommend meeting with a lender ASAP so they can give you an idea of what's possible for you on a conventional loan before you try getting fancy. Newbies often underestimate how expensive private money can be as they're starting out. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about our local market! Good luck and happy investing!

I agree with both @Theo Hicks and @Anthony Wick. If you take it off the market you are guaranteeing that you won't be finding a good tenant. Rents definitely tend to be higher in the summer time, as families settle down for the school year, etc, so I would consider maybe getting a decent tenant at a lower rent on a 6 month lease so that it comes back on the market during peak season. That way you can reset yourself to renting 12 month leases at peak prices. Also, I'm curious how applicants would even know how long it's been on the market. Are you using a marketing platform that displays days on market? 

I'm not aware of a list that neatly details them all simply because those metrics are constantly changing. That said, as a realtor in the area I do have access to search for all of that info as well as more advanced metrics. Is there any trend or data you're hoping to find?