All Forum Posts by: Michael Hicks

LVP/LVT is what I've gone to throughout the entire unit.  Durable, nice looking, and relatively inexpensive (in my area you can pick it up less that $1 a sq ft).  A little more than cheap carpet but you're not replacing every time a renter moves.

I've thought about doing this myself. It seems the local REIA consists of going to a monthly meeting where you are peddled a different program/investment strategy each month. I would like to be involved in helping/educating others rather than selling them the new $995 wait...if you're a member of the REIA and buy now it's only $495 lol.

Start looking for other investors in your area and go for it!

Way to go @Caleb Rigby.  Most people never take the leap to begin with.  You did what it took to get the deal done and learned in a few months what most read about for years and never try.  Congrats.

Andrew, there are a few ways to look at it.  I tend to look at things like the area, age of home/roof/hvac, etc.  When I first started buying, if it broke even I was happy.  Boy was that bad lol.

If it's a newer home I can deal with less of a spread than if it is a 50 year old home that I'll be working on all of the time.  If it is a bad area I want a greater spread than a good area with a lot of turnover.  

Is that payment including PITI or just PI? Also, the rent seems a bit low but may be market for your area. Hope that helps.

Hey Evan, I started at 19 myself.  I was fortunate enough to grow up around some developers and investors and saw first hand what real estate did for them and their families.  It put me in a good position to gain knowledge and ask plenty of questions even from the age of 14.  Put yourself around knowledgeable people and maybe even go to work for one of them while you're learning.  I spent a lot of time looking at mls listings and magazines to familiarize myself with the market.  If you're not looking to borrow a lot of money then maybe start out with mobile homes or like @Clayton Plank said, owner finance deals.  Best of luck.

Putting key people in place to lessen my workload (trusting these people to do it the way I want it done/the right way)

I'm not sure.  I subscribe to ours.  It's like $30 a year and comes to my office.

Not all are listed on auction.com.  Don't get too excited about auction.com.  They advertise a low opening bid and then run the bid up to their reserve.  All should be listed in the local county newspaper.  You can usually look at the listing in the paper and find the attorney handling each property. Go to their website and you will sometimes find a starting bid price.

Other sites are hubzu.com, hudsonandmarshall.com, and xome.com.  Look on mls for foreclosures on market over 60-90 days.  A lot of my buys have come from properties that were listed too high.  I keep offering and the bank oftentimes comes around.  Others usually look, see it too high and never look at it again.

I know a few investors who put up down payments in the form of "buying an option on future equity".

They would give the down payment in lieu of an option on future equity.  They did this in Orlando in the 70's.  From what I remember, they did 5 and all 5 went south in less than 5 years. 

You would have to keep a close eye on the deal.  As soon as one of these guys mess up you're out your 4%.

I found that a good majority of my tenants go out and get a dog anyway even though it's in the lease as no pets.  When you knock on the door and the first thing you hear is a dog barking...  I started renting to pet owners now but I charge a non-refundable pet deposit per pet as well as $25 a month per pet.(limited to 2 small dogs or cats)