All Forum Posts by: Alan Brown

Sounds easy to me:

Go to where you want to live or you’ll always pine for it.

also it sounds like there might be a good (amazing would be better) property manager there— you may not need it now but in 7-10 years when you have enough cash flow that you can travel as much as you want, even quit work if you want—you’ll need it and it’s the most important part of where you invest, IMHO!!

@Ryan Knaupp,  can you give me any details on your 4plex?  When I last went on "marketplace" on BP there was almost nothing there.  NOt sure what's up with that.  

How much are you asking, what kind of net rents do you get, is it all separately metered?   I"m looking for good properties.

Thanks!

@austin 

@Austin Elm, what is the current climate in Kalispell/whitefish for VRBO’s?  Are there any rumblings about limiting or putting restrictions on them?

Thanks for the input

omg @Michael Glunk, that is a golden referral!  I promise I'll be nice to them!

thanks

@Nathan Hagge, kudos to you for working out that lifestyle! I worked a few years in Antarctica back in the 80’s but didn’t know how to parlay that into year round bliss while building passive income. My priorities were way different back then , but if I’d have had BP to light the way I would have hit the ground running a decade earlier!

And your choice of Location is really second to none IMO...

I also think the idea of house hacking could be ideal for you, especially if you can find someone you absolutely trust to help you keep an eye on stuff while you’re gone.

One thing I’ve struggled with is property management.  And you may not think it matters because you might be planning on managing your own stuff, but even if you didn’t travel a lot for work, it’s good to make sure your numbers include an allowance for prop mgmnt because when you suddenly become independently wealthy and want to go travel like crazy,  that option is paramount.  Or if you want to go to Hawaii for 6months per year!  It’s gotten to the point that it doesn’t make sense to me to invest anywhere that I don’t have spectacular property managers, because I hate being stressed out and far away, if you’re not positive your properties are in good hands.

I do understand that it’s Extremely rare to find a PM who would take care of my tenants like I would, but something even 80% of that would be great!

So even if it feels premature for you, I’d start right away looking for an excellent PM, or else a partner who might fill that function for you!

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Wait, @Michael Glunk,  why did they remove your post?  Did you say something political?  
or is this a new thing w the PM?  Seems like I just had someone PM me... I thought we were supposed to keep personal endorsements off of here, especially negative, unfortunately.  Honestly I would like to hear if someone has a good or bad experience with someone, but I didn’t think that was allowed.

Hmm confused 

Hi @Leslie C.!  

Cash flow is the target for most investors of course, as you know, because they are trying to do as many deals as they can and stretch their capital as far as they can, and the cash flow buffers them from hard hits in the market (like pandemics!), or they're trying to live off of the income, which gets dicey when all 4 furnaces go out in the building in one year!!

I haven't lived in Bozeman for a few years, but most of the big fish I met there and in Boulder, CO, were buy and hold, fully speculative investors who couldn't care less about having to come up with a few hundred bucks a month to cover their investments... because if the market is providing appreciation at anywhere between 10 and 20% (I don't know what it is these days in BZN, but that's what it always was in Boulder and that's what it was in Bozeman and Big Sky when I left), you can do the math and see why they're dumping their millions into it. 

As much as I have to hedge my bets and make my capital s t r e t c h for all it's worth to live on the cash flow, the times I've made giant gains were always in the appreciation markets...

So if you feel you actually have a cash flowing property, and your income is strong enough to carry it without stress if you weren't conservative enough in doing your numbers, get anything you can in BZN I say and watch it go through the roof over time.  It's one of the VERY LAST best places, and it doesn't seem like it's going to ever back off (but plan on it sooner or later!).  I found the only way to ride that train is to jump in as soon as you can, because over time you keep leveraging up through that magical market.  Everyone wants to live there once they've experienced it (so mum's the word!) and the economy is incredibly diverse with so many individuals drawing tech money telecommuting from all over the world, that it's hard to imagine it being anything other than Mecca for those that love the outdoors.

 I was in the Boulder Market for a long time and even when everything else crashed, it just leveled out for a while and then picked right back up.  San Francisco seems to be the same way in a massive way!

so I say go for it and enjoy the best place in our amazing country!

I'm in... got any thoughts on when or where to meet?

Hi @Zachary Ferrara,  Welcome!  Sounds like RE Investing is calling your name!  Go with it buddy!  

I don't know Springfield at all, but have been focusing on Pittsfield area, and I think the area is really prime for Wholesalers as well as flippers as well as buyand holders... As you probably know, Mass laws seem to be some of the worst for landlords in the whole country, but if you can get past that and screen tenants like crazy and be pickey, the numbers are pretty strong for buy and hold.  

There seem to be new jobs coming at a nice strong clip as well,  which means more and more new homebuyers who want spanky shiny renovated houses, and there's very reasonable median pricing, which might mean room to go up!  I love flipping, so if you start finding deals, put me on your buyer's list. 

We all need jobs to get some money for working your way into buy and hold, so why not wholesaling?  I try to use my flipping income to grow my investment portfolio.

I"m a big proponent of getting your license, mainly because you become an expert in the area you work in and you get to know deals when you see them, and can most effectively determine ARV's which are the backbone of the business I think.

Ask your dad though;  he would know best if you put yourself into any kind of legal jeopardy as a wholesaler who has a real estate license.  You might be held to a different standard than an unlicensed wholesaler.  The idea goes that as a licensed professional Realtor, you automatically have the upper hand over an ignorant desperate seller, and they might sue you (and your Broker) later for having taken advantage.  Some Managing Brokers won't allow you to do it, for the legal liability AND because they would need (and want) you to run any transactions through the brokerage.  It makes sense that they would want you to earn them money, and if you have to cut in your broker, it may put a few more constraints on the profit margin of a wholesale.  I always figure if you're just super up front with people, put it in very very simple writing that you may make money off the resale of this property, you're unlikely to run into trouble.

Good luck and listen to EVERY BP podcast-- it's really a Phd in Real Estate.  Over 400 hours of amazing insights from literally hundreds of amazingly successful Investors who share their brilliant moves, and more importantly, their worst MISTAKES!!  That's key, because you get to learn from THEIR mistakes, and hopefully make less of your own.

Cheers!
 

@Russell Brazil, I feel like an idiot, but I don't remember hearing that metric you used there:  prices at 4.5X income.  Like, median income v median home prices?  Single person income or family?  Say more, if you would, and where you found it... Sounds very interesting.