All Forum Posts by: Nate Hollembaek

Thanks for the reply! Thanks to BiggerPockets and making some connections. I feel much more confident about my local market. So thankful this site found me and am very excited to start networking and getting things going!

Hello,

My name is Nate Hollembaek. 29 years old in Eugene, OR. Its population is about 157,000 with a metro population of 350,000. I'm sure plenty of you are familiar with this town since it is the home of the U of O Ducks football team.

I have lived here my whole life after a short stent of being away when the economy tanked and jobs were almost non-existent.

Since 2012 I have moved back here and started an air duct, chimney and dryer vent cleaning business. I am a licensed contractor with a specialties contractors license. If I did have to move, I do have a trustworthy employee that I could leave to work the business while I work it remotely. I don't want to give up my main source of income. I don't really want to GC real estate projects, I have not expertise in that field. My business is quite profitable but is still in its start up stages and I haven't saved much money at all for big down payments on real estate investments.

I have been scouring the market, driving for dollars, looking at craigslist, you name it looking for deals. I am starting to wonder how I am going to break the barrier to entry to find my first deal.

My outlook at this market is that it's very inflated and very limited as far as opportunities to make money. Where I see others finding four-plexes for $119,000 I am finding four-plexes for $400,000 to $500,000. I just don't see how you could ever make money unless you had a huge down payment or wanted to buy and hold and hope for appreciation many years down the road.

The positive aspect about this town is it seems to be quite stable, real estate has leveled out and is actually turning around here quickly. I actually read in an article that it is one of the fastest recovering markets in the country.

I would like to hear opinions from you all, what kind of strategies you would recommend. Should I move somewhere where there's more inventory, lower price points, etc? I am not a believer of "grass is greener on the other side" theory, just not sure how to pursue real estate investing as a start up investor in this market.

Thank you for your time! Look forward to reading your replies!

Great advice! If the owner's can't be reached, is it possible to find who the lender is and communicate directly with them or is that not a viable option.

I am hoping to flip this house. It has a good roof on it and looks to be in good shape inside just peeking through the windows. Could use a fresh paint job and some new garage doors to give it some curb appeal. Perfect property for first time home buyers in a good neighborhood.

Hello! I am brand new to real estate investing and am chomping at the bit to get my first deal under contract!

I have found an abandoned house right in my neighborhood and trying to figure out how to go about pursuing purchasing it and which options I should take. Does anyone have experience in this and can I get any tips on where I should even start.

Thank you!

Nate Hollembaek