All Forum Posts by: Nikki Grizzle

@Scott Harper It was either take action or sit around and wait for a miracle. I planned on not taking the second route.

@Brandon Turner Thanks for sharing your insight and expertise with us newbies!

@Alex Corvin I use several resources to find properties including trulia.com, realtor.com, MLS, word of mouth, and connecting with investors and realtors in different areas who have the inside scoop on both on and off market properties. Both the properties already had tenants. The property we own now was 26 grand. Second property we are closing on next month is 45 grand and cash flow for both properties comes out to a little over a grand. Both properties are from the same seller and everything was updated including new roof, hvac etc. The second home he had the carpet and flooring done as well. Both properties were bought under market value as well.

@Emily C. Yes! I still can't believe how many people are on here from the area!

@Collin Richards The best thing to do is to personally go to the banks and speak with people. A phone call is usually a dead end. I read a post somewhere on BP where someone said to go as high up as you can when trying to get funding. It really is all about who is willing to help you. Also, some banks operate privately. I know a few investors who got turned down by one branch and was able to close a deal going to another.

@Harry Darmawan Our properties are in NC. They are both near Coastal Carolina. Both properties give a cash flow over a grand.

@Wendy Gomez We are located in North Carolina and live outside the Raleigh area. We tend look to invest in areas within 2 hours of where we live. When using cash it is much easier to negotiate price. There are endless amount of investment opportunities here. 

Not sure but I spoke with SoFi on the phone and asked several questions since we planned on using them more than once. They were well aware that we were investors and even stated they work with investors all the time. Also, they lower their interest rate for investors who use them regularly.

@Rich Hupper We went to several banks, both large and small. Both regular and private banks. Talking with these lenders in person is what helped us. It can be done. It really is just a matter of who is willing to do it and what position they are in to help you. We also made sure we had everything we would possibly need before walking in.

After a year of talking about investing in Real Estate, a year of reading endless books and talking about it, we finally did it. I ran across Brandon Turners REI course on Udemy and he mentioned BP. That was this year 2016! I watched the entire course and decided to check out this site BP he talked about. I signed up after taking his course which was by far one of the best courses out there. I learned more in 2 days browsing through forums and than I did reading those investor books I stocked up on. Within a week I connected with a few people in my area who let me pick their brains and listen to their success stories and the path they took. I became a BP junkie. I made it a goal of mine to learn something new every day on here and take advantage of everything available. I even downloaded the app on my phone. BP replaced facebook within a day. My husband and I were so amazed at how much we were learning from this site. We decided to not waste time and just do it! So we did it! 2 months later we officially became investors. This Friday we closed on our first rental home. We are set to close on our second next month and already in the process of looking to acquire a few more.

How did a young couple under 30 do it? By actively searching and reading everyone's creative financing strategies. We were once like everyone else who thought 20% down of your own money was the only thing that could get us to this step. Our goal this year is to use every financing option to learn how its done and what works for us. First we took out a personal loan that allowed us to pay cash for the first home that we now have. This second home we are using conventional financing in conjunction with the personal loan as a down payment. Yes, everyone told us it was impossible but...in Real Estate nothing is impossible. Our next home will be used with private money. Are we taking risks? Yes and No. Is it worth it? Definitely!

If it wasn't for BP we would have not accomplished this goal in such a short amount of time. I consider everyone on here a mentor. Any questions I have I know I can count on you all to lead us in the right direction. I look forward to learning more from you all and continuing to form more personal relationships. I am always ready for a cup of coffee and a chit chat about investing!