All Forum Posts by: Nina Granberry

Thank you for the advice - it is super helpful. 

+ When you say network with them, should I be doing more than connecting with folks here on BP? I wonder how I bring up the idea of building a team as a new investor...and how seriously they will take me when realistically, I will not be buying another property for some months. 

+ I agree that BRRRRing is a better way to finance deals. A lot of my own money is tied into this first property...so I am looking for ways to maximize my personal finances besides being more frugal, building my cash reverses and savings. I was thinking that the next deal I want to do is a BRRRR so that I can recoup my funds and recycle the money into another deal faster. That is what I am learning and educating myself on presently.

+ commercial lenders - do these types of loans only apply to properties that have more than 4 units?

@Brittany H. where are you in BK? I live in Crown Heights but originally from Kansas City, MO. I've lived here since 2008, after graduating college in PA. And so, I wanted to invest where I was somewhat familiar with and Belton, MO is not too far from KC. That is where the duplex is. How far along are you in the process of wanting to invest OOS?

@Samuel Vogt that's solid advice and that's exactly what I am doing. Saving and focusing on self-managing this first property for the first year and thinking of a plan for repairs and my second deal. I had mapped out wanting to acquire one property per year, so I guess I am on the right track. I appreciate your time and thoughts!

We inherited tenants with the property. One lease ends in September and the other tenant is month-to-month and is Section 8. There is work that needs to be done on the duplex too. A new roof was a part of the sale closing. But there is a lot of room for improvement in order to raise the rents to market rate (i.e. kitchen and bathroom rehabs, things here and there mentioned in the inspection report). I guess I could use some advice there also. What is the best plan of action to take now with the new investment.

Last week, I closed on my very first buy and hold multifamily investment property (out of state). A duplex.

I would like to increase my investment portfolio by at least one multifamily each year for the next 5 years, using the stack method that @Brandon Turner talks about often in webinars and podcasts.

I am looking for advice as to how I can keep up the momentum that I have after acquiring my first deal. I should mention that I use the daily habits tracker as part of my pro membership. So, each day I am building the routine of increasing my knowledge, deal analysis and being active in the forum community by reading and responding to posts, attending webinars. I am saving money so that I can invest.

For those of you in the BP community with investing experience, what are some other things I should and could be doing right now to maximize my waiting time between investments? How long did it take you to acquire your second deal after getting the first one? 

Thank you BP community,

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Belton.

Purchase price: $156,520
Cash invested: $41,985

Contributors:
Lee Ripma

New roof installed at closing
Inherited tenants
Value add property with lots of upside potential

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I saw an opportunity to get started with investing in real estate and took the leap. I was interested in this deal because it met my criteria for a great deal based on my research, has a lot of value add potential, is in a great rental market and is located near my hometown. I have a local partner that will manage the property.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This deal was brought to me by Lee Ripma, an investor in the KC market herself in MFR (also a guest on the BP REI podcast, episode #373). We were able to negotiate getting a new roof at closing as well as other seller credits. The appraisal came in higher than the sales price, which I hear rarely happens these days. Lee was super helpful throughout the entire process; she negotiated on my behalf.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional residential loan
30 - year fixed rate mortgage, 25% down, 3.9% interest

How did you add value to the deal?

When the current tenants move out, we plan to do renovations to both units, updating the kitchens, bathrooms and flooring.

What was the outcome?

Once the updates are completed, we will be able to raise the rents of both units by over $300/unit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

+ The most challenging part of the process is the financing part. Lots of tedious paperwork to gather for the loan application
+ Ask lots of questions of your agent as you walk through the process. It helps to have someone that is responsive and patient as you learn
+ After having gone through this process, purchasing a property is not as daunting as it seems from the outside looking in.Read, save $, prepare for the opportunity

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Lee Ripma
Michelle Lutz (Agent)
Matt Goodwin with Guaranteed Rate (Mortgage Broker)

This is solid advice that puts you in a more active mindset rather than a passive one (i.e. just save it and wait). 

Saving with a goal in mind would help you stay motivated and focused on being frugal so that you could invest in real estate. I plan on saving money in a savings account and am reading about self-directed IRA accounts also. Here is a recent article that I read on self-directed IRAs.

Also, if you haven't done so already, perhaps sign up for the weekly webinars on Thursdays to get ideas on how to get started in REI. The webinars are very helpful and informative and you also receive really cool door prizes and free resources. For example, one webinar door prize I received was How to Invest in RE with No (or Low) Money Down. While you are learning, you can also save your money to prepare for future opportunities. Good luck.

Welcome to BP. I read through the suggestions that folks have given so far. I am a new investor myself; I am closing on my first deal this month! I can speak from experience on what helped me take action and start my investing journey. Here are some things that haven't been mentioned yet that I think could be helpful to you in starting your journey in REI (real estate investing).

+ Make sure to fill out your BP profile as thoroughly as possible. It's helpful in trying to network with others here and introducing yourself

+ If you haven't already, read the Ultimate Beginners Guide to REI. It is free, comprehensive and will give you an overview.

+ Attend the weekly webinars hosted by @Brandon Turner. They're a great way to learn so much and get inspired to take action

+ Set a goal for yourself to read something REI every single day. The BP blog is a great place to start. Or read a chapter a day of the beginners guide. Or a time limit for each day. Whatever you have to do to build a habit of growing your knowledge so that you are prepared to take action when the right opportunity comes.

+ When you are serious, become a BP pro member so that you can analyze a deal each day to get better at analyzing properties as an investor.

+ Listen to episodes on the BP Real Estate Rookie podcast or/and BP Real Estate podcast. Specifically, listen to #373 with @Lee Ripma

These are all things that I do myself. And I can now say that I am an investor. Hope this helps.

Nina Granberry

Good job of starting to educate yourself, Keelan. That's a great start and I am doing the same as a new investor, building daily habits that will make me a successful investor. Ironically, I was just reading about this in the Ultimate Beginners Guide to REI. You can read the entire excerpt about mentorship here but the gist is:

+ Find a local investor in your area that you could learn from

+ Make yourself valuable in a way that is meaningful to the other person

+ Find someone to learn from that is already doing what you are aspiring to do (in this case, you're looking to connect with an experienced wholesaler)

+  "Prove that you are in this for the long haul by being persistent, building knowledge, and actively growing outside of the relationship you are building."

Hope this helps.

Nina

Hi Ken, a couple of property management companies recommended to me are Rowan PM and One Stop PM. 

Also, is this your first property? If not, did you start out managing your own properties first? Or have you only used property management? Thanks!

Nina