All Forum Posts by: Orion Walker

Thanks for the great list @Andrew Kniffin. Very much appreciated. 

I happened to run across a message from someone looking to sell a near 50 unit apartment complex in my town off mls. We spoke briefly on the phone and he said that he would prefer to meet in person, so we scheduled to meet up at a local restaurant tomorrow. I don't know much more than that, but I figured it can't hurt to meet with the guy. If nothing else I'll learn a few things.

So, I'm looking for advice in preparation for meeting tomorrow. What should I be sure to ask? What are some basic aspects of how a deal like this would be put together that I should know? What should I or shouldn't I do to establish credibility on my end? 

This would be a big jump upwards, but I do feel that I have enough knowledge/skills/network to do a deal like this if the seller is willing to work with me.

Any and all advice would be much appreciated. 

Thanks!

That was so fun! And talk about great information and networking. Big thanks @J. Martin for all your hard work on putting it together, and to @Kathleen L., and the many others I saw helping out. Wow, all you BP folks are actually real :) Fun yacking with you Brandon, and great to meet your wife too. Safe travels north. Now, like @Troy Fisher said, I need to digest that all a bit and dial in on next steps. I look forward to keep the conversations going and staying in touch.

Hi @David Oldenburg, checked out your webpage and facebook. Looks like you've been rocking a full range of REI for quite some time. I'm due west, and maybe a bit north, over in Mendocino. Cheers.

Hey @Crysta Balbontin, I'm in a similar boat in that I live in a small town (30k) and I'm looking at starting to do some marketing. In my case I've managed to get started with an owner occupy triplex which is now rented out. I'm currently in escrow looking to do a renovation loan on a two house property. In my case I have enough income/good credit to get started this way. I needed about 12k to get into the first one (3.5% down) and will need about 20k on our current escrow. We've managed to patch that kind of money together with some help from family. I think people will take you a lot more seriously if you can figure a way to get one or two properties/deals under your belt. 

In terms of marketing in a small town, I would say think about how you can do it in a way that you feel good about and don't feel will turn people off. For myself I won't be putting up bandit signs, and I'll only start mailing to people if I know their property is empty or they are an out of state owner. Mostly I'm just spreading the word to as many people I know as possible letting them know that I'm interested in real estate. As I keep putting it out there in conversation I keep connecting with more folks and even the ones that think I'm crazy often have a lead that surfaces. It amazes me how often when I mention my real estate ambitions in passing it leads to a "oh, you should talk to so and so, or "oh, my friend has this place he's looking to sell"...

Anyhow, I hear you about the small town thing, but I wouldn't let it slow you down. Integrity, humility, enthusiasm, and a smile can go a long way.

Hi @Nicole Pettis, thanks for sharing and getting this interesting thread going. I bet six months from now you'll be rockin it. Seems to me that you are making a lot of the right moves, and that you have more determination, perspective, and grit than average. I'm pretty new, so take my two cents with some grains of salt:

If partner deals aren't coming together, try another owner occupy for yourself. The banks will generally go for that as long as there is a reasonable reason that you would be moving from one house to another. That builds momentum, especially if you can get a 2-4unit place, and it builds track record. That has worked well for me.

I assume you are using your marketing skills to try to find some very good deals? That approach is next on my list. As has been mentioned on the podcasts and forums many times, if the deal is good enough, the money will find you. Easier said than done of course, but it seems a lot of folks don't get around to actually tracking down those great deals, or doing the work to know what one is.

Thanks again for sharing. I think that is one of the great things about BP, that people share real experiences and build real connections. Cheers.

one option I haven't noticed on the thread so far would be to do a renovation loan. 203k loan or lesser known Homestyle loan. I'm in escrow on a fixer right now where I'll finance the purchase and the rehab. Basically I see it as the bank gives me the money to get a great deal on a place, my contractor bids the repairs, the bank covers that, the bank covers payments while renovating... So for very little down (5% for owner occupy, 20% for non) I get a rehabbed house ready to rent or sell. To me that seems a lot less risky than buying a place for cash and then trying to survive through a remodel while paying the mortgage. That's my two cents. Great thread. Wish you the best. Getting over that fear factor will be step one.

if you don't need the cash and it is in a decent area I would go for the long strategy with the extra unit if that pencils out. Just my 2 cents. 

this thread is reminding me of a great TED talk on decision making and happiness, the main gist being that people have a strong tendency to talk/think themselves into being happy with choices that they make. So people who move out of ca would tend to be happy about that, and people who decide to stay would tend to be happy about that. Comments on this thread seem to bare that out.

accidentally posted befor finishing there. Too easy to do from the phone. I was going to say that you can buy stick frame fixers nearby in lake for well under 100k, and while you won't find a lot of 2% deals 1.5% is doable. Anyhow, I'm sometimes surprised that more people aren't moving here.