All Forum Posts by: Peter Pham

I think every city/state is distinct in its procedures/laws. So to make sure you're complying with everything and to protect yourself thoroughly, I'd talk to a referred real estate attorney in your area that you've sussed out to give you specific and legal advice rather than the forums (which will still give good advice, though so far I don't see an expert replying, sorry everyone).

Hi Chris! To be transparent, I haven't yet gotten a private money loan, though I might be able to provide my perspective on this to help you if you're open to listening. 

Right now you're focused on the technicals more than building up relationships and a reputation of being an honorable and knowledgeable investor. People do business with people they trust. 

Currently, I'm dedicating all my time to educating myself on finances, stocks, and real estate. While doing so, I'm talking to friends, family, and meet up with members of my progress and topics I've been learning about. What this does is show them my dedication to the craft of investing, let them know I'm an investor, gets them thinking about investing themselves, and if they're thinking about investing because of you, they'll think of possibly investing with you.

So, while you learn the technicals, just enjoy connecting with people, educating them, swapping stories, and you'll build a network slowly where you can have a higher chance of getting a private money loan.

Personally, I would employ the strategies that Max T. suggested in paying either the highest interest loan first or the smallest payment, though I prefer the former to cut into the principal faster and reduce the overall interest you'll pay in the long run for all three properties by making extra payments.

As a side note, none of us are privileged of knowing the specifics about your situation. I'd possibly advise talking to a CPA or a relevant professional to crunch the numbers and advise you better than all of us on the forum who are sort of giving our personal recommendation. There's a lot of money on the line in the long run so I think this would be best.

Hi James! I think you're really smart in deciding to build a team, especially at the start! I'm working on this as well. I think more important than just deciding between a prepaid legal service or a one-time attorney is to ask on the BP forums directly from real estate agents and investors in your area for referrals to people/services who they've worked with in the past that have been amazing.

When I was talking to lenders and agents, I talked to at least three of them to see who I resonated with, who was generous with their time and expertise, and moved forward from there with them. So after you get those referrals, suss them out yourself because, like you said, you're building a team and it's likely you'll work with them again!

Like the best book in real estate most people on the BiggerPockets podcast recommend, which is "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", it's best to look for people rather than courses/books. I'd reach out to agents in the "Network" tab and simply have a conversation about your goals after you define them and ask them how to reach that. I'd also look for people in your city by typing your city in the search tab to find people from that area who are active and reach out to them. After these steps, ask to schedule a call and see if you resonate with any of them and see if they would like to do more of an on-going relationship. Do NOT ask for mentorship from the get-go, just take things step-by-step.

Congratulations on all your progress so far! I started looking into investing about a month ago and have been talking to local real estate agents through the BP community to gain insights and seeing who I vibe with to take the steps in finding, analyzing, and setting offers on deals. This is something you can do to find good deals since you'll be on the same page with the agent since they know about investing and have either done it themselves or helped others do it in the past.

I'm happy you already got pre-approved for a loan. This was intimidating for me! It looks like you and your spouse are on-board with this strategy (house hacking being like THE BEST to start) and that's awesome! I look forward to hearing more about how you do in the forums since I just joined and will hopefully continue to be active.

Hi Diego! I would honestly look to connect and start one-on-one conversations with people in your area by doing the two following things: 1) search for real estate agents in your area using BiggerPockets and 2) search through the forum for your city and check out people that have been posting in the forums about relevant topics. Now, you connect with those people with a message saying your goal and wanting to chat with your number briefly. 

The BiggerPockets community is so nice and responsive so you'll get a high response rate! Start talking to agents, people already investing, and lenders to get estimates on what you can do. Remember, it's not how, it's who!!!

I enjoyed the outtakes at the end, haha. Seeing Brandon in the early days is a blast before he grew out his beard. Thanks for the video and the awesome advice!

I live in Colorado too and am starting to invest. Like Rene said you can go with a 3.5% FHA loan or a 5% conventional loan if you live in the property initially for a year at least. I would just keep taking steps forward. Start talking to lenders to see what mortgage you can get to see what price range you can work in and do bids on might be the next step for you!

Sitting on the MLS for that long might indicate that it might be overpriced or something else is wrong with the property that isn't easily apparent. But with the numbers adding up in your calculations to a good deal, I'd move forward and possibly do a drive-by to check out the property and neighborhood along with a personal inspection before making an offer. You can do this or someone you know can do this.