All Forum Posts by: Joshua Feit

Hi @Jeff Gardner. Josh here. I'm in my first year of buy/hold investing, with seven doors in Atlanta. I don't have much experience, but I firmly believe in the crawl-walk-run paradigm. Start simply with a small, manageable deal. You will learn so much from buying a small SFR or duplex and renting it out, and with a smaller amount of up-front cash, you won't plunge too far if the deal goes south.

I believe I could have purchased 2-3 times as many properties in my first year as I did, but I am trying to build a slow, steady portfolio that grows at a healthy, sustainable pace. Perhaps someday, I will have the experience I need to make a major deal like the one you described, but for now, I am content with smaller steps.

I wish you all the best with your new ventures. Cheers!

@Jonathan Foskey -- Josh here. I am a newer investor in Atlanta, and I have been through your neck of the woods on several occasions. If you haven't started to listen through the BP podcast episodes, you need to get into them. The interviews are amazing, and it is so helpful to hear the common threads emerge. Best of all, you can learn as you drive, commute, etc.

I wish you all the best in your new venture. Cheers!

There was a story on the BP podcast about an investor who made an offer to their 16 year old son. The offer stated that if the son saved up for a down payment on a house, the parent would fund the rest of the purchase, and that house would be held and managed by the son (with the help of parents, of course). I love this idea, as it seems a great way to teach the benefits and risks of investing.

In the meantime, I believe that force-feeding much of anything to our kids will not yield much fruit. The best we can do is make ourselves available, and engage our kids' minds in our endeavors as much as possible.

Instead of trying to make your kids into RE investors like yourselves, teach them the concepts of pursuing passions, setting goals, and making deliberate choices to attain those goals. Your success as an investor should frame your kids' understanding of success in whatever fields they ultimately choose.

I wish you all the best with your ventures, and with inspiring your children to pursue their passions. Cheers!

@Michael Linquist -- Josh here, a newer investor in the Atlanta market with seven doors. (Also known as: I do not have a lot of experience, so take my advice lightly!)

I heard a great tip on the BP podcast that recommended going to your local Home Depot at 6:00 AM. The contractors that are there right when the shop opens are the ones you want working on your property. Ask for a few cards, and when you call, ask for a few references. I bet you will find someone great.

Let us know how the project turns out. We want to learn from you and cheer you on!

I wish you all the best with this new venture. Cheers!

@Lisa Bliss -- Hello there, fellow Atlanta investor! Josh here, a newer buy/hold investor with seven doors in our market.

I have one private loan (fixed rate, five year term), and I pay 7% on it. It would be great to get a short-term loan with only 7% interest, but I am not sure it will be interesting enough to potential investors. I like the idea of interest-only on the short-term loan, as mentioned by @Jesse O.. Or you could consider paying points up front to sweeten the deal.

I wish you all the best with this new venture. Let us know what sort of loan you negotiate, and tell us how the flip turns out. Cheers!

Inspiring work! The successes of long-time investors can feel miles away to us beginners. It is great to hear stories like this about real people giving marketing a 'go' and learning their way toward their first deals. I consider this an important first step, and I hope you feel encouraged to keep pressing on.

I wish you all the best in your new venture. Cheers!

Hi there! Josh here from Atlanta, I am by no means an expert, but in my limited experience, here is what I have learned:

Hopeful FSBO sellers are the same as 'off-market' properties. There are many owners out there who would like to sell their properties, but they feel they can not for any number of reasons. Perhaps the properties are vacant, distressed, owned by family members of the deceased, or any manner of other situations. Through active marketing (door-knocking, advertising, yellow letter campaigns, etc.), reaching out to these owners can yield leads that in turn can lead to property purchases as a significant discount from market value.

The process of finding discounted properties, especially for the newer investor (like me) can be daunting. That said, with a concerted effort, you will be able to locate some great deals with solid numbers.

Wishing you all the best on your real estate ventures. Cheers!

Hi DJ! Josh here, a newer buy/hold investor from Atlanta. I have exactly one experience with private financing, and I just set it up a month ago. All this to say, you should weigh my advice carefully.

Perchance, are the current owners related to you? Your folks? Just a guess... If the rents are really about 1% of the purchase price, then it may be difficult to take a private loan on the full amount and still generate monthly cash.

At any rate, I'd recommend the following approach:

1) Find the addresses and learn as much as you can about the properties (actual value, comps, rental amounts, etc.)

2) Put together the numbers on the properties, and work backwards to figure out a package purchase price that makes the deal work for you.

3) Armed with this information, approach the owners to see if they would be interested in selling. Figure that anyone close to retirement is probably making conservative percentages on their investment accounts -- perhaps 4-5%. If you can make the numbers work, propose a fixed-rate note with a rate of about 6-7%. You want the percentage to be appealing compared to the current portfolio of investments, yet low enough that the numbers will still work for you.

4) If they are interested, I highly recommend using any of a number of companies that will set up and manage the loan for you. For a minimal management fee, these companies will bill you for the payments, just like any company would, handle the accounting, and auto-deposit the funds into the seller's accounts. This extra layer between the seller and buyer helps everyone to feel that the loan is legitimate and easy to manage.

I wish you all the best with your ventures. Cheers!

@Ian Sanderson -- Josh here from Atlanta. I am just about to wrap up my first year of buy/hold investing, and I have seven doors in this market.

I imagine there are some genius-grade new investors who can get everything running right out of the gate, and for whom out-of-state investing would be easy. I do not fit into this category.

I learn through experience, and I have invested in my properties after extensively driving and walking the neighborhoods in which they are located. I can get to any of the addresses in a half-hour, and that lets me do quick drive-bys when I am nearby.

As a new investor, I gain so much from purchasing properties in a market I understand well. For me, that means buying in Atlanta, until I move or get a whole lot smarter.

I bet there is a deal to be had within an hour drive of your current location. Though it will take diligence, go for the local deal if you possibly can.

I wish you all the best with your new venture. Cheers!

Josh here from Atlanta -- I'm a newer investor, and I am so glad to be learning from everyone on BP.

The feeling I have is that there are different types of 'wins', and a good sales price is just one of those wins. I imagine some sellers want / need to get out of a property so badly, that even if they accept a low offer, they will still walk away feeling relieved about the transaction. And that seems like win.

In my limited experience, I want everyone involved to walk away from the table feeling glad about the deal. I want everyone with whom I do business to feel as though they were treated fairly, and with respect. Though I need to make a living, I never want to make a killing, and I believe that too translates into a win for the other parties.

Good question. Thanks for getting the discussion rolling.