All Forum Posts by: Salvatore Lentini

@Mel Sims - it takes experience.  You can either start with an easy one...A turn key rental or something that just requires a cosmetic rehab.  Or you could partner with someone else that has experience or even ask to shadow someone while they do a deal.  I would make sure you always bring something to the table though.  Offer the person you are shadowing to work for free on different task work involved.  Maybe you can call around/shop around for pricing on flooring, or get chimney sweep quotes, set up appointments, be at the property for deliveries or offer to wait there when the phone/cable/electric company gives a 4 hour window for some kind of service call.  Anything you can do to help out, that way it's a benefit for both you and the investor.

@Account Closed - There's never enough!  I'm just kidding...sort of.  In the beginning there's never enough.  But as you get more experience and your network grows the money will come easier.  Not easy but easier.  I am at the point right now where I go through phases of "Too Much Money and Not Enough Deals" and "Too Many Deals and Not Enough Money".  The 2 big things you should focus on are: 1) Having an Escape Plan for your money going into a deal (how is the money you are putting into the deal going to "escape" back to your wallet?)  and 2) Networking and growing your stable of private lenders.  They are out there... everywhere.  My private lenders are people that 7 years ago, never would've thought would end up funding my real estate portfolio.  My accountant, lawyer, realtor, friends, friends of friends, coworkers of friends, bank teller, relative of a cashier at Panera, several engineers, other real estate investors...and friends of most of my private lenders.  The list is growing on its own now.  People reach out to me, we get to know each other, they ask ME to lend.  Now that my deal sizes have grown I combine private money (as equity partners) with either hard money or traditional bank financing - depending on the deal and duration.

@Kevin Kohler - 100% agree on your post to @Sean MacLeod!  Sean - I'm glad you're find a new agent.  BTW - do you belong to a local real estate group?  That's where you can find a good investor friendly Realtor.  Message me and I can help you find one.

@Edmund V. - What are you looking for...Fix & Flip or Rental?  Single family?  What city/state?  Message me - this thread is getting pretty long and I don't want to miss your response.

@Benjamin Angel - Great!  What is your specific question.  Message me with it.  This thread is crazy long and I'm having a hard time keeping up with the timeline of responses.

@Jay Yoo - personal preference.  I would not suggest buying 2 or 3 at once though.  I would buy 1 and learn from it before buying #2.  I also would think twice about buying out of state for your first deal.  I have 19 rentals out of state but bought them after I had experience locally.  There have been ups and downs with my out of state ones, much more so than my in state ones.  If my out of state investments had been my first investments, I don't know if I would've bought more than 1 or 2.

Hi @Karlo Alamo - no, not on FHA. These are private commercial loans, not government backed loans. Message me with any specific questions. Happy to answer.

@Laura Harrison - that's understandable and also a very very common concern.  That's why it took me 9 years to take "the leap".  Once I did though, I realized it wasn't as big of a leap as I thought it would be.  That's one of the biggest things I teach in my online course.  The fear is usually 99% unjustified.  The more you learn, and especially after you get a property under contract, you realize things that make some of your prior concerns irrelevant.  You will get a home inspection which if it turns up major issues will allow you to walk away from the deal or negotiate a lower price or get a seller credit at closing.  You'll get an appraisal or BPO (if working with a hard money lender), which if it comes in too low will also allow you to walk away or renegotiate.  You'll have landlord insurance and I always recommend getting umbrella insurance which is very cheap and can cover you for millions of dollars.  If you're renting you'll have a lease which will give you as the landlord a lot of control and will be your secret weapon if you ever have to go to court.  There are many, many ways to mitigate your risk when buying a real estate investment.  Message me if you have any specific questions.

@Gina Avila - is it 8 rooms or 8 apartment units?  The numbers look good.  Message me and I can see if the investor friendly lenders I work with would be a good fit.

@Brent Bagen - There are no rules when it come to share of equity.  It all comes down to the deal and the partners involved.  Split of income is up to you and the partner as well.  Determining what is fair is just whatever everyone will agree to.  It's going to be different for everyone.  I will say that I think you need to adjust the way you are viewing who is bringing what to the table.  You're making it sound like the money a potential partner is bringing to the table is not worth much and that your hard work and finding the hard money lender is worth a lot more.  While it may seem easy for someone to just fork over a check and get equity in the property without doing work, the only reason they're able to do that is because you don't have the money.  If you don't have the money, you can't buy the property. Their money seems more important now doesn't it?  You can structure it any way you'd like but if you can't get any money partners on board it's probably because you're being too greedy.  You can also just borrow it and pay interest on it and not give equity.  It's up to you.