All Forum Posts by: Sherwin Gonzales

@Michael Ealy great post!

I literally just answered a similar question on another thread and my answer is Capital. There is no such thing as a No Money Down deal. You need capital to close deals regardless of what anyone says. It's how you get that capital for deals is where strategy comes to play whether you use leverage from banks, raise from friends and family, acquire seller's financing, etc. You need capital to scale bigger and grow your portfolio.

@Frank Patalano great topic!

For me it's Capital. Whether your raise capital, borrow from friends and family, or take out a bank loan, you need capital to close deals. Once closed, you need capital to operate the deal to pay the mortgage and expenses.

You need capital to scale bigger.

Appreciation is Speculation!

With that said, that might not necessarily mean a bad thing. There are ways to force appreciation on a property thus increasing it's value regardless of the market. This is especially true for commercial mf properties.

If the market is bad, then don't sell and keep for cash flow until it appreciates back up. A savvy investor makes their own deals happen and adapts as neccessary to changes in the market.

That's the beauty of real estate. There are so many different options and exit strategies to choose from!

@John Moorhouse I'm sure like many people have already suggested in this thread, my recommendation is to not drop out of high school especially since you only have two years left. I think it's great you want to get into real estate investing at such a young age! I wish I was in your mindset when I was at your age. It's always good to have a backup plan just in case rei doesn't work out. Though you seem to have the drive and passion and I think you're off to a great start. 

Just think when you go back to your high school reunion and can tell everyone there how successful you are and all the properties you own! 

@Jinglei Cui I actually invest commercial multi-family properties in California in the Stockton and Sacramento and have much success.  Though CA prices are higher than most OOS properties, the one thing CA has going for them is appreciation. However, you often hear appreciation is speculation, unless you are a savvy investor and know how to to force appreciation on a property to build your equity. 

As you mentioned, it is harder for a newbie investor to start in CA particularly in commercial mulit-family. While this is true, you can always partner up with friends or family or another investor who already has mf properties and leverage their experience while adding value any way you can. I invest in CA because I want control and more hands on experience on my mf properties, especially for the first couple of deals. I am looking to invest OOS, but not in any rush to do so.

Good luck to you!

Thanks @Eduardo Zepeda for sharing this event!

Pinging a few people who might be interested in attending....

Event page on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/SFREConnection/events/262065562/

@Vishal Kumar @Account Closed @Kou Moua @Gerald Donaire @Dj Larsen @Jeremiah Birnbaum @Jimmy Deringer @Daniel Pierson @Gary Carino @Andrew Ma  @Timz Valenzuela @Katrina Razavi

@Nathan Killebrew great topic!

Every good thing in life required you to quit something. Don't be afraid of quitting in order to get where you want to go. Be afraid of staying where you're at for the rest of your life.

- Ben Kinney

I think I heard this on Biggerpockets podcast 322 when Ben Kinney was the guest.

Very inspiring!

@Alex Jones great topic to discuss!

My answer...FAMILY.

When my son was born almost 2.5 years ago, all I want to do is spend as much time with him and my wife. But then I had to go back to my 9-5 job. I want to discover a way to make money passively to free up my time to live the lifestyle I want with my family, while creating generational wealth.

I think of life not in terms of time, but I think of life in terms of experiences. I usually visit family once a year back home in Hawaii. That means my son will see his grandparents and great grandparents 20 times in the next 20 years.

Every decision I make, I ask myself if that will buy me time. You can earn money that you lose, but once time is lost, it's gone forever.

That's why I got into REI and my partners and I decided to start a business in real estate.

@Adriana Diaz not sure if anyone already suggested this or not but have you considered offering any move in specials? Like first months rent is free or half off?

We consider this option on our multifamily units if units tend to sit on the market for longer than expected and usually are able to get a tenant right away.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

@Mel Hignell oh man...what a crazy story! 

I guess this is another version of House Hacking!