All Forum Posts by: Tom Sylvester

In case you haven't seen this post, it may help you get started.

Attention Birddogs: This is a Must Read For You! (7 Steps To Get Started Now)

@Shawn M. - For me personally, there has to be respect between the tenant and the landlord. As the landlord, I am holding up my portion of the lease and providing them with a nice place to live. If one of my tenants went behind my back and brought in a cat (that did damage on top of it), they would be getting notice to correct the violation of the lease as that is clearly not having respect for me. They would fix the problem caused by the cat that was brought in behind my back and they would be paying a monthly pet fee (which I require of all my tenants) or would be getting evicted.

You can operate your business however you choose, but I have learned from tenants that if you give them an inch, they will take a mile.

@Kevin Drysdale - If you are just getting started, I would recommend staring out with a small duplex or 4-plex. This will give you a chance to get your feet wet and learn the business. If the deal is good, you will get cashflow from it and be able to pick up additional units. If not, you hopefully will learn a lot from the deal. I started with duplexes and now own 5 duplexes and 1 4-plex.

I was going to respond but realized @Chris Adams already covered my response, so +1 on his recommendation.

A niche is a small area of focus. There are many ways to invest in real estate. In some areas, buying and renting single family homes may work out well. In others, buy and renting multi-family homes may work well. In some, buying, renovating and selling may work.

Basically there are a lot of ways to invest. Read up on some of the different sections of this forum and you can see what others are doing.

If you are new to investing, I would recommend reading one of my recent blog posts - Getting Started in Real Estate with $100.

@Shawn M. - If they caused the damage, I would charge them for it. If they are continuing to live there, I would not do anything with the screens. If they moving out, I would take the cost to replace the screens out of their security deposit.

As for the cat, we charge an extra $50 security deposit per pet and an extra $50/month per pet. We also have it in our lease the pets have to be approved before being allowed in the unit. I would recommend doing something similiar to aid in these types of situations.

@Guleed Yusuf - To me, real estate is either an investment or it is not. When most people buy a house to live in, they do not look at it from an investment perspective. The gray area is buying a duplex that you will live in but eventually want to rent. While you are living in it, you will most likely save money as compared to renting an apartment on your own, since you have the rent coming in from the other half. But if you guys are planning to move in 2 years, you need to look at it as an investment and insure the numbers make sense. Also, as @Chris Rosenberg suggested, why not look in Seattle. That would probably be easier than trying to manage a duplex in SD.

@Robbie Case - Many gurus recommend finding the deal first and the money will follow. For me personally, this was a very difficult path on my first property. Since then, I have focused on making sure I have money available (first and/or during the search for property) so that when I find a deal, I can jump on it right away.

@Jay Steeves - This site is a fantastic place to find information regarding real estate investing. There are many knowledgeable investors on here that can act as free mentors. In terms of finding someone, I would avoid the gurus. Attend a local REIA (Real Estate Investors Association) and find someone who is doing what you want to do. Buy them coffee and pick there brain. Try to help them out in there business and maybe they will show you the ropes.

Good luck to both.

@Precious Thompson - I got started by purchasing a duplex and have since purchased several more before expanding out. You can follow the progression of my first deal in a recent blog post (Real Estate Investing - My First Deal).

I also wrote another blog, Getting Started in Real Estate for $100, that would be good for you to check out if you are just getting started.

Each market is unique, meaning that different opportunities exist. For example, buy and hold properties that cashflow are plentiful, so that is my main focus. There are opportunities to do some other investing, but you need to search a little more for the deals. I would think if you put some time/effort into your area you could find some properties that meet your need. If not, follow @Ellis San Jose recommendation of looking at what niche works well in your area.

Either way, I personally would not recommend that someone new to the business start with out of state investing. I have seen many more people fail with this approach than succeed.