All Forum Posts by: Crystal Smith

I was underwriting a seller financed 32 unit deal in South Carolina. I was getting ready submit an LOI. I would put 10% down, due at closing. We never discussed any earnest money up to this point. The broker calls me said 1% of the sales price was going to be be due. That was about 30K. I told him any money I put down will be refundable for any issues like environmental matters, physical inspection, title, zoning, and if I can't raise funds. This were everything fell apart. I'm trying to take this as a learning lesson. Any thoughts on this or advice on how to make this work going forward? What does your negotiation look like when you are talking to brokers about refundable terms?  When do you agree to 1% nonrefundable terms?  

Hey guys, I am hoping to be a first time investor here within the next couple weeks I have found a property in my hometown That is a Home that was built in 1936 and it used to be a duplex but now it is a single-family home but I believe if I purchased it, I would reconvert it into a duplex but anyways it is a 2100 square-foot property That has three bedrooms and two bathrooms right by the college in my town The seller says the only issue is that the wiring needs to be brought up to code and she is only asking 125,000 which to me and everyone I know seems to be an insane deal It also has new HVAC and a new roof just needing to see the inside but just wondered what I should do first in this situation to figure out if it is worth it or not just really panicking. Hoping no one else jumps on it before I can. any tips would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, everyone my name is Nereyda. I am SO new at REI. This has always been a dream of mine but have always been too afraid to take the first leap. Mostly due to fear, the unknowing and not having the money or credit to do so. Long story short my ex-husband left me in a lot of debt that has been affecting me for some time. I am ready to take the bull by the horns and learn and apply everything I learn. Yes, I'm scared, but if I just sit back and not face this fear my dream of becoming a REI will NEVER happen. If you guys have tips, advise, or anything that can help this rookie right here, I will appreciate it dearly. PLEASE, anyone who can help direct me in the right path I will for every be thankful for this. Someone did tell me about programs out there that can help, but I don't have +20K to join these programs. So, any tip and advise you take it and run with it. I am ready and motivated!

So the question is what’s your thoughts on networking and is it over rated.

From my own experience, going to meet ups and talking big game with newbies was l not all that beneficial.  Going to meet ups and being exposed to a pitch fest was not all that beneficial either. Being somebody’s lap dog probably would not be beneficial for me…I never gave that a shot. Lol

What I have found for myself to be beneficial was marketing and getting in front of sellers and pretty well closing my ears and eyes from those that were talking big game so I did not get discouraged.. I’ve never had anyone take me under their wing, but that’s possibly because my personality does not seek out that kind of arrangement.

I am not a realtor or a lender so I do not have any perspective personally for that when it comes to networking.

What’s your thoughts on networking?

PS my Title was supposed to be (is networking overrated,), but I cannot edit it. Maybe a moderator can.

Good afternoon everyone, I’m diving into wholesaling and I'm looking to connect with experienced wholesalers, investors who are open to sharing knowledge, mentorship and ultimately connect with serious cash buyers.

I’m located out of Chicago, Illinois and focused on locking up off-market properties in the Chicagoland area and surrounding suburbs. If you’re open to connecting or mentoring, feel free to leave a comment or message. Any and all information is appreciated. Thank You in advance to anyone who’s willing to help.

Eduardo Cambil

Hey everyone,

I'm wondering if something like this already exists in the U.S. — or if this might be a gap worth building for.

Imagine this:
🔹 You drop a property address (from Zillow, Redfin, MLS, etc.)
🔹 In seconds, you get:

• A full property report (condition, comps, rent estimates, taxes, etc.)
• A built-in ROI calculator (cash flow, DSCR, cap rate, rehab budget, etc.)
• Auto-generated PDF summary for investors, agents, or clients
• Works for buy & hold, flips, BRRRR, or wholesale deals
• All done by AI, no need to go through 6+ different websites or tools

💬 Question:
➡️ Does anything like this already exist in the U.S. market for real estate investors, agents, or brokerages?
➡️ Or is this still a fragmented experience that everyone’s piecing together manually with Zillow, Rentometer, PropStream, spreadsheets, etc.?

I'd love to hear from anyone — agents, investors, SaaS founders — especially if you've felt this pain.

Thanks in advance 🙏

— Eduardo

Hello all my name is Ayden Bourne, I am 22 years old and sell insurance for a living. I have been growing my credit since I was 18 so I have established credit, I have an LLC, and a decent amount of knowledge on real estate. I am looking to make my first steps in getting into the industry. I am somewhat overwhelmed as to where to start so I am glad to be apart of a community full of people who had startup stories similar to mine and also very different in their own way. I am in the right place to grow my knowledge on the industry and learn how to apply this knowledge to start making money and gaining equity through real estate.

I am most interested in learning about wholesaling, BRRR method, and grants/DPA programs to buy properties whether I must live in it or not.

Hi all, 

I am looking to house hack a 3-4 unit building on the North Side of Chicago with an owners unit that will offer my family more space than we have now. One option that I am evaluating is buying a 3 flat with a basement and creating an owner's unit by duplexing unit 1 down to the basement. I am wondering if a homestyle loan could cover this. In my current residence we built an ADU in the basement through the cities ADU pilot program. It was extremely expensive because we needed to replace the electrical for the basement, dig down 8 inches, and replace the water service.

Since we would of course be pulling permits in the duplex down scenario, I am wondering if we would potentially need to do all of those major renovations again? It seems like this approach to duplexing down could create a lot of value and make the refinance worth the costly renovations, especially if I could use a renovation loan. Before pulling the trigger I would do market research on the ARV for similar product in that area. Has anyone done this that could share some insights or tips ? Appreciate you!!

Hey everybody,

I'm curious how y'all comp properties when you are looking for deals. The problem I'm having with Zillow is that certain states don't display information on the property's actual sale price so it's hard to comp things since I can't simply go of what properties are listed for. What's the easiest and best way to get this information? 

thanks for the help!

I am looking into buying a town home from D.R. horton in jacksonville fl. does anyone has any experience with them? they are offering all kinds of perks. they are paying my fee for early lease termination from my old apartment, they are offering a 3.990 inerest rate etc.