All Forum Posts by: Crystal Smith

Hi all,

I’m new to real estate investing and looking to buy my first real estate property. Im looking to buy an out of state property. My goals are to diversify my portfolio, take advantage of the tax benefits of having a mortgage, and invest in a property with long-term appreciation potential.

Given my busy schedule, I’m hoping to take a more hands-off approach by working with a trusted local team. That said, I know how challenging it can be to build the right relationships and get started, especially when investing remotely.

I currently live in a high-tax, landlord-unfriendly city with sky-high property prices, so I’m definitely not looking to invest locally. I’d love to start small and smart, but I’m also feeling overwhelmed with how to choose the right market from afar.

Has anyone been in a similar position? How did you go about shortlisting and evaluating your market? Would appreciate any tips or lessons learned!

Hi everyone! Me and my wife have been wanting to get into investing for years but we've finally flipped the switch and are ready to take the plunge. We've been reading rental investment books and listening to the BiggerPocket podcast, as well as asking around for more info. But we're a bit stuck with so many questions on how to get started. We're currently renting and both working full time. We figured we'd start our portfolio with a house hacking gig, but more of a "live in renovation" before renting and following the BRRR strategy. However, the properties in my area (Broward County) are so expensive and finding a good deal with a reasonable CoCROI seems impossible right now. So if anyone has an advice on where to start, and/or how to start, we're all ears!

Hi BP community,

I submitted an offer on my second property yesterday, and I noticed that my agent didn't cc’d me on the email when sending the offer to the listing agent. I’m curious—is this considered standard practice? Could it be seen as unprofessional if the buyer is cc'd in email?

Personally, I appreciate being kept in the loop, but I want to make sure it doesn’t come off the wrong way or complicate communication between agents.

Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences!

Thanks in advance.

We had a refrigerator that needed repair. The freezer worked but the bottom was not cooling. Our handyman who we utilize in the past and was recommended by the building engineer was able to fix it, but 3 weeks later, we had the same issue. The handyman was going to bring his appliance person, but ultimately did not show up, as he was too busy.

We got another name from the association, and their diagnostic indicated that we needed a new control panel. This was 8 days after the tenant call. By the time the parts was received and the repair completed, it was 18 days. Chicago landlord/tenant rule indicates repairs need to be done by 14 days, however, the remedy seems to be the tenant can self help, or withhold rent. The tenant is seeking $500.00 for loss of food and eating out. They have cited the landlord/tenant rule of Chicago.

Does anyone have similar experience in Chicago, and if so, how have you handled? Thank you in advance!

Hi BP! My name is Jackie and I’m looking for some guidance as I begin my real estate journey. I’ve read a few books/ listened to some podcasts on real estate investing and am ready to start analyzing deals but am stuck on which market to narrow in on. I can feel myself getting into analysis paralysis (in terms of market selection) and the last thing I want is to quit before I really even try.

Appreciate if anyone has thoughts on markets that generally fit the criteria below and I’ll take it from there! I’ve also included a short list of cities that seemingly fit what I’m looking for but am open to thoughts here as well. Worth mentioning, I live in NY and am leaning towards investing out of state, for lower property taxes and more landlord friendly laws.

What I’m looking for

- Buy and hold property

- Long term tenants (ideally vacant at purchase)

- Single family home

- Class B to A (likely B for more cash flow opportunity) neighborhood

- Opportunity to add value so am more than open to rehab

- Cash flow as primary focus

- An area with comparatively low risk of natural disaster

- Of course somewhere with growing population and jobs and less than average crime. Added bonus if a large corporation/ industry is investing in the area and or a city with confirmed infrastructure improvement plans

Cities I’ve found that seem to fit the mentioned criteria but appreciate thoughts/ guidance/ direction:

- Cincinnati, oh

- Columbus,oh (but seems like too hot a market?)

- Dallas/ Fort Worth, tx

- Charlotte, nc

- Toledo, oh

- San Antonio, tx

- Minneapolis, mn

Hi friends,

I am looking for investor friendly realtors in Chicagoland area who can help me find good investment properties and give me guidance on anylizing deals. Are there any known tools that I can utilizes to anylize deals? 

Thanks in advance!

Hello team, I live in the DC area and work and tech. I wanted to know how to invest 20k as a first time real estate investor. Wanted to know the dos and don’ts of this industry as I know there is a wealth of knowledge here. I’ve seen that is it a risk with investing but having money just sitting in a bank doesn’t really help when trying to build wealth. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you!

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.