All Forum Posts by: Chris F.

So I was thinking about investing a little time into some classes at the local college geared towards brokers and agents. Specifically I was interested in the property management and finacing classes as these could potententially lay a good foundation for investing.

I'm not intersted necessary in getting my license, but it would help put me in the agent's head, and perhaps level the playing field a bit. Plus, from what I've read on these forums, having a license isn't always a plus- but having the knowledge might be.

anyone else go this route? was it worthwhile? Pros?Cons? Good investment or waste of time?

I find this thread very interesting. As you can tell by my name, I'm in one of those overpriced areas I$400k condos w/rents +/- $1700 average- you do the math) that requires me into out of town properties, and therefore, weather I like it or not, for me, PM is the only way to make REI possible.

Not to say that I wouldn't take the opportunity to DIY for the experience if I could, but that's not the reality.

Mike I just wanted to point out that for you self management is feasible. Would it still be doable if you had 100+ properties? Somehow I doubt it.

Beyond a certain point it becomes unrealistic.

Originally posted by Douglas Christian:

Go to your locale REIA group and pose the question and I am sure someone there can and will lead you to your answer.

That's part of my plan, but from what I've heard, that's a crap shoot.. I could wind up getting advice from someone as clueless as I am. that's why I love the net. I can get my questions answered by people who actually have done this, not just anyone trying to be helpful, or with an agenda.

So then using this method you create the "instant equity" which you rollover into a new property, correct?

ok for rehabbbing/flipping hard money makes sense because you're just doing short term loans. I'm looking to to buy and hold, so hard money wouldn't really work with this strategy would it?

Unless you're suggesting using hard money to rehab/upgrade your rental then pull the equity out of the property?

it mentions cinncinati and some other places as well

no nibbles? I know it's a broad question, but I'm just trying to get advice from seasoned investors.

I'll add that I've read a lot of the subject- I'm familiar with a lot of the methods- owner finance,etc.. I'm just trying to get a feel for what the best strategy is. surely someone with a couple of properties can share?

or gross at this price:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/08/real_estate/thousand_dollar_homes/index.htm

Detroit for instance, Century 21 Villa owner Randy Eissa has a three-bedroom, one-bath bungalow of about 1,000 square feet listed at just $500. It's a charming little place with lots of light, but it needs a total rehabilitation inside, which Eissa estimates will cost between $15,000 and $20,000. But that's not bad, considering that the home last sold for $72,000 in late 2007, according to Zillow.com

Hello all,

I've been sandbagging a bit, but I thought I might jump in with a question for starting out. Bit about myself- I've been interested in real estate for a long while but I've been focusing on my "day job". I'm coming to a point in my life where I'm ready to take the leap, with eyes wide open.

That said, I'm looking to do long term buy and hold- this strategy appeals to me most, and I wondered how those of you with multiple properties (say 3+) were able to grow your investments past the intitial house? Clearly putting 20% down on property after property can be expensive and probably not realistic if you don't have a tidy sum, so what different types of methods have you used to grow? Was it just building equity and pulling it out to finance new deals, getting partners, "no/low money down" schemes? flipping/wholesaling in combo with buy and hold? all of the above?

I'm looking to get started with say, $20K, with the realization that this could be eaten up in one or two transactions, so moving beyond that, or maximizing my intial investment is something I'm keen on. I appreciate any sound advice.