All Forum Posts by: Stephen DeThample
Stephen DeThample has started 5 posts and replied 443 times.
Post: Tips on buying 1st rental property in Las Vegas
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
There are different neighborhoods, depending on your goals and price range
Post: Looking to Connect with Wholesalers
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
Go to meetups and if you have a deal offered to you, be prepared to give an answer quickly. If you’re looking for home run deals, you may have to put in the work yourself. No one gives their best deals to strangers and may flip them as well.
Good luck 🍀
Post: Blue Print to Wealth
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
A house hack would be a good start. Find out what you qualify for from a loan officer or credit union.
Post: Las Vegas House Hacking - New investor
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
Quote from @Jay Shah:
Hi everyone,
I am new to this community and real estate investing. I am based in Las Vegas and looking to purchase a home by the end of the year. This will be my first time buying a house and I would love to connect with some locals/Vegas investors and get some advice on the area.
I got pre-approved today and have an agent through an investment firm that specializes in rentals/investment properties. I am looking for a rental property for under $400k to start off. I am fine living in it for the first year or two and have a current roommate that will rent from me for as long as we live there, so I am not too worried about negative cash flow in the first year. My eventual goal is to keep buying rental properties in the area (1 a year to start and maybe 2 as I get more advanced). My concern is that all of my info is coming from the agency and I do not know how to find and evaluate properties/deals yet on my own. Can anyone recommend courses/ways for me to learn so that I can become a competent investor?
Thank you all in advance for your replies and advice!
Use the BiggerPockets calculators. I told all my investors to check the numbers to make sure they work themselves. I always want the buyers to understand what the numbers are. I’m more than happy to tell you what my numbers would be for it as well.
Post: I'm one of the "Find a Lender" lenders, here are my thoughts
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
Quote from @Scott Trench:
Quote from @Calvin Thomas:
Quote from @Scott Trench:
Quote from @Calvin Thomas:
Quote from @Bill Schrimpf:
Quote from @Calvin Thomas:
Quote from @Erik Browning:
Pro's:
It's great to have BP as a trustworthy partner to give clients a level of trust that they will be taken care of. BP cosigns our ability to operate and vets us both on the phone and online prior to featuring us. If we do a bad job, then it looks like BP also does a bad job. Neither party wants that.
I've helped out a handful of people that found me on the platform and heard a variety of unique and exciting stories from real investors that need some help with their situation. Whether it's a refinance on a balloon payment coming due or as simple as an active duty military person wanting to house hack their first home. Really rewarding when I can help them meet their goals.
The cost of the service is pricey, however it can pay itself off if you are helping folks consistently.
Most of the clients that come in are not qualified or don't actually want financing, however there are some folks that are indeed serious.
Con's:
Incorrect phone numbers and email addresses
Delusional keyboard warriors threatening to start being an investor. These folks are imagineers that have a real estate empire in their own heads.
Many folks that fill out the "Find a Lender" form just want to talk to someone for educational purposes and are not interested in actually purchasing a property. Instead of reading one of the many books and podcasts BP publishes on the foundational elements associated with REI, they would prefer that I take 1-2 hours out of my day on the phone to explain everything. I'm a complete stranger. Although I'm happy to talk about REI (it changed my own life), the purpose of the platform is to facilitate financing, not to be a full time educator. This happens so frequently that changed my lender page description's first line to read, "SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY."
Dopamine hits. In the age of same day delivery and on-demand streaming, filling out a form gives newer folks a hit of dopamine and makes them feel like they are doing something positive in their lives. How do I know this? Well, I've done it myself and so have you, if you're being honest. "Learn to code and create a coding portfolio to get a $100k job in just 18 weeks!" Regrettably, I've filled out that form many years ago and ultimately decided that's not what I want to do with my life just 30 seconds after filling it out. When folks fill out the find a lender form that have not put in the simple research into what it takes to buy a house or investment property, the euphoria quickly fades and they go back to work and forget they ever filled it out.
New client inquiries from the "Find a Lender" platform keep coming in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping and cannot reach out immediately. I've set up a Zapier zap to text my phone whenever I get a new client message because folks are very impulsive (see above about wanting education and dopamine hits). The impulse and question they have quickly subsides once they get off of the BP platform and they go back to their late night cocktail, TV show, or go to bed and forget they even filled out the form. Again, many folks are just looking to talk to someone about HOW TO START investing in real estate instead of having a basic foundation of what is feasible - and they want the money right now. Often times, folks have little to zero income, little to zero capital, and want me to sell them the dream of purchasing real estate with no money and no job. I'll leave the dream selling to David Greene and Tom Cruz.
Fake leads. I've sent support a number of bots or fake leads with false information.
Our job as lenders is to provide education for clients for THEIR SPECIFIC scenario, not to educate the population as a guru on why they should get into real estate investing. Folks will need to decide on their own if REI is right for them and have a basic understanding of how it works - it is very personal to them. I am not a guru or a podcast host, just a resource to help you carry out your plan
So basically high priced garbage. I'm not surprised. BP has become a marketplace for everything real estate. If it wasn't for the forums, this place would have died a long time ago.
Thank you for your honest review.
My experience with Featured Agent has been hit and miss, seem similar to the find a lender program. The lead quality had taken a turn for the worse in the last few months. I started with BP in 2005, upgaded to pro 2007, Featured Agent 2 years ago. BP used to be the "anti Carleton Sheets" platform, but the good ol days are gone! The forums are still good, but the rest of the content is basically a bunch of advertisement. I guess as a featured agent, I'm part of the problem! Ha!
They need the funds for the BS expos and getaways. BP was amazing when it first started. When it slowly started to become heavily commercialized and ads ads ads, it's gone down hill. If BP didn't have the forums, it would just beyond pointless to visit. I understand one needs to make $$$, but these skeptical at best "gurus" hacking their crap and their events, promotions, etc. In the end it's just damaging the brand. Once you lose the community, there's really no way in turning things around. Hopefully, it doesn't go that route.
Can you please let me know what getaway or expo BP has promoted, other than our annual conference in 2024? I will address it promptly.
And, can you please point to an instance of a guru hacking crap or events on BiggerPockets content in 2024? We take this seriously and this should not be happening on the platform, again, outside of us promoting BPCON, which we hope is a wonderful event for our members.
You also have those all inclusive conferences in the tropics I believe. I see ads all over the forums about these guru's BP is interviewing, and how they have to buy these books and seminars. A few weeks back, a young woman was asking about how to start out in real estate. One of your minions popped right in and quickly promoted, well, you need get this book to start off and pointed her to the BP store.
Listen, I know you have to make money as no business can be sustained without income. However, I will say, BP seems to be moving away from it's founding principles. Run your company the way you like, but when a company moves away from their founding principles and starts to alienate their core; they usually have some rough waters ahead.
Thanks, Calvin - I appreciate your advice. It’s hard to hear this perception shift, as to me it seems like we are just building on our foundations. We’ve had books, conferences, our paid membership, and networking between businesses and investors the duration of my tenure. But, clearly something in your view and certainly some other folks as well has changed. Perhaps it’s how we are doing things? Scale?
What would you recommend for 2025 to me? We plan to have our conference in Las Vegas, at a less than $800 price point. We plan to sell no courses, and have “Bootcamps” be included in the pro membership, at current price. We plan to build on our “Deal Finder”, introduce a mobile app, and build out solutions to help investors meet contractors, lawyers, wholesalers (avoiding wannabes who just bought some guru course), and maybe foray into commercial - allowing investors to connect with Commercial Brokers.
If you were me, what would you change?
And, please do let me know if you can recall where an expensive course was promoted, directly or indirectly, especially anything in the last year. I will get that out of our content.
Post: Based in Las Vegas
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
Welcome to BiggerPockets!
If you need anything in Vegas, let me know.
Post: Age old question: Cashflow vs Appreciation
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
Appreciation is the long term goal. If you can afford to ride it out, it’s always worth it. And you’re still getting principal pay down.
Post: First timer looking to learn and invest
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
Good luck 🍀
Post: STR in Las Vegas
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
It’s rough. You’ll get a lot of agents that tell you they can help you, but your chance of succeeding is low unfortunately. Vegas is great for rent-by-the-room style house hacks and MTRs.
Good luck 🍀
Post: ADU Conversion -- Las Vegas
- Real Estate Agent
- Las Vegas, NV
- Posts 458
- Votes 304
Quote from @Bradley Buxton:
Check with the building and planning department. They will give you the best information. Approach it with curiosity and you'll generally get better advice. You'll want to get permits because on the property exit you'll be able to count the square footage. Also keep in mind that adding sqft will likely increase your taxes and local regulations might limit the use of the ADU.
Excellent answer, I was going to bring up the property tax increase possibility.