All Forum Posts by: Tchaka Owen

This area is certainly enjoying the boom in the space industry! That said, for accuracy it should be pointed out that none of the firms listed are headquartered here. NASA is an easy one......that's in DC. 

Correct. 

Keep in mind that each area is different. In many parts of the US, it is typical to get 1st month and 1 month security. In S. Florida, what you mention above was the norm for a while. About 5 years ago, some agents (including myself) began moving to a 1st month + 2 months security.

@Cory Lucas - since you're comfortable with your progress, what's the purpose of paying $11k for a year of it? An alternative is to get more involved in your local REIA and take a heavy-hitter out to a very good lunch. Do that with a few hitters and you're out....$500? Yet you'll get good insight into their techniques. Perhaps there's a very successful local investor, reach out to him/her. If you took the top 3 players to lunch or dinner quarterly, you'd spend a lot less yet gain a lot of knowledge. Most successful investors are willing to share their methods. Good luck!

Hard for anyone here to give you advice because we do not know what he's providing to you nor do we know what you seek. What is it you feel you're missing that he can provide for that fee?
Have you spoken with any other mentees? 

To me, that's a LOT of money to pay. But if on the backside that knowledge is going to increase your monthly intake by $10k+, it's probably money well spent. As mentioned earlier, we don't know where you are in business and what he's going to do for you.

This is a common mindset and it's also the wrong one. We all want to save money and the first place people want to trim is the commission and in a sellers market, most neophytes will come out with the, "oh, anyone can sell this house" routine. 

NO. The question you should ask yourself is which agent will do the best job to net you the most. The agent who charged you 5% total and sold your home for $200k didn't perform as well as the one who charged you 6% and sold it for $203k. Chances are the agent who knows his/her worth will actually sell it for $205k, maybe more. For the record, I'm a licensed practicing agent as well as an investor and in the instances I've hired other agents, I've never paid less than 3% to one (that means 6% total). I don't negotiate commission, though I often ask for the purpose of hearing an agent's response.

@Ryan Kawash - no it isn't impossible to find homes to flip in those areas however you do want to stay out of Miami for at least 2 reasons:

1. that's one of the higher cost areas of FL and there are many investors there with deep pockets.

2. South Florida is the fraud capital of the US and what little money you have will soon be parted.

Find lower cost, less competitive and less unethical areas. Tampa is not bad, though you might want to look at Jacksonville, maybe Fort Myers. Perhaps some success in the Panhandle, but you did say Florida....

@Alfred Costanzo - that's typical South Florida, don't be surprised. An extreme case is Hialeah, which my real estate license instructor referred to as "one large code violation". Two things to keep in mind:

1. Some cities grandfather unpermitted work that was done years ago. If you find a home you really like, do your due-diligence on that.

2. Sometimes it's as simple as pulling a permit. One of my best flips was in Wilton Manors in late 2012. We ended up pulling 6 permits and one or two were for work done prior. We went to the city, spoke with someone and they said to pull permits and they'd inspect. As long as it was done properly, we'd be fine. Spent about $100 and got the approvals.

Point being, don't be afraid..........especially if you're going to invest in S. Florida.

Not necessarily; it depends on where the homes are located.

Back in 2014 I replaced one in my home in Hollywood, FL. All in was around $600. A few months later I had to replace the one in my home in the DC area; picked up the same model from Home Depot and it cost just under $1000 to put it in. Different area, different method of making it work. 

That said, OP needs to go see the homes stat!

@Sean October - keep in mind that from Fort Pierce to the border of Brevard is at least an hour drive. To the top end of Brevard, you can add another 45 mins. 

Think of it this way.....you get a few good properties under your belt and in a few years, you move back to the 'launch viewing area'. :-D

As for Port St. John, my recommendation is that you hold if you can particularly if rent > monthly expenses. Not only will renters pay down your mortgage, any positive cashflow goes towards paying off your debts. Even if it's a mere $100-200/mo, that helps. Chances are the cashflow + increase in equity (loan being paid down plus appreciation) per year is greater than the interest on your debts. Good luck!