All Forum Posts by: Terrell Garren

Quote from @Patti Robertson:

I wouldn't say anything I have ever learned in real estate has become obsolete. People are literally still learning from Carl Sheets material. Market's shift from buyer to sellers markets, but the strategies pretty much remain the same. From my vantage point of being an active investor since 2007 (wholesaler, flipper, landlord), the strategies employed by virtual wholesalers are often times illegal. It is only legal to market a property that you 1) own 2) have equitable interest in by having a ratified purchase contract or 3) have been hired as a licensed agent to sell on behalf of the owner. Passing your contract to another investor who markets it to their buyers list, which is essentially what virtual wholesalers most often do, is illegal in every state. There is no such thing as being allowed to market someone else's contract by way of a "joint venture" agreement as most wholesalers claim, because the actual owner of the house is not party to the joint venture agreement. Just because people are doing it does not make it legal. Don't buy this 22 year old kid's course. In a two second glance at his material I just read two illegal things he tells people to do. Join your local REIA instead and find out what people are doing in your actual market that is legal.

A voice of wisdom in a sea of misinformed advice. 

You lost me at paid a deposit.

I remodel or build one or two SFHs each year. Slow growth, financial management, project management, team building, relationship management, simple repeatable processes, and uncompromising tenant selection. Not cool sounding like deal machines and deal pipelines, but it works for me. 

My tax professional charges me around $300 for LLC (26 properties). Another $250 for our (me + wife) personal tax prep. I don't understand the double charge. IMO paying for a CPA to do this stuff is overkill. A tax professional is just as good, and you are not paying for the certification. Much like hiring a GC to re-roof a house.

I have one LLC. For $200 a year (NC) it is worth the separation of business and personal assets for me. An unknown is the number of times someone considered litigation but saw the LLC and thought better of it.

...becoming a certified home inspector with the state of Ohio. This certification would allow me to leverage my knowledge and skills to inspect properties, not only earning profits but also gaining crucial hands-on experience.

Wonderfully smart approach.  Funny how you cannot swing a dead cat in this forum without hitting 10 wannabe wholesalers while hardly anyone mentions this approach, learning a skilled trade, getting their GC, etc. 

@Caroline Gerardo You are one smart lady. 

Quote from @Davante Dempster:

What would you recommend if we did not section 8 the home?

IMO, with very limited information about your situation and objectives.  Three $135K rentals will generate a much better ROI than a $400K rental.  I would perhaps 1031 the $400K property for 3 rentals or live in the $400K property for a couple years and sell with no tax on the capital gain, then reinvest. 

I am always surprised how quickly some people say - Consult an attorney, GC, CPA, etc.  Certainly, there are situations that require expensive licensed professionals.   This is not one of them. 

@Kerry Baird provided good advice.  

All my rents are deposited into my LLC business checking account. I pay all expenses out of the LLC checking account and pay myself by transferring money from the LLC to my personal checking account. The LLC account is never used for non-business purposes.

Hard pass on turning over a $400K property to Section 8.  It's not about painting unfortunate people with a broad brush. It is about managing business risk.