All Forum Posts by: Tim Macy

Definitely check out the meet ups!  @Chad Clanton has one specifically for beers and real estate.  Lots of good places to network on meetup.com

@Stephanie Bureau I was in a very similar position when I decided I wanted to get into real estate (no money).  The idea of having a bunch of rental properties is great, and if all you had to do was plan it out, everyone would do it.  The fact is you have to go out there and make a lot of money and then pour it back into properties to build your portfolio.  In your position, a rental portfolio is step 5 or 6.  Step one is getting out there and finding a deal, step two is closing a deal and seeing how this game ACTUALLY WORKS (you can go to work-shops and listen to podcasts, but you don't really get to know much until you're involved in real deals), step 3 is to have the knowledge and experience to be doing deals on your own, step four is building the capital and steady income stream, step 5 or 6 is actually buying rental properties (these steps are totally made up on the fly, but they make a little sense).  

If I were you, I would not focus on picking up a rental property this year, I would focus on figuring out how to double your income this year and do it again the next.  After you do that, you'll be in a much better position to buy real estate.  Financial freedom and passive income are terms that get thrown around a lot, but the fact is, you can't just get them for nothing.  If you want a big golden goose that gives you lots of eggs, the most important thing is making a lot of money to get a bigger goose.

This all looks very good.  It's important to have long term plans in place, but I'm big on Gary Keller's The One Thing, and it sounds like the first thing you need to do is get into your first rental property and rehab!

I would second @Martin Scherer . 

We work with a lot of investors in our brokerage, but the successful investors we work with know what they are looking for and we help facilitate their transactions.  Any good investment agent is likely too busy to hand hold you through the entire process.
There are really three main ways of finding deals, off-market through wholesalers, off-market through your own marketing, and working deals on MLS.

I can't speak to what "real-estate investor agents" at other brokerages do, but I can give you a little insight as to how we work.

Screening off-market wholesale deals: Wholesalers send you deals and present every deal like it is a sure winner. We can give you a second opinion on ARV and rehab costs so you can run the most accurate numbers possible.

Motivated Sellers:  Many people get a motivated seller and don't know where to start.  We'll help you out making sure you're off-market deal makes sense and make sure you buy it right.

MLS Houses: If there is a house on MLS that interests you, we'll show it and submit an offer. We negotiate MLS deals often, so I'd like to think we are a little better on the negotiating side than most agents. People talk bad about the MLS, but there are deals to be had. You just need to have someone that knows how to talk to listing agents and recognize opportunities.

Again, I'm not sure what other agents advertise for services, but these are things we do and what I would look for in an agent.

San Antonio is worth taking a look at.  We have a lot of things other boom cities have had pre-boom, and we're riding the wave from Austin.  

Most investors I work with are hitting 15-20% ROI in San Antonio. Everyone has different numbers though, and different financing strategies make for different ROIs. If you're just going cash in for purchase and sale, you should be able to get similar numbers. Finding the deals and getting the work done for cheap enough to hit those ROIs is the challenge.

We're buying in San Antonio.

@Rick Pozos I will make it in May!  No excuses.

Welcome @Lisa Lu!  We have a group of agents in our brokerage that are investor focused.

I'm sure you'll find BP to be very resourceful!  I would also encourage you to attend some of the networking meetings if you have time, they are a great way to learn about the market.

I will say one thing in defense of the ones you're talking about; it's not completely their fault.  They read books, go to workshops, even listen to the BP podcast and hear how ANYONE can do it.  The fact is, this game really isn't for everyone.  When you spend your last $2500 in the bank on marketing and get 3 phone calls from old people angry that you're sending them mail, your perspective on the previous material tends to shift.  I think there is a large percentage of the population that is meant to punch a clock and bring home a salary.  The amount of time and effort you have to put it before you see anything that even smells like a paycheck isn't worth it for a lot of personalities.