All Forum Posts by: Paul Thompson

Hey @Monique Sanders welcome to the community and REI in central Arkansas. There is a local REIA in Central Arkansas look us up on meetup.com and come join us at the next meeting.

What sort of investing are you looking to get into? This can help us direct you toward mortgage brokers that suit your needs or better yet not need to use a bank at all...

Paul

@Matthew Branton

welcome to the community and to real estate investing. REI can really open a lot of possibilities and offers serious opportunity in your life. I suggest honing in on "why" you want to do REI and what you want to get out of it before focusing on the mechanics of investing. And by that I mean hand write your goals, philosophy, and plan. I mean seriously hand write your plan. You can brain storm on a word processor or whiteboard or whatever to get your thoughts out. But then when you feel you have goals figured out write them down. Then challenge your reasons by asking yourself "why" seven times and write your answer down. Why do I want to be rich, why do I want to be financially free, why do I want quit my day job, why do you not like your job, why do I not want to go back to LA, why is real estate investing different, why is being in charge important to me, why etc.... This will help you determine your REAL reasons. I heard a local REI recently say something I really liked. He said "start with you and build your job/career/business around yourself instead of choosing a job/career/business and fitting your life around it"-- paraphrased

Now to the mechanics of REI. I suggest you focus on a place. Whether it be where you are now or where you are going to be or whereever there seems to be lots of potential. REI is tough (not impossible) from a distance, especially when you're new. So pick a place and focus on it. I don't suggest sprinkling your properties out all over creation because this business is so location dependent. Spend some time to learn the area you are going to invest in and then own it, dominate it, and control it before moving on to another area.

While in Arkansas feel free to shoot me a line. I have recently learned the above lessons and acting out my action plan and would be happy to brainstorm with you.

Cheers!

Paul

@Larry Cheshier

welcome to the bp community. It's a great place to learn and network. 

Do you focus exclusively on wholesaling? I'm originally from Texarkana. But now live in Little Rock. I'm keeping my eye on t-town and looking for opportunity there. I visit periodically to visit my parents and scout properties. Shoot me a line if you'd like to sync up.

@Neil Johnston Welcome to the community. Are you looking to buy and hold your rentals yourself or act as a property manager. There seems to be a gap of good property management companies in the area if you're looking to fill a void. Being an agent puts you right there is you're interested in doing so.

@Lawrence Holt

Welcome to the community. I'm so jealous that you are recognizing the value of real estate so early. Oh if I had realized... The compounding power of the added time along with the ability to leverage real estate can create significant wealth. Read up on those books @Brandon Turner recommended above and network. There is a Central Arkansas REIA. Come join us and learn.

Do you have a W2 job with benefits or going to school or working to make ends meet?

@Alex Clifton welcome to the community. There is a REIA in central arkansas on meetup.com. The next meeting is next Thursday. Come by, learn, and introduce yourself. There are all levels of investors there.

Thanks for the feedback. The "alarm bells" are in regards to the up sell concerns. It's no fun to pay for a sales pitch. I'm told this is not one of those type of seminars. This is a pretty reasonably priced ($597) seminar compared to many of the others. It's on par with any industry's typical annual conference fee.  I've read a lot about the presenters and having a hard time finding anything but positive comments. So I decided to book it. At the very least it will be a write off on my taxes for a trip to Vegas.

I'll update the community with my take on it after I attend.

@Murad Nurmukhamedov

Welcome to the community. I'm relatively new to biggerpockets and investing in Little Rock myself. What questions do you have and have you developed your strategy yet? Share on here and the community can help answer questions and help vet your plan. 

@terry maher

I think you might be confusing lease option vs. subject-to (sub2).

Since you asked about lease option answer that. A lease option can be used to acquire a property or to sell a property. 

Acquire side:

When you are looking to acquire a property you can use a lease option to lease the property from the seller with the option to buy it in the future for a set price. As the lessee buyer you could then live in the property, sub-lease the property to someone else (provided the lease agreement allowed this).

Sell side:

When you are looking to sell a property you can use a lease option to lease the property to a tenant/buyer as the lessor and offer an option for the tenant/buyer to buy the property at a set amount in the future.

It is import to note the lease and the option are different contracts. The lease is a traditional lease agreement you would typically sign to rent an apartment. The option is a separate document that gives the lessee the option to buy the property in the future. And I stress this is an option not a obligation. But as a lessee in the lease option scenario it is in your best interest to exercise that option (assuming nothing drastically changes in your life, economy, or property and the terms you signed were favorable). 

I hope that helps

If you are in the central Arkansas area for the summer there is a REIA and as luck would have it there is a meeting on Thursday July 2nd (that's tomorrow night)

check it out: http://www.meetup.com/Central-Arkansas-Real-Estate...

Welcome to BP!