All Forum Posts by: Trenton Brown

Greetings BiggerPockets! I'm a young investor (19) passionate about building wealth through real estate. I've been absorbing everything I can about the BRRRR method and have selected a market where I see significant potential. My current challenge is financing. I'm seeking guidance on finding lenders who specialize in asset-based lending, given my limited credit history and the need to finance a distressed property. I'm really looking to connect with experienced investors who've navigated similar situations. Any advice on building relationships with lenders and strategies for overcoming these initial hurdles would be greatly appreciated. I'm excited to learn and grow within this community!

My recommendation is to find a partner - as at 19 and with limited credit it is going to be very difficult finding financing, and if you do you are gonna pay through the nose for it.

I suggest teaming up with someone who has some credit that can get some deals financed.

I agree with Chris.

Nicholas, this is something I'm planning to do within the next year and really excited about it. DM if you have any questions about it or just want to chat about possibilities as a new investor!

0 Votes

I went to college and got a BS in Business. Don't remember a thing.
Free conversation with my father and friends.... Won't forget them.

Sure. A degree has some benefits, one of them being "skin in the game." If you were to ask me if it was worth it though, IDK...

1 Vote

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Quote from @Michael Wyatt:

Connect with a realtor, say you want to purchase an investment property. Have them send you some. Run comps on them yourself. Call lenders and ask if this would be something they'd lend on. Post here and ask questions. The more reps you get the more you'll learn.

Starting with the area you're already in is a really good start as well. Understand the strengths in your market, what does well / has lower risk since you're just starting out? Would second Michael Wyatt, and say connecting with a realtor that understands investment properties is a great start and will allow you to put in some exercise so you can better understand your area, comps, and what makes a good deal.

0 Votes

Birmingham, Alabama

Jardin, with that price point you're aiming for and cash on hand, I would definitely recommend staying in your state and even the town you're in. I think spending some time and resources on learning the House-hack or Flip strategies would be a game changer. One of the best ways to enter into Real Estate with little cash is buying a duplex and living in one of the units! Plus you learn how to be landlord at the same time. I'm sure you could connect with students on campus who need a place to stay, lowering your chances for vacancy with the duplex you own. Just an idea!

0 Votes

Atlanta, Georgia

Thanks for your contribution, Scott. Insightful and much appreciated! Grateful for this platform and the community-building nature to it.

0 Votes

Quote from @Chris Magistrado:

I'm surprised at the responses here, and think there could possibly be confusion and an assumption that might be created in the responses.

To provide a based answer, my question to @Zoe Brennan is, are you working on the investment opportunity with your time as well? Are you open to spending 40hrs-80hrs a week doing things other investors might not do? Do you have skills that compliment wholesaling or flipping? Whether it be cold calling, knocking on doors, flipping, and possibly doing some rehab work yourself?

For those who have $0 - little funding, you have to do more of the work yourself, and even possibly work to earn some more to start funding more of your deals. What I understand, (and please everyone jump in to agree or provide constructive feedback), the multiple ways to make money and lower the cost of investments in real estate can be found in different parts of each process. It seems this starts with finding the property. Wholesaling, where you can put a property under contract and sell that contract for more money. If you flip the contract, you can make $5k-$20k (more or less) depending on how well you position yourself. You could do many of these and increase capital, and/OR do this to find a discounted property.

The next area you can earn more capital or decrease the amount to pay for a property, is rehabbing and possibly flipping. You can use your existing $25k + HML to cover your first flip, and make anywhere between $10k-$25k in the course of 3-6 months (given market, location, etc.) You can do a few of these to build up more capital and/OR do this to get a better deal on a property.

If you find your deal (wholesale), rehab something and use HML, then get a conventional loan on it, ideally BRRRR it, you could have a great start. The level of difficulty depends on your skillset, time, and ability to learn. The money will come with any of the skills you acquire for this.

My opinion, if she has a lot of time on her hands, already has skills like cold calling, sales/door knocking, etc. she could be in a great position. If not, if she has the time to learn, she could use that $25k and make some moves with it, all while increasing capital.

I'm open to having a discussion about this topic to those who say it's unrealistic. I acknowledge I am new to this board, to real estate investing in general, and there is always more to learn. It seems flippers that do HML start out with about this on their smaller deals, no?

Chris, this is the my favorite post on this thread so far. Couldn't agree more.

1 Vote

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I've been on this platform for about a year, and while I find it extremely useful, i feel as though some of the leaders in the forums are thinking too black and white and potentially shutting down excited new investors.

I just want to post this to ENCOURAGE those that are excited to get into real estate, invest in real estate, and take action in real estate in any way. I'm not saying one shouldn't seek advice and learn up before taking a giant leap for mankind, however the importance of ACTION, itself, I can't stress enough – especially in today's world of information overload. I'm a young agent and investor and in no way saying I've made it and have more experience / knowledge than many of those leaders on here. Young aspiring agents.... immerse yourself with like-minded people, learn from each other, and TAKE ACTION! If you know you want to invest in Real Estate, don't listen to those who advise you to invest in stocks. Don't listen to those who say you have to have _______ dollars to start. Don't listen to those who tell you not to do partnerships at all– they can be bad, but they can also be GREAT. If you have a chunk of $ saved up, you're ahead of most and you CAN invest that into RE – I've done it! Don't just DREAM BIG. DREAM BIG AND ACT BIG! 2025 is a great year to invest.

2 Votes

Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:

Quote from @Trenton Brown:

Quote from @Melanie P.:

I'm sorry to sound negative, but $25k is not a sufficient investment to get going in real estate.

You will likely hear from a lot of people pushing syndications since your post is chumming the water. These deals are very risky, frequently fail, require locking up your capital for many years with no ability to cash out or sell your position.

Do you own your primary residence? This is always the place to start. The 25k would do fine in a stock index that suits your risk tolerance. Many of them have been returning significant sums. But even if you hit a home run and grow 30%, that is $7500. You have to add to your investments all the time to make your investment portfolio grow.

Melanie, as much as I understand where you're at with this, I would have to disagree based on personal experience. Not all things are so black and white, plus a lot has to do with the market you're in / goals.

I bought a cash-flowing, turnkey duplex in my hometown (a market I knew and understood and saw the potential for + have family close by that can help me manage it since i'm OOS). I house-hacked this. My total OOP was under $10k. I would do it over again in under 2.56 seconds.

Zoe, I wouldn't underestimate what you could do with $25K... just find a GOOD DEAL in a good market. House-hacking is such a great way to enter IMO! I also think there's invaluable growth in just taking action. Good luck on your journey!

PS: partnerships are in my trajectory... might be a good option as well

Did I read that right, you house hacked an OOS property?

No sir. I house-hacked that property and moved after a year.

1 Vote

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Quote from @Melanie P.:

I'm sorry to sound negative, but $25k is not a sufficient investment to get going in real estate.

2 Votes

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Agree with pretty much everything said above. I'm no expert, but do know for a fact that you are much more likely to find "good deals" off MLS – through mailing, cold calling, off market groups/connections, etc. I also have some investor agents that send me off market deals via email on a weekly basis – which are also good to practice deal analysis.

Deal analysis is a huge factor and takes practice. Will be doing the same thing myself with land on the team I joined at Keller Williams.

1 Vote

Denver, Colorado

All Forum Posts by: Trenton Brown

Trenton Brown has started 7 posts and replied 36 times.

Post: Finding financing as a first time investor

Post: What is the Most Useful Graduate Degree for Real Estate Investors

Post: A good starting point?

Post: Beginner Looking for Guidance in This Space (Affordable Markets, Midwest & South)

Post: My Controversial Opinion – An Encouragement to New Investors

Post: Smartest Way to Invest 25K- Seeking Advice from Experienced Investors

Post: My Controversial Opinion – An Encouragement to New Investors

Post: Smartest Way to Invest 25K- Seeking Advice from Experienced Investors

Post: Smartest Way to Invest 25K- Seeking Advice from Experienced Investors

Post: Advice Needed: Identifying "Good Deals" in Real Estate Investing