All Forum Posts by: Van Blackman

Hi @Karim Z.!

Congrats on joining BP! 

The list of cities with great rental options is ENDLESS. If you're looking to build an empire, I would suggest that you keep it simple for yourself. 

If you've already got a place in Atlanta, why not acquire more properties there? Then you can hire ONE management company to take care of all of the homes for you, which will be easy because they're all relatively close to one another. 

Being a real estate investor is about numbers, of course, but you have to make the numbers work FOR YOU. The last thing you want is to have to juggle 50 properties over 20 states. Real estate laws and codes will vary from state to state which could get confusing too. 

You might be better off picking 1-3 markets and CRUSHING those!

If you are looking for something elsewhere, though, try Texas. Great opportunities in multiple cities (Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, etc.)

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you need anything!

Best,

Van

Good morning, Chicago investors! 

My company, NetWorth Realty, bought and sold over 1,700 distressed single-family homes nationwide last year in 13 markets across the USA to investors just like yourself, and we JUST opened our latest location in Chicago!

NetWorth Realty buys homes in as-is condition, and turns them over to you (the investor). Then, you get inside, do the repairs, and re-list the property for either for rent or sale, whatever you prefer! We are there to help you along the entire way, from locating a profitable deal, to setting you up with financing, all the way to helping you rehab AND then sell or lease the home! We're a one-stop shop for all your investor-needs, with a 10+ year proven track record.

If you're interested in viewing our private, off-market inventory throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, please be sure to give me a call at the number below. We DO NOT charge any membership fees. Access to our deals is FREE. No funny business!

Hope to hear from you soon!

Best,

Van Blackman

713.301.7630

http://www.networthrealtyusa.com/

Congrats on joining @Daniel Larson!

Hope to be seeing you soon!

Best,

Van

Hi @Kevin Chen!

Welcome to BP!

Here are a few answers for you:

1. There ARE deals on the MLS, but you have to be willing to be glued to it so that as soon as the deal hits, you're ready to act. Or, better yet, you'll need to look at deals on the MLS with this mindset: "I'm going to offer on 20 properties on the MLS per week, knowing that I may only buy ONE property anywhere from 2-4 months after my initial offer." There are deals out there, I've seen them. But the likelihood that you're going to buy one the first week that it's listed, without competition, is slim to none. Competition is high. You'll need to learn to offer on a deal, and TRACK your offer for weeks (and sometimes months) in order to get it where you need it.

2. I think looking for SFR's is not a bad idea for passive income. It's tougher to scale than MFR, but they're more plentiful deals, AND you can still get a great return on your investment.

3. I don't have a whole lot of experience with the tax sales. Perhaps another BP member might be able to shed light on that. However, I do know people that purchase tax sales, so I know that it can be lucrative IF you know what you're doing.

4. Why wait for the market to "cool off"? The time to act is NOW. The truth is, it will never be the "perfect" time to invest. People make money in up-markets and down-markets. It could be 10 years before the market cools down enough for you. The secret is to know which investments are good in an up-market, and which ones are good in a down-market. Your strategy will change depending on where the market is in the cycle. Even though the time to act is now, you still will need patience. I'm not saying to buy the first thing you see. But, you need to start offering on deals (a lot of deals) now, and then track them so that you can buy them at the number it makes sense at later. Make sense?

5. 1% rule is not unrealistic in Chicago. Depending on the area, you can get much higher than 1%. It's just that, most of those markets that do better than 1% are in the south side of Chicago. I'm positive that there are good returns in many other areas, but I've seen some ridiculous numbers down there. But you HAVE to do your research. The deals are out there, the HARDEST thing that you're going to learn in RE investing is that finding them is the TOUGHEST part of the job.

Hope some of these answers help! Feel free to contact me if you need anything else! Would be happy to help you out.

Best,

Van

Hi @Emanuel Smith!

You absolutely do not need a license to wholesale properties, anywhere I believe.*

*Although I'm pretty positive that is true, I've been wrong before.

It's useful to have a license when you're wholesaling, however. It grants you access to the local MLS and comps, which in turn, gets you access to all the other RE brokers in your given market. It's very useful to build relationships with these people to get good off-market deals, FYI.

When you're wholesaling without a license, you really just need to know what you're doing. You need access to contracts and assignment pages. You'll need to build a book of business full of buyers. You'll need marketing materials and a paid marketing campaign. But most of all you'll need hustle and grit. And time! Lots of time. Stick with it!

No RE license required, although I would definitely recommend one!

They're not expensive or terribly hard to obtain...

Hope that helps!

Thanks,

Van

@Megan Roche,

First off, congrats on making the decision to start investing! That's very exciting!

The answer I'm going to give may not be (exactly) what you're hoping for, but it will be the truth!

Ready for it??

Here it is:

JUST DO IT. Go for it! Do your best to locate that right first-opportunity for yourself, and once you're comfortable, dive right into it! There's no textbook that can possibly outline all the potential snags you're going to encounter. The best teacher in RE investing is your past failures. That's the truth!

Other than the obvious troubles most newbie investors have (finding a house, finding a reliable contractor that you can trust, especially one that won't take advantage of you, understanding to price the home right on re-sell, etc.), you're going to learn everything you need to learn, or at least 90% of it on your first 10 deals. You're going to win some, you're going to lose some, but you're going to LEARN A LOT.

You definitely don't need to drop $30,000 on a weekend seminar to learn how to do this. Simply, find the right opportunity (start small) and build up from there.

Good luck!

Feel free to contact me if you have other questions! I'd be happy to help you out. I'm in Chicago too by the way.

Thanks,

Van

Hi @Dhru Das!

One in Chatham, 2 in Auburn Gresham, and another one in West Roseland.

Message me, or call for more information! Would happy to get you all the details!

Thanks,

Van

BP,

My company just opened its 14th location nationwide in Oakbrook Terrace, IL. We're here to service RE investors in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. 

In 2016, we purchased and sold over 1,700 distressed single family homes nationwide to investors just like yourself. We buy these properties in as-is condition, turn them over to you (the investor), and you get inside, do the repairs, and then put the property back on the market either for rent or sale, whatever your strategy may be. 

If you're looking to buy, fix and sell, or buy, fix and rent distressed SFR properties in the Chicago area, I'd be more than happy to show you how me and my company can help! We do not charge any membership fees, and access to our inventory is completely free!

We already have 4 properties under contract that I'd be happy to share with you! 

Call me or message me if you have any questions. My company's website is below if you'd like more info on us.

Best,

Van

713.301.7630

[email protected]

http://www.networthrealtyusa.com/

Comps show a re-sale value of $150k or more!

Great price in an established neighborhood!

Needs a full rehab!

Call me or message me for questions/interest and access info:

713.301.7630

Comps can prove a re-sale value of $150,000 or higher!

Property needs a full rehab.

Call me with questions, interest, and/or access information.

Thanks!

713.301.7630