All Forum Posts by: Anthony Thompson

@Calvin Matthes You've certainly come to the right place! There's a small number of active RI investors here on BP and a much bigger number of folks who stop by occasionally, but collectively we've got a good set of experience to help with most questions.

The podcasts and other resources here on Bigger Pockets are fantastic, and another resource you might check out is a local real estate investor group such as the RI Real Estate Investors Group (RIREIG) which usually meets the 3rd Thursday of each month - check out their website rireig.com for upcoming meeting info.

I usually recommend that new people try to connect with other folks who are just starting out or maybe one step ahead, like people who just got their first rental property, meet up for coffee/tea/whatever and help each other out etc.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll have questions along the way so you can certainly ask them here. Welcome to BP!

@Jason Benda-Joubert I don't know that your current process has to change for Woonsocket, but you might just have to accept that it will take a little longer to find a tenant.

I would rather see you have to wait an extra 2-3 weeks to find a good tenant than lower your standards or change your process and end up with a "less desirable" tenant, as Brandon mentioned.

@James Hazelwood Welcome aboard! As you've found, there's a lot of great material here on BP with the articles, forums and podcasts.

I wouldn't necessarily assume or count on the market turning down in the next two years. It's certainly possible, especially if the government does something to muck things up, but as of today I would expect mild increases over the next couple of years.

Since you have an eye toward retirement I'd recommend that you get to know the area within about a 15-20 minute drive of your residence. In real estate we call it "farming" an area.

You'll want to identify the parts of that area you would want to invest in, and probably wouldn't, and you especially want to note any properties that might need some work (if you're up to it) and any that are for rent, as you might contact those owners directly to see if they're interested in selling.

And of course if you're using an agent, you can tell her/him what areas you like and s/he can set up some saved searches for you to alert you as soon as something comes on the market.

It's also worthwhile, since you mentioned mentoring/networking, to recommend you attend a local real estate group such as RIREIG which usually meets the 3rd Thursday of each month - check rireig.com to make sure.

They're also holding a "Landlording in Rhode Island" event for the first time in many years, on November 18th, and I know all of the presenters there and they know their stuff so I'd recommend it. There's a flier with more info on the website.

I hope this helps, and welcome to BP!

Yes @Jason Benda-Joubert I have a few units there.

The major consideration is, I hope you like Section 8 / similar assistance programs (such as RI Housing vouchers).

If you're OK with them and their requirements, Woonsocket is a great place to be. If not, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

Joshua, welcome to Bigger Pockets / Pro-ness. It's great that you have such an early history with rehabs - that'll certainly come in handy!

I'd recommend going to a local real estate networking group such as the RI Real Estate Investors Group (usually on the 3rd Thursday of each month in Warwick; see rireig.com for more info) or Black Diamond Real Estate Investors in Mass (they meet twice a month; see blackdiamondrealestateinvestors.com) as both are great places to do what you mentioned, network and connect with positive like minded real estate investors.

@Melanie Ruiz welcome to Bigger Pockets and your investing journey!

If you want to connect to others in the area I'd recommend going to one of the RI Real Estate Investor Group meetings, which are usually the 3rd Thursday of each month (see rireig.com).

And of course if you have specific questions you can post them here on BP as well :)

@Kevin we have a small but active community here in Rhode Island, welcome!

If you're able to, I recommend attending a RI Real Estate Investors Group meeting as it's a good mix of newer folks and active investors, and has a lot of good information without trying to sell any books/tapes/seminars. They usually meet the 3rd Thursday of each month in Warwick but see the website (rireig.com) for exact info including the speaker topic of each meeting.

And you're welcome to post here as you have questions too of course :)

@Vanessa Garcia your idea about chasing expired listings is a good one. It is possible to get deals that way, but I find very often the owners are still anchored mentally around their previous listing price.

That's why it's much easier to convert an expired listing into a new listing (for yourself) than to get them to come down so much it makes it a workable deal for an investor (usually they would have to come down at least 60-100K minimum for the #s to work for an investor instead of an owner-occupant).

Still, I think it's worth a shot, and you'll definitely learn a few things that way.

You should consider discussing it with your broker however, as s/he may have thoughts on what you're doing, especially the "cut of the deal" part. I'm not an attorney but I suspect that by connecting buyer and seller in that scenario and getting a "cut", you are acting as an agent and need to get paid and include your broker accordingly.

Another way you could get started is by going to a local real estate group meeting such as RIREIG in Rhode Island or Black Diamond REI in Massachusetts and meeting some early to mid stage investors.

The ones you're looking for are the ones who can actually close on a deal (with their own cash or financing they've already lined up), and especially ones who are getting started on their first or second buy-and-hold purchase so they don't need an amazing deal and don't mind getting it off of MLS (often this will be owner occupied but not always).

Another variant of this would be newer investors (again, who are actually ready and able to purchase) who need someone to "do comps" for them on prospective purchases.

Some newer investors haven't gotten around to becoming agents themselves, or decide not to, but they still need to do comps to determine ARV. You could work something out where you'll do so many comps for them, and in return, anything they fix up and put back on the market will get listed through you.

Just some ideas to consider, and hope this helps!

@Brett Read, I think there's basically two ways of looking at it, one is "how good of a deal is it on its own" and "how good of a deal is it for me personally".

Really, the first analysis is optional, but good if you think you might move out in a few years.

The second is really the one that counts for you personally at the end of the day.

If you're occupying one of three units, it's common to have low or negative cash flow - the "live for free while your tenants pay your mortgage" is a good goal to aspire to, but doesn't always work out when realities like vacancy, repairs, and capital improvements are figured in.

I guess I would do the "conventional financing" analysis with the 20% down like you mentioned, just to get a sense of the cap rate, free cash flow and debt service coverage ratio to see whether you like the #s in general.

But the most important analysis is the "real" one you're going to use to buy it, with the 3.5% down and you occupying the unit. You have to figure in a lot of soft factors too, like how much you like the area for personally living there, where you think the neighborhood is heading, etc.

As far as current vs. market rents, I always use current rents because I'm conservative. There may be a reason rents are currently lower than market, that I just haven't figured out yet, so I don't want to assume I can automatically raise them to market.

Hope this helps, and I think you can also touch base with @Catherine Freitas as she went through something similar recently and might have some good perspective.

@Richard Moreno I just sent you a PM with the eviction attorney I use.