The art of real estate investing is truly one of creating multiple relationships.
This being said one normally needs to find a place to purchase property.
For my purpose I used www.loopnet.com for the month of December. There is a free option, which allows the user to search on properties that are listed from brokers across the country. There is also a monthly service, which one can purchase for a small fee. I went with the free service and then purchased the service in December. My goal was to purchase as close to a million dollar worth of property as possible as soon as possible prior to my 36th birthday. My reason for doing this is a different story, which I plan on writing about later under careers and jobs.
Now that being said I am currently under contract for 41 units estimated value 1.3 million dollars. My original goal hopefully will be a success sooner rather then later. Meaning purchasing property with mortgages takes time, money and ability to wait. I currently now own 17 units out the 41 units I am going to talk about my lessons learned and other experience.
Property 1 I purchased using a credit card. I kept getting these statements saying use the checks and your limit is $50,000. Lesson learned never believe what the limit is from what the statement says. Meaning I tried to purchase the building using the checks and learned that I was limited to $37,000. Lesson learned always have more money then what you need to make your purchase. In this case, I had several lines of credit and used another cash advance check to finish the purchase. Lesson learned is always have a relationship with the seller so if something moves out you can be honest and communicate what is happening. A relationship once built with a good rehab broker can make your fortune. A suggestion here is www.turnkey.com out of Rochester, New York for property with management in place, along with some very nice people to work with. Recommendation is search turnkey or loopnet find the property that matches a goal or objective either equity, cash flow or hobby and start communicating with the seller.
Property 2 I purchased using part owner financing along with using the sellers mortgage person. The key here network realationship is a muste. The mortgage broker was introduced to me by the seller. Prior to this, I was working with three brokers, whose timing and energy I just could not provide. Lesson learned here is find a good mortgage person to work with and stick with them. My recommendation Mortgage Broker 1ST Metropolitan Mortgage P: 877-893-0521. next lesson learned always expect a challenge after the purchase has occurred. With this property management service was expected from the seller. At this point I am considering using another management service do to the lack of communication. Lesson learned if your relationship is broken and you are paying money for a service and nothing is happening change the service.
Property 3 and 4 I purchased using equity from a prior property and 95% financing with 1st Metropolitan. The key here time. I start this process in December and am still trying to purchase the next two units from the same seller. Lesson learned always have more money to use then expected, always learn what appraisal costs prior to accepting something, if something changes negotiate. Negotiate is word that needs to be taught. And of course negotiate better opportunities for yourself when there is a change, and make sure to use an insurance person that is likable because the building require them to be paid yearly for the next x amount of years.
With that said, I will look forward to continue my lessons learned for properties 5 through 11 as I close the deals.