It can be nerve-racking making offers when you are new to real estate, but let me tell you: If I go more than a few weeks without going on an appointment or making an offer on a house, I still feel nervous to this day. It comes with the territory. Buying houses at a discount […] View the full article: … Read More

Silence: It’s a boring topic to talk about, yet it can be one of the most important tools you can use to get ahead. In the US we pride ourselves on how busy we are; we even brag about it. Sometimes I think we have a voice built into our heads telling us we need […] View the full article: … Read More

(This post is an excerpt of the upcoming Book on Building Wealth Through Rental Property Investing, set for publication by BiggerPockets Publishing on November 5th. Stay tuned for the launch!) Let’s talk about my “Hell House.” I bought it for an incredibly cheap price of just $40,000. What a steal, right? Then I put about $40,000 […] View the full article: … Read More

Not all real estate agents are investor real estate agents. Just the other day, I was trying to explain this concept to a young man in my office who’s looking to buy his first property. First, I told him that it makes sense to sit down with a mortgage broker to get pre-approved for a […] View the full article: … Read More

I like to think of Type A personalities as a piece of rope. Pushing them won’t get you anywhere, and fighting with them will only create a tangled mess. If you want to get rope somewhere, you’ll have to pull it. Many of the people you’ll come into contact with in investing have Type A […] View the full article: … Read More

When I first got started with flipping houses, I got my first deal off my first postcard campaign. I thought I was a genius! Then my mentor reminded that me I probably got a bit lucky and that it takes most people six to nine months to get their first deal. And sure enough, that second […] View the full article: … Read More

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know my distaste for “rules.” As I mentioned in one of the earlier articles, I think that rules in real estate investing exist in order to simplify the thought process for new investors, of which there are lots today. As in: Just do this in your head […] View the full article: … Read More

When you make an offer, you want to put your best foot forward. If you and your offer are taken seriously, there is a better chance you’ll have your contract accepted. Your offer package should achieve two goals: (1) communicate the terms of your offer (of course), but also (2) build your credibility. If your […] View the full article: … Read More

I keep telling you guys: Underwrite your numbers! Look at the trailing financials, sure. Understand broker’s pro forma, sure. But underwrite your numbers… Understand this: It doesn’t matter how much income the previous owner brought in or how much the broker thinks you should be able to bring in. What matters is how much income YOU […] View the full article: … Read More

We multifamily syndicators have it tough: We’re asked to make stuff happen without having all the resources ourselves (simple things, like money or experience!). So when a broker tells us, “The seller will entertain your offer but only with proof of funds,” we’re stumped because we don’t HAVE the funds because we’re going to raise it […] View the full article: … Read More