Tag: fundamentals

I met Bo (online) in early 2018. When I first chatted with him he was another propeller hat.

What makes him different but more importantly what tangible steps did he take.

Bio:

Bo is a buy and hold real estate investor from Southern California and has picked up 6 rental properties in 6 months since closing on his first property. He invests in working class neighborhoods across the markets of Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Little Rock. During the day, Bo works as a senior consultant for a regional CPA firm and hopes to create passive income to become financially free and also educate others to do the same.

Story

1. Learned about REI at a young age (landlord from 10-18 yrs old) was a chinese lady who taught her son how to be a landlord
2. Started to rent out room in 3 bed primary room for cash flow
3. Parents had “renter’s mentality/scarcity mindset”

“I cant afford that right now” – Rich Dad “How can i afford that”

“This is good enough. I don’t really want that bigger house, better car or fancy vacation anyway.”

Let go of fear!!

Why I chose REI -passive income: “David Bach – automatic millionaire, latte factor, pay yourself first”

RD → Pay yourself first, but with a purpose, savers are losers (inflation, money not making a return, etc.)

1. Started consuming all podcasts, books, audiobooks, and attending real estate conferences and meetups
2. Met mentors (lane, who showed him how to invest out of state (instead of REITs, other passive stuff)
   1. Good mentors/Bad mentors
      1. People who try to sell you things
      2. Good mentors – are doing deals, negotiation tactics (saved 3K on first deal). Dont have to re-create wheel, introduce them to their circle of friends/investors. Looks at deals – responds 24-48 hrs
         1. Ongoing relationship – i sent them leads if i find any, send them vendor listing compiled, heloc listing,
      3. Bad mentors – arent doing the things they are “promoting”/exp from 10 years ago
3. Goal is to continue to BRRR in KC, Indy, Little Rock (atleast 10 in each location)
4. Build brand = blog, podcasting, networking like a madman
   1. Tips
   2. Bad things
5. “Motivation gets you started, but habits keep you going.” Finding my why – which is building income for my aging parents, and building a legacy for my family got me started. But I know that Ive started things in the past that have fizzled out – Like what?

Trying the latest workout, studying for licensure

To finish strong, I knew I needed to create lifelong habits that will help me take a step (no matter how small) in the direction where I want to go and the person that I want to be. To take a page out of Grant Cardone’s book – 10x rule. Uncle G says by increasing your target goals, and taking massive action (10x) your mindset will shift and so will your results.

1. Another key thing ive learned was create systems and processes that you can leverage in the future, whether it be

routine checkups w/ your PMs – What exactly?

1. Utilizing custom spreadsheet to keep track of all P&L items across 6 properties
2. “Gauge” expense % and if over time its trending towards higher than expected (i.e. 50%) then have a check in call w/ PM to understand why
3. Depending on area, (now learning KC basements are prone to flooding), consult them to see if we need to take preventive measures, drylocking, sump pumps, ventilation, etc.
   1. Actually took this from your spreadsheet (bi-annual checkin)

underwriting deals – What exactly?

1. Using a checklist to make sure it fits your criteria
   1. If it deviates, explain why (“deal is at 50cents a dollar, than the typical 70cents, diff strategy/airbnb, venturing into new area)
2. Run it by 2-3 locals
3. Stress test it – lower rents by 10-15%, increase maintenance and vac from usual 8%/8% to 10%/12%
   1. What could go wrong? If a rehab, add in 10-15% contingency
   2. How long can i sustain vacancy

whatever that helps you streamline your business and reduce unwanted risk. Luckily for me, my background as an accountant and consultant that specializes in compliance and internal controls helped me view this new business venture in terms of how I approach a new client – I look at the business environment, risks that the company faces, and find solutions to mitigate the risk if it cannot be completely eliminated.

1. Words of wisdom for scared newbies newbies that are out there looking for buy and hold properties, especially as an out of state investor? Another favorite quote of mine is one that says “its not what you dont know that gets you in trouble, but what you think you know that just aint so”. Im not sure if i interpreted it the way the speaker intended it, but I like to refer to this whenever people come to me and relay information that they heard from a friend, or read in an article somewhere that the next crash is here or that out of state investing is super risky. If i have done my due dilligence (talked to 5-10 different investors from indy and get multiple viewpoints, fly out to the market, underwrite dozens of properties) I am okay with taking calculated risks.

My piece of advice is if you want to get into real estate investing, treat it like a business, take the time to educate yourself, and take massive action – DONT get into analysis paralysis. Also – team up with the right people. No one became successful by themselves, real estate investing is a team sport you need the right acquisitions manager, the right lender, the right property manager, etc. Tips to find other passive investors? Bigger pockets, facebook groups (joined like 50), google: real estate investing blog/website and contact all of them, ask other influencers (lanes introduced me to a couple ppl)

1. What’s next?: my passion – helping other people. I see alot of my friends and family members struggle financially, and often give them a copy of rich dad poor dad to read and educate themselves about finances. I see real estate as a vehicle to really achieve that financial freedom to make choices in life that really motivate you, get you excited, as we weren’t created to go to school for 15 years, work a 9-5 for 40 years and then hope you have saved enough to retire at 65.

I ask alot of my friends what they would be doing if money was not an issue, and alot of the times I get blank stares, as they really haven’t thought about that question. I give them a couple of minutes then they start talking about their passion projects such as making music, DJing, being a travel blogger, building homes for the homeless. But we are stuck in a rat race that doesnt allow us to look around us and truly live life since we are busy looking forward with our blinders on trying to get ahead. For me personally, I truly feel joy when I am able to help others and see changes being made in their lives. I hope that I can leverage my experience working at a financial services company, as an accountant, and now real estate investor to help others who feel stuck and trapped, so they can create passive income and follow their passion project.

bo@biggercashflow.com

www.biggercashflow.com