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Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-249

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248: Rookie Reply: Do You NEED an LLC for Rental Property? Dec 31, 2022

Show notes

Do you need an LLC for rental property investing? Ask some investors, and they’ll hit back with a resounding “of course!” But ask another group of investors, and they’ll tell you “not at all!” This duality causes many rookie investors to become confused, not knowing when to protect their property with the limits that come with an LLC. So how are millionaire investors setting up their properties and partnerships? Or, more specifically, what are Ashley and Tony doing to protect themselves?

Welcome back to this week’s Rookie Reply! We’ve got some great questions queued up for our cabin and campground co-hosts, Ashley and Tony, to answer! First, we take a question about what to ask a seller during a final walkthrough, and how talking to tenants may be worth the extra time. Then, we hint at when to ask a listing agent for financials on a commercial property, the great LLC vs. umbrella insurance debate, and finally how to buy an investment property when you’re strapped for cash!

If you want Ashley and Tony to answer a real estate question, you can post in the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group! Or, call us at the Rookie Request Line (1-888-5-ROOKIE).

In This Episode We Cover

What to do during a final property walkthrough and top questions to ask a seller before you close

Estoppel agreements and using them to verify leases on tricky properties

Rental property LLCs and when buying umbrella insurance makes more sense

When to ask for financials on a commercial property and using them to vet a deal

Stock portfolio loans and how to borrow against your assets to buy real estate

Partnering up to purchase more property even when you have no cash

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets

Real Estate Rookie YouTube channel

Real Estate Rookie Podcast

Connect with Ashley And Tony:

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-248

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247: From $40K in Debt to 4 Properties and How to Snag a Low Mortgage Rate in 2023 w/Lindsey Iskierka Dec 28, 2022

Show notes

Low mortgage rates, sneaky homebuying strategies, and getting into (and out of) debt, Lindsey Iskierka's story has it all. As the lead real estate agent on the SoCal David Greene team, Lindsey is in the thick of real estate day in and day out. But she’s not just helping others buy and sell homes, she also boasts a respectable rental property portfolio, with four units sprawled out across the states in three completely different markets. And even though Lindsey is in the real estate game now, it wasn’t always this way.

Back in 2015, Lindsey wasn’t making much after getting her grad degree. With her husband interested in real estate, they decided to go to a seminar, which later turned into a $40K debt they had to climb their way out of. Lindsey decided to get her real estate license to not only help pay off this debt but save enough to buy their first home—a house hack in Long Beach. It didn’t take long for the home to appreciate, leaving Lindsey and her husband with a hard choice—sell or refi the property.

We won’t spoil the story, but her choice allowed her to buy multiple other units across the country, which has now become a portfolio of short-term and medium-term rentals. Lindsey also gives some killer advice on how first-time homebuyers and investors can snag rock-bottom mortgage rates in 2023. We’re talking two percent lower than today’s rate! If you want to hear how you can lock in a rate below five percent, we suggest you stick around!

In This Episode We Cover

Are real estate courses ever worth it, and how much they actually cost

The new 2-1 buydown mortgage that'll get you a much lower interest rate

Getting past your “worst-case scenario” and how doing so can help you build much bigger

The 1031 exchange explained and using it to multiply your rental property portfolio

Long-distance real estate investing and why turnkey rentals may be a better choice

The VASH program investors can use to help veterans who need housing

Why buying at today’s rates and prices can “only get better” as you hold

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

The Real Estate Rookie Podcast

BiggerPockets

The Real Estate Podcast

BiggerPockets Events

BiggerPockets Instagram

David Greene's Website

Connect with Lindsey:

Lindsey's BiggerPockets Profile

Lindsey's Instagram

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-247

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246: Rookie Reply: The 3 Signs of a Perfect Rental Property Market Dec 24, 2022

Show notes

What makes a great real estate market? If you’re a new investor, you might think that high rents and cheap home prices are all that matter, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Experienced investors search for more than just surface-level pricing when looking into where is worth investing. This is doubly true when you’re investing in short-term rentals and medium-term rentals—both of which require a specific area to succeed. So what would Ashley and Tony look for when scouting a new real estate market?

Happy Holidays and welcome back to another Rookie Reply! We hope you’ve got your presents wrapped and are ready for the greatest gift of all—Ashley Kehr’s singing voice…and some advice on real estate. This time around we’ve got a few technical questions that rookies may have trouble answering. These topics range from how to find the zoning on a rental property, whether to furnish your rental when renting by the room, when to hire an attorney for a real estate deal, and what makes the best real estate investing area!

If you want Ashley and Tony to answer a real estate question, you can post in the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group! Or, call us at the Rookie Request Line (1-888-5-ROOKIE).

In This Episode We Cover

Whether or not furnishing a room when house hacking is worth the cost

Where to locate your property’s zoning and how to see what counts as “allowable use”

How to find out what your town is planning on developing/building so you know where to buy

The three signs of a fantastic rental property investing market

When it makes sense to hire a buyer’s attorney, and which deals require it

What it means when a home is owned by the Chamber of Commissioners

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Real Estate Rookie YouTube channel

Kara Beckmann’s New Christmas Album

Tony’s Short-Term Rental Shopping List

Facebook Groups

BiggerPockets

Connect with Ashley And Tony:

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-246

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245: Escaping the “Grind" through Van Life and Cross-Country Investing w/Tony Clark Dec 21, 2022

Show notes

How far can you go? What are your “limits” in life? For most people, it’s easy to get discouraged by everyday barriers, but for today’s guest, not letting limits define him is what led to a brighter future. Tony Clark, today’s guest, identified and assessed his limits to determine his starting point. And now, he has three rental units, including a duplex in Nashville and a house in California.

Tony’s real estate investing journey started when he realized how expensive life is. After college, he worked at a church making decent money, but after dating his now wife, he realized that wasn’t enough to support a family. He turned to real estate to escape the grind and ensure he wouldn’t have to work crazy hours to live the life of his dreams. Once he recognized that he needed to buy an asset someone would want, he bought a transit van to rent out. From this purchase alone, he started his journey to pursue passive income.

From his experience with the transit van, he transitioned to real estate seamlessly. After identifying his limiting factors, he settled on Nashville—where he could enjoy living and where the numbers made sense. He’s also been able to build a team and even start a property management company. Tony is now much closer to his ultimate goal of buying better properties with great tenants, spending less time working and more time building his empire!

In This Episode We Cover

Why owning appreciating, cash-flowing assets is the true path to wealth

How to cut your expenses, live for cheap, and invest the rest

Utilizing the assets you own to save money, work less, and make money simultaneously

Limiting factors and how understanding your limits can make you a better investor

How to set your buying criteria, and how to find investments that fit your goals

Self-managing and what you need to run your own property management business

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

The Real Estate Podcast

Connect with Tony:

Tony's Tiktok

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-245

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244: Rookie Reply: How to Estimate Rehab Costs and Where to Find the Right CPA Dec 17, 2022

Show notes

Need to know how to estimate rehab costs, even if you’re investing out of state? For most investors, it seems almost impossible to do a full-scale renovation while living hundreds, or thousands, of miles away. But, many time-tested investors have done it (including Tony), and you can too, but you’ll need to know who to go to and what to ask before you start. Or, you could bite off way more than you can chew, and risk losing your rental as a result.

Happy Saturday, rookies! We’re back with another Rookie Reply, where your snowed-in on her birthday host, Ashley Kehr, and Tony J. Robinson are here to answer questions directly from the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group and the Rookie Request Line. In this episode, Ashley and Tony share their best tips on estimating rehab costs, how to structure a partnership when someone brings money and the other brings effort, separating your rental property finances, and how to find a rock-solid CPA before tax time!

If you want Ashley and Tony to answer a real estate question, you can post in the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group! Or, call us at the Rookie Request Line (1-888-5-ROOKIE).

In This Episode We Cover

The easiest way to estimate rehab costs even if you’re investing from out of state

How to split expenses on a rental property and which different bank accounts to have

Business credit cards and how to make bookkeeping much easier for yourself

Why expert investors ALWAYS buffer in more money for unexpected rehab costs

How to split roles, responsibilities, and profits in a real estate partnership

What to look for in a real estate CPA and questions they MUST be able to answer

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

From Line Cook to Long-Term Investor with 32 Wholesale Deals

QuickBooks

Stessa

MLS

Lowe's Home Improvement

The Home Depot

BiggerPockets Bootcamps

BiggerPockets Forums

Real Estate Rookie YouTube channel

Connect with Ashley And Tony:

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-244

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243: The Short-Term Rental Cheat Code for More Bookings and Fewer Fees in 2023 w/Mark Simpson Dec 14, 2022

Show notes

Building a short-term rental business is surprisingly simple. You buy a property, furnish it, then throw up some pictures of it onto booking sites like Airbnb and VRBO. After a few weeks, a booking comes in, and from there you’re in the game! This is all great until a poor review comes in, sending your listing to the bottom of the pile and your profit with it. Through no fault of your own, your income stream just got cut off, and now you have a mortgage to pay without a calendar full of bookings.

For many hosts, this type of scenario seems like game over for investing. But for Mark Simpson, it’s the start of something even better. Mark grew up in hospitality, marketing his family’s bed and breakfast nestled in the British countryside. His family was frantically cleaning, cooking, and booking with spreadsheets and no system to streamline their business. This ongoing problem led Mark to build Boostly, the software allowing hosts to take their bookings into their own hands.

Mark has helped numerous short-term rentals bring in millions in direct bookings, helping hosts and guests minimize the amount spent on fees while maximizing their experience. So how do vacation rental hosts start doing direct bookings? What benefits come from leaving the big booking sites behind? And how can hosts regain autonomy so their business is never forced to stop? Mark answers these questions and more in today’s episode!

In This Episode We Cover

Direct booking sites explained and why they’re starting to rival online travel agencies

How bad reviews and unfair algorithm updates can destroy your listing overnight

Converting guests from the big sites into direct bookings effortlessly

Building a direct booking brand so your short-term rentals become more than just another vacation property

Why online travel agencies may start charging hosts to get higher rankings

Pricing tools, online accreditation, and other things direct booking hosts need to survive

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Boostly’s Property Management Software List

Why Hosts Are Backing Away from Travel Sites and Building Direct Bookings

Double Your Cash Flow Overnight (In ANY Market) with Medium-Term Rentals

How Airbnb designs for trust | Joe Gebbia

Connect with Mark:

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-243

Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Check out our sponsor page!

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242: Rookie Reply: How to Get a Better Price on That Off-Market Property Dec 10, 2022

Show notes

Foreclosures have slowly been creeping up as real estate values get hit hard. With home prices dropping and a tough economic forecast ahead, could a wave of foreclosures be on the horizon? If so, who will this affect the most—residential real estate investors like Ashley and Tony or commercial real estate investors with their million-dollar multifamilies? We’ll get into what exactly could happen in this week’s Rookie Reply!

Ashley and Tony have taken four very different questions this week, directly from real estate rookies like you! They touch on how an upcoming foreclosure crisis brings an opportunity to real estate investors, who covers closing costs and where to find a purchase and sale agreement, home appraisals explained, and how to get funding for your home renovation or rehab! These answers are crucial if you’re looking to invest in 2023, so make sure you tune in!

If you want Ashley and Tony to answer a real estate question, you can post in the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group! Or, call us at the Rookie Request Line (1-888-5-ROOKIE).

In This Episode We Cover

Could flipping be in danger as interest rates rise and foreclosures start to increase?

Where to find a purchase and sale agreement when buying an off-market deal

Who pays closing costs and how to negotiate for better terms with a seller

Home appraisals explained and how to ensure the appraiser gives your home the highest value possible

Funding renovations for BRRRRs and flips, and creative ways to finance your deals

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Real Estate Rookie Podcast

BiggerPockets Forums

On The Market Podcast

Legaltemplates.net

BiggerNews March: How a Surge of Foreclosures Will Impact the Housing Market w/Auction.com’s Daren Blomquist

Connect with Ashley and Tony:

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-242

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241: From Line Cook to Long-Term Investor with 32 Wholesale Deals w/Sahleem Lee Dec 07, 2022

Show notes

Hard work comes with everything, and real estate is no exception. To achieve success, you must be willing to work hard and continue to work hard even when things get rough. That means viewing mistakes as lessons and being resilient enough to power through whatever life throws at you. Today’s guest, Sahleem Lee, started his real estate journey and almost gave it up, but after a three-year hiatus, he has come back even stronger. Now he has thirty-two wholesale deals under his belt.

Sahleem's real estate journey started with flipping cars and fast food. Sahleem worked as a line cook, but he always planned on moving up. His eye was on the general manager position until he got into car auctions. He began flipping cars, and his coworker saw his real estate potential. After a lot of convincing, they became business partners and split a deal fifty-fifty. Unfortunately, the deal went south, and after such a terrible experience, Sahleem decided to step away from real estate.

He got bit by the real estate bug again three years later after stumbling on a YouTube channel about wholesaling and readingRich Dad Poor Dad. From there, he decided to use real estate to pursue freedom and started to become a student all over again. Now, along with his wholesale deals, he has three long-term rentals and two and a half acres, where he plans to build twenty-two units with his business partner and mutual mentor.

In This Episode We Cover

The importance of mindset and how to use it to overcome the roadblock of fear and analysis paralysis

Mutual mentorship and how to add and extract value at the same time

Learning how to rehab with no experience and how to self-educate

Wholesaling and how to prepare for your first real estate wholesale deal

Skip tracing and why it can be a helpful tool when trying to close on an off-market property

Sahleem’s marketing tactics and how to use them to improve your lead generation

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

Real Estate Rookie Youtube Channel

Connect with Sahleem:

Sahleem’s Instagram

Sahleem’s Facebook

Sahleem's BiggerPockets Profile

Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-241

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240: Rookie Reply: How to Get a Better Price on That Off-Market Property w/Ethan Wilson and Jamil Damji Dec 03, 2022

Show notes

Off-market real estate deals can give investors like you HUGE discounts on what would be expensive investment properties. Either due to the property condition or the state of the seller, these real estate deals sell for sometimes hundreds of thousands less than their on-market equivalents. But finding them can be a challenge. As a result, most new investors rely on real estate wholesalers to bring them a deal. But what if the price point still doesn’t make sense?

Welcome back to another Rookie Reply, where we’re joined by real estate wholesaling master, Jamil Damji, and newly self-employed investor, Ethan Wilson. Jamil and Ethan both have a taste for off-market, underpriced deals and are here to share their wisdom with you. In this episode, you’ll hear how to negotiate with a wholesaler who’s firm on price, how to find off-market deals WITHOUT cold-calling sellers, and Jamil’s killer deal-finding strategy that costs far less than the competition!

If you want Ashley and Tony to answer a real estate question, you can post in the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group! Or, call us at the Rookie Request Line (1-888-5-ROOKIE).

In This Episode We Cover

How to negotiate with a real estate wholesaler even if they have a set purchase price

Investing in your early twenties and why partnering up can help you scale faster

Cold calling tips and why most investors are too scared to talk to sellers

The EASIEST, cheapest way to find off-market real estate deals

Meth house and mold remediation and why you should ALWAYS google a potential property’s address

And So Much More!

Links from the Show