Real Estate Rookie

This week’s question comes from Dan on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Dan is asking: For those of you that have gone through the eviction process, did you go it alone in small claims court or did you hire a lawyer? While Tony (thankfully) doesn’t have experience evicting any tenants, Ashley has had to evict multiple out of her personal investment properties as well as from properties she managed when she was a full-time property manager. She describes the multiple ways you can evict a tenant, all of which will rely on the situation the tenant presents you with.Here are some suggestions:Hire an attorney if you are inexperienced with tenant evictionsUse small claims court to get back rent or payment for damagesOffer cash for keys if you are unable to legally evict at this timeUnderstand that many tenants will pay or leave once they receive an eviction noticeAnd Much More!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).Links from the ShowBiggerPockets PodcastReal Estate Rookie Rookie Facebook GroupCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie104 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Derrick Acuff was hungry for success in real estate. So hungry for success, that he would be picking up calls from sellers in the middle of performing his job as a waiter. He was trying to do everything he could to get his first deal; sending out direct mail, texting probate listings, and meeting with potential sellers. Finally, he scored his first wholesale deal, netting him and his wife a combined assignment fee of $8,000.Now, four years later, Derrick Acuff has built a business around wholesaling and flipping. He and his business partner Ben have done over 100 deals in the Houston, Texas area. He also has a team of VAs (virtual assistants) to help him scrub lists, call potential sellers, and follow up whenever possible. A lot of his success derives from him and his team members treating sellers like people, and not going for the quick and easy sale or selling white lies.Derrick’s mindset has changed throughout this process and there were times when he felt like giving up. Through perseverance, business optimization, and the will to succeed, he’s built a business that produces not only large amounts of profit but a trail of happy customers ready to give him more deals.In This Episode We CoverChoosing to forego college when it may not be a good option for youKnowing that rejection and failure is part of the processStaying motivated even when deals become hard to closeTreating sellers with honesty, integrity, and sticking to your wordFinding the “traction” your business needs to grow and succeedBuilding rapport with a seller and letting them talk 90% of the timeAnd So Much More!Links from the ShowReal Estate Rookie YoutubeAshley's InstagramTony's InstagramReal Estate Rookie Facebook GroupBiggerPockets PodcastScreencast-o-maticMojoGoogle VoiceTTPLoomBiggerPockets ConferenceCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie103 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Entrepreneur Heather Blankenship shares how she turned a $3 million campground into a $13 million success. Topics include financing big deals, different streams of income in campgrounds, benefits of long-term vs short-term parks, and developing systems for success.

As a successful real estate investor, you may be looking for bigger and better deals to take on, but sometimes those deals may come in a different shape and size. Kier Vogt had mastered buy-and-hold rentals, house hacking, and flipping. She wanted to take on a bigger challenge, something that would give her more responsibility with even more upside. After taking a cross-country drive, she found the asset class she was looking for: RV parks and campgrounds.If you’re a rookie investor, you may have never thought about investing in an RV park or campground, but there are some serious benefits to them. Since these are commercial properties, your ability to obtain seller financing is far more likely and you can build out multiple streams of income from one property, as opposed to solely collecting rent.Now, Kier is in the stage of analysis. She already has a private-money lender, but has to find a deal that fits her purchasing power and her criteria. Kier shares the mindset behind going into this completely new asset class, and how you have to push through fear to cold call owners, send in offers, and finally get an RV park or campground under contract.In This Episode We CoverThe difference between RV parks, campgrounds, and mobile home parksAnalyzing larger commercial deals and performing due diligenceThe benefits of seller financing compared to bank financingSubmitting a letter of intent (even if you’re scared to do so)Self-managing a property to learn about the businessThe many different revenue streams an RV park or campground can offerAnd So Much More!Links from the ShowAshley's InstagramTony's InstagramReal Estate Rookie Facebook GroupLike Minded InvestorsBiggerPockets Rookie Podcast 102: $10M Profit On Her First Deal?! It's Possible with Campground InvestingBiggerPockets CalculatorARVCOutdoorsyBiggerPockets Podcast 157: A Simple Morning Ritual to Help You Dominate Every Area of Your Life with Hal ElrodBiggerPockets ConferenceCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie101 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brandon Turner owns a lot of real estate. Some are single-family homes, but much of his portfolio is small and large multifamily properties. Why did he go into this niche and does he see value that many investors simply overlook?Brandon hits on some key aspects of becoming a successful multifamily owner, diving deep into topics like why rookies should start in small multifamily, how to find a mentor and build partnerships, what to do before you jump into multifamily, and looking for value-add opportunities. One piece of advice he is very adamant about is that multifamily isn’t that much harder than single-family. If you already own a single-family rental property, buying a duplex, triplex, or quadplex won’t be that intense of a learning curve for you.If you’re a rookie who has been successful in small multifamily, it may be time for you to start tackling those 10+ unit deals. Brandon also touches on this and shares stories from his fund, Open Door Capital, where they’re pursuing VERY large multifamily deals.Ready to learn more about multifamily investing? Grab The Multifamily Millionaire Volume I and The Multifamily Millionaire Volume II today!In This Episode We CoverHow Brandon got his start in real estate and Why multifamily investingrookies should start in small multifamily before transitioning into large multifamilyFinding mentors, adding value, and creating partnerships to tackle bigger dealsWhat to do before you dive into multifamily investingDeal analysis and underwriting, plus finding value-add opportunitiesWhere to find small and large multifamily deals (off-market, brokers, MLS, etc.)And So Much More!Links from the ShowReal Estate Rookie Youtube ChannelAshley's InstagramTony's InstagramReal Estate Rookie Facebook GroupBiggerPockets PodcastBiggerPocketsBiggerPockets ForumsCraigslistMLSZillowRealtorLoopNetOpen Door CapitalDeal MachinePropstreamCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie100 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It takes most real estate investors a while before they make the jump from single-family homes to commercial properties or large multifamily properties like mobile home parks. Edwin Byler isn't like most real estate investors.After successfully flipping his first home, he decided to throw the profits into a rental property. For the first month, everything was going well, then the tenant stopped paying. After 6 months of no rent payments, Ed had to make the tough decision to evict the tenant.Now with some experience under his belt, Ed was ready to take on bigger deals. Thankfully he was friends with an older gentleman who was looking to offload a 6-unit mobile home park, and Ed turned out to be the perfect buyer. He acquired the park with 20% down over a 15-year amortization schedule and ended up DOUBLING the park's revenue with some simple value-add.Now, he’s taking on a 51-unit mobile park with his brother as a partner. Did we mention he’s acquiring this property with no money down and paying 0% interest? If you’re wondering how he did it, take a listen to Ed’s story!In This Episode We CoverPartnering on your first deal to mitigate risks and learn more about real estateGetting tenants to move out (without having to formally evict them)Purchasing mobile home parks without prior experienceLooking for “value-add opportunities” when viewing potential investmentsUsing owner financing to purchase investments like mobile home parksHow to find out the “why” behind a seller’s listingAnd So Much More!Links from the ShowReal Estate Rookie Youtube ChannelAshley's InstagramTony's InstagramReal Estate Rookie Facebook GroupMLSBiggerPockets PodcastBiggerPocketsPropstreamBiggerPockets WebinarZillowRealtorTenantCloudCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie99 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week is a special Rookie Reply, Ashley and Tony are in the same physical location! They both stopped by Denver, Colorado to record some future episodes of the Real Estate Rookie Podcast!Ashley and Tony are both talking about the first deal they acquired, the mistakes they made as rookies, the lessons they learned, and why you should never be afraid to fail. They walk through things like finding the deal, financing the deal, misconceptions they had before they jumped into investing, and how BiggerPockets was a huge help to both of them in their early investing journey.If you’re still waiting to close on your first deal, here are some key points discussed.How to finance a property and rehab costs with $0 downWhat to do if your first property ends up losing you moneyThe importance of partnerships when getting startedWhy you DON’T need to buy your first rental in cashAnd Much More!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).Check the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie98 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg Schwartz didn’t plan on getting into real estate, he was keen on becoming a private pilot. He figured he’d make $200k-$300k per year and that would be enough money to help him retire. That was until he talked to a real estate investor who told him about the potential to make 7-figures in a month. Greg knew that the investor was on to something and he took some time convincing his wife, Rachel, to start investing in real estate.They both went in on a rental property in Alabama, but after some initial stumbles with long-distance investing, they switched their strategy to house hacking in College Station, Texas. Now, only a year into their investing journey, they have 19-units under their name, one of which is a “luxury house hack”.Greg and Rachel have had to be diligent while building and systematizing their real estate. Rachel has already become an expert property manager and has learned through her job how to prioritize, systematize, and organize their business to the best of their abilities. This is a great interview with two rookies who chose to pivot and keep building better with every new property they got under contract.In This Episode We CoverWhat to know before you try your hand at long-distance investing How to convince your partner to make the jump into real estateInvesting in your local market and knowing the small nuances of your areaHouse hacking in a quadplex and dealing with vacancy/troublesome tenantsFinancing your deals using partnerships, retirement savings, and moreSystematizing your business so it can run without youAnd So Much More!Links from the ShowReal Estate Rookie Youtube ChannelAshley's InstagramTony's InstagramReal Estate Rookie Facebook GroupMLSBiggerPockets PodcastBiggerPocketsPropstreamBiggerPockets Podcast 476: Using Partners to Scale & Killing it With Airbnbs w/ Tony J RobinsonAirbnbKellerWilliamsRookie Podcast 91: 8 Units, 10 Wholesale Deals, and $0 Spent on Marketing w/ @LiliinvestsRookie Podcast 33: A Marine (and his Mentor) Buy a BRRRR: Step-by-Step with Joe Roberts and Steve RozenbergGrant Cardone WebsiteCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie97 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s question comes from Lisa on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Lisa is asking all about property management this week: I’ve never had a property manager, what are the responsibilities of one? I was recommended a manager and was told he charges 10%. What is the average pay for a manager? What questions should I ask when I speak with him? While there is no standard on fees or responsibilities across all property managers, they tend to follow certain averages. Both Tony and Ashley have hired property managers as well as self-managed, here’s what they’ve found through their experiences:Use your property managers as a means to find out more about a marketProperty managers not only are in contact with your tenants, but they’ll also issue repairs and contractor bids when needed If you’re new to real estate, it’s useful to have a property manager who can help educate youProperty management fees are around 10% (of rent) a month, but can be as low as 5%Property managers will also charge fees for filling vacant units or performing maintenanceAsk about fees, thresholds for maintenance, and their experience with local investorsAnd more in the episode…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).Check the full show notes here: https://biggerpockets.com/rookie96 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When most people think of USDA loans, they tend to think of farmland or some very, very rural house in the middle of nowhere. While this can be the case for many USDA loans, it isn’t the standard for all of them. As today’s guest Holly Barrett describes, USDA-applicable properties can be outside city centers and just a bit rural.Not only that, these loans provide homeowners with the chance to get a 0% down loan! This is exactly what Holly did with her first home, later turning it into a rental and finally selling it to make room for some higher cash-flowing properties. She’s also used SBA loans to purchase a commercial property, which has helped her lower the upfront costs needed for acquisition.Now, Holly has properties close to Chattanooga, centered around a “cool area” as she likes to call it. She’s making her transition from long-term rentals to short-term rentals and is excited to see what her new profit margins are like once her properties go live on Airbnb. In This Episode We CoverUsing USDA maps to see whether or not a potential home is eligible for a 0% down loanLive in flips and using them to get tax-free flipping gainsWhen you should use a 1031 exchange intermediary Switching from long-term rentals to short-term rentals Funding a commercial property acquisition with SBA loansWhat investors should look for in an agent and the top questions to askAnd So Much More!Links from the ShowReal Estate Rookie Youtube ChannelAshley's InstagramTony's InstagramReal Estate Rookie Facebook GroupMLSUSDA MapsUSDABiggerPockets PodcastBiggerPockets Real Estate Rookie PodcastBiggerPockets CalculatorAirdnaVrboAirbnbZillowLoopnetAmerica's SBDCSBA LoanRealtorRookie Podcast 81: David Greene on Where Rookies Go Wrong When Looking for an AgentRelayClubhouseThe US Chamber of CommerceCheck the full show notes here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rookie95 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices