Real Estate Rookie

19 Year Old College Student Making $18,000 Per Deal

Wholesaling is a tough game. Most investors who try their hand at wholesaling quit after only a few months, while those who have the grit to stick it out can end up making a much-deserved profit. Even real estate veterans have a hard time getting into wholesaling, but what about a 19-year old college student without experience in real estate? Isabelle Zukowski just happens to be that 19-year old college student wholesaler. Isabelle had been working at a local restaurant when the COVID shutdowns started, she was released from her job and had to go on unemployment. While she was getting her unemployment money, she started listening to stock market, real estate, and business podcasts [https://www.biggerpockets.com/biggerpockets-business-podcast]. She was interested in real estate, and when her friend told her about real estate wholesaling [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/newbie-guide-to-wholesaling], she decided to try it out. Isabelle joined a bunch of Facebook groups, contacted well-known agents and wholesalers in her area, and started building out her network. After 3 months of hard work, calling 300+ people a day, she landed her first deal. The wholesale fee [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/money-from-wholesaling]? $18,000! In This Episode We Cover * Real estate wholesaling with no experience or money * 3 tips for getting your first wholesale deal * Skiptracing and the best lists to pull for cold calling [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/number-one-technique-when-cold-calling] * Building relationships with everyone in your specific niche/space * The best way to estimate rehab costs and ARV [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/estimate-arv] * And So Much More! Links from the Show * Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestaterookie/] * BiggerPockets Forums [https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums] * Ashley's Instagram [http://instagram.com/wealthfromrentals] * Tony's Instagram [http://instagram.com/tonyjrobinson] * Call Magic Leads [https://callmagicleads.com/] * BiggerPockets Podcast 255: Six-Figure Real Estate Investing in Just 20 Hours a Week with Elliot Smith [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/biggerpockets-podcast-255-six-figure-real-estate-investing-20-hours-week-elliot-smith] * BatchLeads [https://batchleads.io/] * BiggerPockets Bookstore [https://store.biggerpockets.com/] * Platinum Home Buyers [https://www.platinumhomebuyersnj.com/] * Real Estate Rookie Youtube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCA5VL6_GTfTY9I-V7QUcJw] * Realtor.com [https://www.realtor.com/] * Craigslist.org [https://www.craigslist.org/] Check the full show notes here: http://biggerpockets.com/rookie79

Rookie Reply: How Do I Estimate Property Taxes?

This week’s question comes from Gre [https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestaterookie/permalink/460298081683885] on the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group. Gre is asking: How do you find accurate property tax info, including school taxes, when running numbers on a potential investment property? Great question Gre! Running your numbers [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-math] accurately is super important when making sure a deal will be profitable, thankfully, there are many online (and in person) resources where you can find accurate property taxes within minutes. Here are some suggestions: * Find the county assessor’s online website and look up the property address/parcel number * Use third-party tools like Propstream [https://www.propstream.com/] to find property taxes [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/tax-prep-new-real-estate-investors] * Ask other investors in your area what they are paying in property taxes * Call the county office and ask what they think property taxes will be when re-assessed * Make sure you’re including school, village, and county taxes (when they apply) * And More! If you want Ashley and Tony to answer a real estate question, you can post in the Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestaterookie]! Or, call us at the Rookie Request Line (1-888-5-ROOKIE). Check the full show notes here: http://biggerpockets.com/rookie78

CPA Answers Depreciation, House-Hacking, and Rookie Tax Questions

Amanda Han [https://www.keystonecpa.com/] is a familiar face to the BiggerPockets audience. She’s been featured on the BiggerPockets podcasts before and has written multiple books published by BiggerPockets (The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor [https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/the-book-on-tax-strategies-for-the-savvy-real-estate-investor] & The Book on Advanced Tax Strategies [https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/the-book-on-advanced-tax-strategies]). Amanda has worked with lots of real estate investors and invests in real estate herself, so she’s answering some common questions that rookie investors have about taxes. We run through a mix of topics such as deductions, depreciations, home-office write-offs, expenses, legal entities, and when you should get a CPA. Amanda also talks about some of the most common deductions that rookie investors miss. She also talks through different software for tracking your business expenses, recording your mileage, and keeping your business finances up to date. It may seem like a lot of information to keep track of, especially when you’re in the middle of a rehab/flip or even just managing your rental. Amanda stresses how important it is for you not only to find a high quality, real estate friendly CPA [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/cpa-vs-self-preparing-taxes], but also that you keep them in the loop. If you’re thinking of buying, selling, or transferring property, it’s incredibly important to keep your CPA notified on all things related to your real estate business. That way, you keep more money in your pocket and are able to grow your portfolio even faster! In This Episode We Cover * The most common tax mistakes that rookie investors make * The best way to track your expenses (and your different options) * When you should consider, interview, and hire a CPA * The best questions to ask a CPA if you’re interviewing them * Home office deductions [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2014-09-18-3-reasons-you-should-love-the-home-office-tax-deduction] , mileage deductions, and more * When the best time to form a legal entity is (if needed) * What to write off when you’re house hacking [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013-11-02-hack-housing-get-paid-live-free] * And So Much More! Links from the Show * Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestaterookie/] * BiggerPockets Forums [https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums] * Ashley's Instagram [http://instagram.com/wealthfromrentals] * Tony's Instagram [http://instagram.com/tonyjrobinson] * Quickbooks [https://quickbooks.intuit.com/] * Excel [https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-365/excel] * Appfolio [https://www.appfolio.com/] * Buildium [https://www.buildium.com/] * Rookie Podcast 75: From Working on Oil Fields to Passively Investing in Real Estate with Travis Watts [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-podcast-75-travis-watts] * BiggerPockets Pro and Premium Membership [https://www.biggerpockets.com/membership-types] * BiggerPockets Pro Perks [https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/pro] (Exclusive deals like Amanda's Course) * Jumpstart Your Tax Savings as a Real Estate Investor [https://www.keystonecpa.com/jumpstart] Check the full show notes here: http://biggerpockets.com/rookie77

From No Experience to Multi-Million Dollar Business with Ellen Bennett

Before cooking at Michelin star restaurants, Ellen Bennett [https://www.instagram.com/ellenmariebennett/?hl=en] worked as a lottery announcer, an English tutor, and a “booth babe”. All of these jobs taught her to be comfortable in uncomfortable positions. When her head chef told her that he needed new aprons for all the cooks, Ellen took to the challenge, with no business plan [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/5-step-process-writing-simple-business-plan-that-use] , no connections, and no experience designing aprons. The deadline, uncomfortability, and challenge pushed her to deliver the aprons on time, and start Hedley & Bennett [https://www.hedleyandbennett.com/]. Now, Ellen runs this multi-million dollar business that delivers to Michelin star restaurants and at-home cooks alike. Ellen talks about the necessity of committing to something scary, even when you don’t know how to handle it. She used the same approach when buying 3 rental properties nearby her home in Los Angeles, all of which have appreciated dramatically [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/cash-flow-appreciation]. The mantra used in creating a successful business, investment, or anything else is Dream First, Details Later [https://www.amazon.com/Dream-First-Details-Later-Overthinking-ebook/dp/B08FHB29SK] , which also happens to be the name of Ellen's new book! An entrepreneur can get bogged down so easily with the details of any venture, so much sometimes that it could push them away from accomplishing something great. In This Episode We Cover * How Ellen accidentally started an incredibly successful apron business * Using the pandemic to think differently about products and needs * Looking at challenges as a gift and an excuse to grow * How to plan when you know that things won’t go as planned * Setting your employees up for a failure-first mindset (so they succeed!) * And So Much More! Links from the Show * Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestaterookie/] * BiggerPockets Forums [https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums] * MySpace [https://myspace.com/] * Walmart [https://www.walmart.com/] * Ford [https://www.ford.com] * Ashley's Instagram [http://instagram.com/wealthfromrentals] * Tony's Instagram [http://instagram.com/tonyjrobinson] Check the full show notes here: http://biggerpockets.com/rookie76

From Working on Oil Fields to Passively Investing in Real Estate with Travis Watts

Travis Watts [https://ashcroftcapital.com/our-team/travis-watts/] grew up with frugal parents. They taught him about coupons, buying the off-brand products, and basic financial 101, but never taught him about real estate investing. In 2009, as the market was hitting unprecedented lows, he decided to start investing in real estate. He purchased a single family home to start, then started house hacking [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013-11-02-hack-housing-get-paid-live-free], moved on to some fix and flips, bought some vacation rentals, and before he knew it, he was a very active real estate investor. There was one problem though. Travis was working 90+ hour weeks in the oil industry, often working overseas for long periods of time. Travis was trying to run his active investing with his hectic schedule, but often found it hard to put a high level of effort into his rentals when so much of his energy was being exerted from his job. In 2015, Travis made the decision to become a passive investor. Passive investing isn’t for everyone, especially for those who want to be making the big decisions. Luckily, Travis didn’t mind having general partners make decisions for the syndications [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2010-08-30-real-estate-syndication-3-ways-you-can-profit] he invested in, if anything, he preferred it. Travis walks through what you need to look at before putting money into a syndication, including the general partners, the market, and the deal. He also talks through how to identify whether or not a syndication is being run well, and other passive investing strategies like investing in REITs. Many real estate investors will find themselves with lots of projects, lots of experience, lots of money, but little to no time. If you feel like this, it may be a good idea to start balancing some of your active investing with more passive cash flow opportunities! In This Episode We Cover * The benefits of passive and active real estate investing [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013-11-09-active-income-vs-passive-income] * Syndications and who they’re meant for * 506(b) and 506(c) syndications and the differences between the two * How to identify good general partners running syndications * Becoming an accredited investor * REITs (real estate investment trusts) [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2013-02-25-reits] and other passive income strategies * How much money passive investors can make * And So Much More! Links from the Show * Real Estate Rookie Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestaterookie/] * BiggerPockets Forums [https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums] * Charles Schwab [https://www.schwab.com/brokerage] * Janus Henderson [https://www.janushenderson.com/en-us/investor/all-account-types/] * BiggerPockets Podcast 227: From Single Family Houses to $130,000,000 in Multifamily with Joe Fairless [https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/biggerpockets-podcast-227single-family-houses-130000000-multifamily-joe-fairless] * Ashley's Instagram [http://instagram.com/wealthfromrentals] * Tony's Instagram [http://instagram.com/tonyjrobinson] Check the full show notes here: http://biggerpockets.com/rookie75