Suggestions if you were in my shoes

[Dan Rushiti]

Hello all,

I am looking for some advice on what you seasoned investors would do if you were in my shoes. I am 30 years old, and have some money ready to invest. I own 3 restaurant businesses that are doing well for me. To this point, everything has been poured into building and expanding my business. I have enough in savings, a 401k, an IRA, and a traditional brokerage account. I have $400k that I would like to invest in real estate.

6 months ago, I purchased a duplex in Milwaukee and it has gone as well as I'd hoped. I have a property manager that I'm happy with, rents are paid on time, and I'm happy with the ROI. I have a goal of someday purchasing or developing a small shopping center that I can open another restaurant in, but I think that's further down the line.

My more specific question is, if you were in my shoes, would you continue to purchase small properties like the duplex in Milwaukee for a conservative return but with little effort required, or would you be thinking bigger (and if so how). I am not interested in short term rentals and am not in a place to learn how to operate a whole new business.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

[Alecia Loveless]

@Dan Rushiti I’d continue investing in the same market where you already have a good relationship with the current property manager. From others’ reports this relationship can be hard to find and if you have a good one that can be golden.

I’d recommend buying something in the 2-4 unit range so you don’t get all your eggs in one basket. If you wanted to you could potentially put a bit more than 20% as a down payment but I wouldn’t go crazy because it sounds like you could let the second property stabilize and then buy a third and get it going and then do a fourth if you wanted to.

I’m not sure what the price point is in your market but I’d build up your portfolio that way, buying a property, getting it situated and running strongly and then buying another.

Then down the road if you decide you want to go bigger like a 10-30 unit property or a strip mall for a new restaurant you can potentially use a 1031 exchange and some future cash reserves for that.