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Updated almost 8 years ago,

User Stats

107
Posts
33
Votes
Brendon K.
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Los Angeles
33
Votes |
107
Posts

Is my head on straight?

Brendon K.
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Los Angeles
Posted

Hi folks, been stalking this forum for just a bit. I have a lot of catching up to do and am listening to the podcasts as fast as I'm able. I thought I'd post my plans on here to see if this stuff makes sense to you.

Here's as many details as I can think of. 

  • I'll be 36 in a few weeks
  • I actually don't want to make a massive investment firm like they're talking about on the podcast unless the money ends up being that much more worth it. My real plans are to make my self completely independent from "the man" as soon as possible. In other words, I want my housing and food to be completely "free" with "passive income" (even though I know damn well it will take a lot of work)
  • I was thinking a duplex might be a great start. This would potentially allow me to offer a whole separate rental and pay off the initial mortgage. I could potentially airbnb the other unit if I didn't have anyone in it due to being in a major city
  • I'm earning around 75k in my current job
  • My credit is around 825, last I checked. This will be my first time house, so I'll be going for the first time loan
  • I'll have 15k saved up for a first time housing loan around may
  • I'm in Austin Tx. The rumors are that the housing market is still booming. 

I'm thinking kitchen and bathroom updates may be the most important due to some info I've found online, so I suppose I should look for places that look bad in this regard. I haven't had a lot of construction experience but I've been dabbling quite a bit with power tools and use youtube like a pro. I actually really want to get my feet wet.

I've started talking to a realtor and he's put out a number of houses that are a bit far from where I am currently (across town). This isn't a terrible problem but they are definitely in a more run down area. The tenants are paying between 900 to up to around 1100 per side.

One of the things mentioned in an investment book I've been reading is you want "the worst looking house in the best area", does this still apply? Austin is getting roughly 150 people a day and we're past 2 million people as of October. Should I be talking to a ton of realtors? I'm also looking for a way to compare a ton of rates at once, will create a new post on that.

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