Financial Independence quickly and safely.

[Ed Emmons]

Many get in to real estate with the goal of being financially independent. My definition of being financially independent is to have more residual income than you have expenses. It can be achieved by having $1,000,000 or more in savings but for most people that will take decades.

So to cut the time down to just a few years, you may want to follow these simple steps.

1. Figure out exactly what your monthly expense are currently buy making a detailed list.

2. Examine that list and see if there is a way to reasonably lower that figure. (This will speed up the process, sometimes by years.)

3. Record that figure somewhere as it becomes your target goal.

4. Look for investment property that provides positive monthly cash flow now when you purchase.

5. Systematically purchase more and more until you reach that target.

With this approach you’re not concerned with appreciation, location necessarily, cash on cash return, or a host of other things that can be confusing when starting out. You just want a good positive cash flow for the money you invest. I would shoot for at least triple digit returns on your money unless you have a lot of it or you will run out quickly.

As an example, if you can buy a used mobile home for $7500, you could rent it for $800 a month or lease option sell it for $15,000 with $3000 down and $650 a month payment. Another possibility is to find a private investor, maybe someone you know, to borrow the down payment on a multi unit. Work out an equity position or a rate of return that is good for him and still creates a good positive cash flow for you.

If your focus is on positive cash flow most other things aren’t that important as long as you can safely collect your rent each month. Once you have the residual that you need, you can always exchange out of them for something you prefer for the long term.

This allows you to look across several types of investments as long as they are generating positive cash flow. My experience is primarily residential so SFH, mobile homes, rooming houses, multi family, condominiums and even smaller trailer parks would be fair game.

I personally started with condominiums and SFHs. You just need to make sure the bylaws allow you to rent out the units. Knowing what I do now, I would get into multi units (over 4) as soon as possible.

Educate yourself enough so that you can confidently evaluate a property for cash flow. It may be from a couple books by those who are doing what you want to do or listening to several podcasts. But when starting out there is so much information, not only on BP but elsewhere, it is easy to get overwhelmed. So just focus on what is applicable to your immediate goals and then take action.

I would be glad to answer any questions and I’ll help you get there any way I can.