New to real estate investing

[Jade Frank]

Hi, I'm Jade and I'm looking to get started with real estate investing. We have one property already as our primary home with a plan to buy another house and rent out this one. Then I plan to become a travel nurse and we will live in the RV while the two are being rented out and go from there buying more properties. Is this a bad goal? Can anyone give me advice? I'm scared to purchase a second home but we have the funds to do so

[Drew Sygit]

@Jade Frank how much has your current home gone up in value?

If you sell it, you get $250k single / $500k married exemptions from capital gains.

Speak with a tax professional about how much you'll save in taxes by doing this. 

Since interest rates are now higher than the mortgage on your current home, you'll want to calculate that monthly difference.

SIMPLIFIED Example: current house mortgage interest rate is 3%, balance $250k. Pyment is $1,054, but $625 is interest.

If you sold current house and bought new one with same mortgage amount, but current interest rate of 7%, the payment would be $1,663, interest amount $1,458.

So, the interest cost difference would be $833 month!

If you divide that amount into the capital gains tax savings, you'll get a number of months you'll have to own your current home to make the interest savings exceed the capital gains savings.
*This is a VERY simplified example, you'll want to use amortization tables and more to be precise.

For maximum portfolio growth, you might consider buying a new primary every 12 months. You'll qualify for the lowest mortgage rate and can put 5% or less down. Even better if you buy 2-4 units, live in one and rent the rest - then repeat every 12 months. You could even do this as you take travel nurse assignments. 
- Of course, you may need a Property Management Company to handle each rental when you move again.