Just getting my feet wet.

[Jake Lefort]

Hello,

I’m putting myself out here because well...I have nothing to lose. My name is Jake I am from Northern California. I am a full time father of 3 beautiful kids, husband of 10 years and full time firefighter. I’m trying to balance my work start investing into rental properties and maintain more than a presence with my family. First off any tips for that? Do I seek a property management company? Or do I do it myself? How do I get my spouse on my same wave length?

When I say I have nothing to lose I truly don't... I was recently just gifted someone's debt (good debt)... I received one lot with 2 homes that yield around 2k a month. I have close to 100k in equity my plan is to cash out refi and use equity to purchase a duplex or two...attempt my first BRRR...(fingers crossed) and repeat! How much cash do I take out? Should I stick to 20% down and save some for repairs on my first purchase? Do I wait for the market to change?

I have no idea what I’m doing and I am scared ****less... but I’m going with gut and I’m going to figure it out...

I appreciate reading the feeds here and enjoy seeing everyone’s positive vibes and wealth of knowledge... please share with this “newbie”

Thanks!

[Sergey Tkachev]

@Jake Lefort welcome to BP and congrats on your entry into real estate! I agree with what @Cory Cox said and would add just a couple comments. Definitely develop a plan with your spouse so that you are moving toward your goals together - that is the first step and will determine much of the other items. Whether you hire a property manager or manage yourself depends on how much you want to be active/passive. I enjoy the active side and always encourage new investors to do what you can yourself (but will guidance of others) but that approach will definitely require more time initially - on the flip side it will generally yield you better returns (if done properly) and the experience will be valuable to make proper decisions in the future even when you do pass it off to property management. 

Something else to consider is see how you can maximize the returns of the current property with 2 homes - maybe you can rent them furnished, short term, etc and realize a higher yield (if that is what you are looking for).