Real Estate investor in SE Michigan

[Kah M.]

Hello BP!

I'm a 27 year old real estate investor. I graduated with a bachelors degree in Biology in 2009 and upon receiving my first "real" job, was offered to contribute to a retirement plan. I turned it down because I didn't understand it. Hearing stuff about "Lehman Brothers", "Bernie Madoff", and stories from a  a co-worker during college who has been trying to retire since 2000 (but failed due to losing money the dot-com crash, Enron, and the "Great recession") made me skeptical of investment "experts."

I tried to read whatever I could find online but it was mostly telling me to save and invest in a 401k. I wanted more than canned advice. I tried to read the Intelligent Investor but it went way over my head. Finally, a friend of mine recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad and it caused a paradigm shift the way I thought. 

I knew stuff was happening with mortgages and property values were dropping. I didn't really know what was going on but houses here in southeast Michigan were on sale for a dollar! We partnered up and got into real estate. So we saved for a year and were able to go 50/50 on a house in suburban Detroit. We also "hired" someone to fill the role of "property manager" for a few bucks a month (we never even knew that term). It went horribly and we ended up losing money. Looking back, it could've been way worse but it spooked my friend out so much he wanted out. I paid him what he put into it and decided to read Kiyoaskis other books and learned to assemble a team, the importance of having an LLC, and learned the term "property management."

2011 and 2012 were the bottom of the market in metro Detroit and I actually was able to save for a second house by the end of 2012. The second property went a lot smoother. I found an excellent property manager and started running it like an actual business. I gave myself a set salary, kept minimum reserves, and let the company start financially sustaining itself.

The company cashflowed, property values significantly rose (along with rents), and I recently purchased my third SFH with no mortgage. I expect property #3 to be cashflowing by December.

With my current budget, I don't see how I can comfortably cashflow and have a mortgage so my next home purchase may have to happen after I finish grad school. Looking for ideas, I stumbled upon Bigger Pockets so I hope to have a light bulb moment and learn how to finance a property. 

My current budget for any property looks like this:

33% of revenue is my salary

26% for taxes (purposely exaggerated)

9% for property management

7% for insurance

2% eviction court fees cushion

23% for reserves

I don't know where I can cut back to afford a mortgage. 

My current property manager is wonderful but of course I need to be an active participant in my own business. However, everything with the business is automated. I make phone calls to my preferred and trusted contractors, review my managers financial statements, and update my own following my CPA's advice and framework-so come tax time, it's ready to go. 

It really doesn't take more than an hour or two a month. 

I'm considering going to graduate school. I want to use my "salary" to partially pay for my living expenses while I'm in school. I'm grateful for getting involved in REI and hope to continue learning and growing my business!