Novice in Kansas City

[Bryant Diel]

Hey Everyone,

My name is Bryant Diel, and I reside in Kansas City, Missouri.  Aside from listening to the BP podcasts and reading the Rich Dad Poor Dad book series, I don't have any actual experience in real estate investing.  I rented houses and apartments while I was in college and for the first three years of living in KC, so I know how it works from the tenant's point of view.  My fiance bought the house that we live in, so through that I have a mild understanding of the home buying process.  I'm a CPA and worked in public accounting as a financial statement auditor for 3 years, and have since moved on to an accounting role at a large corporation here in town.  The goals that I hope to achieve through real estate investing are: 1) to provide a cash flow stream for my mother as she gets older and requires assisted living or nursing home facilities, 2) provide a cash flow stream for my younger brother (who has Down's Syndrome) as he gets older and requires assisted living facilities and increased medical attention, and 3) provide a means of early retirement for me and my older brother.

While listening to BP podcast #276 (my favorite) the other morning, I had that lightbulb moment of how to get started in real estate investing.  Me and my family own 160 acres of wheat ground in northern Oklahoma that is only paying around $8k per year in cash rent (before taxes).  The land does not have a loan on it, so we own it free and clear.  My lightbulb idea was to sell the land and use that as the down payment on a small multifamily or apartment building here in the KC area, and utilize a Section 1031 exchange to avoid taxes on the sale of the land.  Since this real estate business would be owned by my mother and us three boys, I am unsure what legal entity would be best to setup for all of this to achieve the most legal security and tax advantages down the road.  I can guarantee that a 4 unit or more rental property in KC with a substantial down payment would provide more than $8k/year in cash flow, but again I'm unsure how to structure it all.  The goal from there would be to buy another small multifamily property each year from that point on.

I appreciate anyone that takes the time to read this post and look forward to connecting with other BP'ers!

Thanks,

Bryant