New Member Introduction

[Matthew Sexton]

Hello everyone!

I am fairly new to real estate investing.  I moved to Indianapolis in 2012 for a job and moved up in the company pretty quickly.  At first I decided to go back to school and get a couple masters degrees then I decided to start teaching night school at a community college.  At the end of 2017 I bought my first rental. The purchase price was 98K for a 4 bed 3 bath sfh. I went the traditional method for financing and borrowed against my 401K for the 20% down payment.  Initially I had some bad tenants but I got a nice family in now that is finishing up the first year of a two year lease. A few months ago I had inquired about purchasing another home. When it came down to it my debt to income ratio was not good enough to get traditional financing. I had about 20K in tax write-offs for things I had done on the house which technically lowered my income from the banks' perspective.  Last month I was let go from my regular job after a corporate buyout. I have been using this time to read books and listen to podcasts. It was probably a blessing because I know ultimately I want that financial freedom that rentals can provide. I would love any advice for someone in my situation. I essentially have three big goals. First I would like to be clearing 6k a month from rentals, after all expenses, including capex. This will give me the protection for a job loss like I am experiencing now. Second, I would like to double that. This will ensure my bills are covered and sustainability and growth will take place in my portfolio.  Finally, while my rental properties are allowing me freedom and growing itself, my regular job will provide acceleration of my personal debt reduction. Again I am very new and welcome any advice, especially on scaling at this point. If anyone is in the Indianapolis area, I would love to connect. 

Thank you!

Matthew Sexton