All Forum Posts by: Alan Curry

I was doing some research on Anaheim a few months back. I looked at the city's sites about rentals and I didn't see anything that would benefit new STRs. I hope there might be a chance for new STRs, but I am not holding my breath.

I'm tracking this post as I am in a similar situation for scaling, but only 1/5 or 1/4 that size. I have calculated similar numbers and I am now looking into MF or self storage. I would love to see more responses/experiences. 

@Rob Nappi

I think there's pros/cons to cashflow vs. appreciation. It comes down to the investor's personal goals. What parts of Indiana are you focusing on? Is your investment team looking for more business? I do not have a solid team yet since I do not have any properties for them to manage yet. So you also use Section 8 housing? Any pros/cons to it? I'd love to see the website when it is ready.

@John McKee

I have read that traditionally banks really focus on the DTI numbers over what the investment numbers look like, which is probably one of the biggest concerns that I have in going away from W2. I know there are REI-friendly lenders that look beyond DTI, so I would try to focus on those lenders. I have also considered being a lender with the savings I have, but I do not know how best to tackle that one yet.

Do you have any suggested wholesalers? I signed up for a few local to me, but they seem to push the same houses in the same parts of town with not much diversity and overzealous ARV numbers.

@Sam Yin

I agree that I need a lot of active and deliberate action for quick progress, which is one of the reasons why I am trying to assess all the different types of REI. I know the BP public figures all state that it's best to just jump in the deep end of the pool and you'll work through the challenges, but I need to make sure that the option I pick will work towards the right path that fits my situation. Originally, I was going to jump 100% into long term SFH, but after more research, I don't think that will be the best route for my time and resources.

I have ballparked my FI number which includes my income and benefits. With my wife staying in W2, I would go onto her insurance if I chose to leave the W2 and factored in the cost difference as part of the FI. Assuming a $200/door cashflow for residential REI, I would start looking to leave the W2 when I am around 50 doors. That monthly cashflow is only to cover current expenses and not full compensation of my W2 take home pay. That assumption looks to be difficult to attain right now with prices and mortgage rates where they are without looking into C or D class neighborhoods.

I would like to hear more about the sacrifices you described. I read and listen to success stories, but I do not hear much about the ones you highlighted. They tend to glaze over the sacrifices. Can you or anyone else elaborate on examples where this happened? I currently live far enough away from extended family where we do not have any family support outside of myself and the wife. One of the goals for changing away from W2 is to get more flexibility with my time.

@Dan H.

I would love to be more active in added value to an asset, but with most of my available funds are tied up in a SDIRA-eligible Roth 401k, I think most of the work will have to be outsourced to a GC. The savings I have can be used for active investing. My only hesitation on a BRRRR is design aesthetics. I know what looks good, but I don't have an eye for fixing outdated buildings.

One of my long term goals is Syndication investing, regardless of immediate or mid-term planning. One thing I am considering is to pass the Series 65 exam so I can start as an accredited investor this year instead of a few years from now. Only recently did I come to the realization that REI generally provides better ROI than S&P with similar monetary investments, which is why I am now assessing my next steps. I am also considering any type of commercial property. Basically, I am trying to evaluate the best type or method for investing with the option of moving into REI fulltime. When I worked in marketing, we always talked about features, benefits, and unique selling proposition for our product portfolio to help the customer understand what they can and should buy. I have been looking for something like that for REI but not really finding anything that summarizes the many different types of REI.

 Hey @Sergey A. Petrov,

I agree that the kid dynamic will make it hard to dive deep into more active investing. Had I learned about this 15 years ago, things would be very different. The 401k could be used for passive and the savings could work for more active investing. Do you know where I could find some guidance on what to look for when finding a SFH that can be divided?

Hey @Account Closed,

Yeah, I think you could assess the situation like that. The COVID and company sale combination has been extremely frustrating to handle, so I have been looking for other options. I have also taken note of the fluidity of the new corporate environment that I would like to experience. My wife is 100% remote now, so if I could be more remote, it will allow more flexibility for where we live during the school year but also able to travel more. Most engineering roles require a more hands-on type of role (not including software in this conversation), so I am assessing alternative situations where my engineering and finance background can be utilized with more flexibility of time and location. The more I researched, the more my analysis came to Real Estate-type of work. I am not opposed to keeping a W2, but with the income expectations and the change in flexibility for time and location, a transition away from W2 may need to happen.  I would love to hear more details on your W2 and the supplement of the 12 units.

 Hey @Chris Seveney,

I will be honest, we'd all love to be a passive investor and make all this money without lifting a finger, Right?!? But in reality, there's always some effort needed. It all depends on the type of opportunity and how comfortable the person is with the risk. But to summarize, I would like to start with more passive than active, but the level of active will depend on the type of work. Assuming that I would scale from a few doors to dozens or hundreds, there will be an expectation of outsourcing the low level work so I can stay out of the weeds. Until the knowledge and experience is established, I anticipate that there will be some heavy lifting. For example, any BRRRR work would be done by a contractor, but I would be managing that process. I can do small fixes, but major plumbing, HVAC, or electrical would be done by a professional.

For what it's worth, I have a large Roth 401k that is SDIRA eligible, so those investments will need to be very passive. The savings I have can be more active. I hope this helps understand my current situation.

Hey @Mikhail Heber,

It's good to see that you started earlier than I did. I was taught early to focus on the degree and then the workforce, so the idea of FI was never brought up or came to mind. I had blinders on for waaaayyy too many years. I certainly would have looked into the concept in my 20's when I had a lot more flexibility. 

I would initially like to supplement my current income (and hoped to get some tax breaks) with the idea to migrate away from the W2 if this looks like something that I would want to scale. I need to start somewhere, but I would like to go in a path that can be more immediately scalable should I choose to do so. SFH sounded good from the start, but once it becomes time to scale, working with small or midsized MF sounds like the better approach. I'd also consider commercial properties depending on the type.

I currently manage a 30-person R&D facility that recently went through a decent renovation, so I have some experience managing a facility. I just haven't worked with tenants that don't report to me. I read that A and B class neighborhoods need a little less regular attention than C and D class neighborhoods, so I would prefer to focus on A and B class neighborhoods. The difficult thing for my locale is that MF is more available in the C and D areas. Or that is what I am seeing.