All Forum Posts by: Amy Kendall

@Kenneth White welcome to the site! I suggest you look into buying a house hack to springboard you into future success. The BRRRR strategy might also be right down your alley with your experience in construction. Good luck!

@Juan Santos I think the amount of initial work you will have to put into real estate investing really depends on the strategy you choose to follow. If you want to take the BRRRR method, then you do need to invest a lot of time into making connections and finding really good deals. If, however, you just want to buy a property and have a property management company manage it, then your actual time commitment becomes very minimal. Both can be done from a distance, but the amount of work on your part is very different in those situations. I acquired my properties over time all while both my husband and I worked full-time. I would plan on driving while you get started and get a few properties that can give you some cash flow. My husband and I still save all the cash flow we make from our properties and continue to work so that we can reinvest that money and keep growing. It gives you a lot of security and once you get a few good properties, it really gains momentum. It is worth all your effort. Keep learning and make a goal to acquire at least one property this year. Good luck!

@Daniel Howard All the above advise is great.  The market is tough right now, and duplexes are selling at a premium.  @Kaydn Jensen has a great strategy, and I have seen a lot of investors interested in house hacking moving to a house with an accessory apartment or a mother-in-law.  I even have a client that is building one new with that intention.  It takes a little searching but if you were willing to live in the basement portion, you should be able to cover your payment and live for free.  

All of the above is great advise.  My husband first started renting out our first home when we moved away for college.  It just happened, then when we moved back, we bought a second home.  We still didn't have much money, so we bought the best deal we found on the market.  Then we moved into our current home and rented it out as well.  Luckily, we bought the best deals we could find, so they both are pretty good cash flowing deals.  Then, we found Bigger Pockets and took off from there, but those first two have helped us accomplish what we have today.  In your situation, you could move and use your property as  your first rental or consider a house hack.

I could see how a MBA would come in handy.  My husband took some business classes in college, so when the banks ask us for our balance sheet and profit and loss papers he has no problem coming up with them.

Does anyone know of a wholesaler selling in or around Park City, Utah?

I would vote for B as well and continue to invest.  My husband and I are in a very similar situation and have been discussing these same issues.  Initially, when we started investing our goal was to make $5k/month in passive income and thought that was our end goal because it replaced my husband's income.  Now that we are there, our goal is to make at least $10k/month in passive income.  So, we are continuing to acquire properties rather than pay them off.  But if you feel you have reached your goal and are happy waiting for 15 years, then you could just continue on.  

Cozy does have fees that are paid for by the tenant.  I allow them to fill out an application for free on Cozy, then we do an initial screening.  Once that is done, I make sure they want to move forward with the credit and background check, then I have them pay a $39 fee through Cozy for that.  There are other options that you can choose to have Cozy apply as well.  I like to do it this way; so that I only have tenants that meet my criteria actually paying for the credit and background check.  In addition to that, they also charge the tenant about a $2 fee/month when they pay their rent.

What all is included in those expenses?  With the numbers you posted, you will just be breaking even every month.  Any unexpected costs outside of your projects will cost you money.  Also, how much money will you be putting into this deal?  With these numbers, it doesn't look like you would get any return on your initial cash investment.  Perhaps you could negotiate a better deal to make the numbers look more appealing?  Or are rents below market value and could those be increased?

It isn't a straightforward yes or no answer, because if you plan on financing your investments, then transferring those investments into your LLC could potentially have some negative consequences. I wouldn't let it hold you up if you are planning on getting a loan in your name anyway on a property. Get an umbrella insurance policy for now and you can tackle your LLC problem later.