All Forum Posts by: Ana Marie B.

@Ali Boone - Thanks again for your feedback. 

Will look into those areas you mentioned :) I'll be doing some extensive research on neighborhoods in the coming weeks.

And yes, the variance in opinion is very fascinating!  I certainly have an open mind and love to hear all the suggestions from experts such as yourself.

@Audrey Y. - Yes, that's exactly why we considered "paying extra to pay down our mortgage: as an option moving forward. Our thinking is that once the mortgage is paid off, then the rental income is straight cash flow (save property tax, insurance, etc.). In our area, the rent for a SFR is around $3k/mo., which is pretty sweet.

Thanks @Kevin Trumbull!

Yes, as a beginner investor, that indeed is our goal -- to purchase more property and diversify our portfolio.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we're fine with breaking even for now, so long as someone else is paying the mortgage.  Here's to hoping for solid cash flow in the coming years!

Very excited to learn from you and other investors on this wonderful site.

@Mark Nolan - Thanks for the greeting and info. on BP's resources/tools!  Looking forward to checking out the podcasts, etc.  

@Jeff Pollack - Wow!  Thank you, thank you for the valuable advice! 

"You'll need to buy in the path of progress where you'll get appreciation, then leverage the appreciation by either refinancing or selling one property to pay off several others. Then you actually will get decent cash flow."

Your advice above is golden and yes, this is the path we will take.  It fits our conservative strategy.  We will also leverage our home equity as needed and will not pay extra to pay down our mortgage.  Thanks for illustrating the rationale behind this.  We really appreciate and value your advice. Thanks again.

@Account Closed - Just read your post about the upside to purchasing condos in highly desirable neighborhoods!  We absolutely agree.  Fabulous job with your condos in beautiful Honolulu!

Being out-of-state investors, we want to reduce the maintenance and other "chores" that landlords often face. By purchasing high-end condos, with no rental cap, in a well-managed building with amenities, we're fairly certain that we can consistently find higher quality tenants. We chose a condo with a fairly low HOA (under $300) and insurance included in the dues. (We did opt to get some supplemental landlord insurance for a mere $300/yr. just for added protection.)

I've read several posts on BP wherein landlords bash condo investments, but I think there are always pros and cons to any investment -- be it SFR, Condo, Townhouse, or Multifamily complex. Folks just need to do extensive research before purchasing any property.  And yes, buying a crap condo in a trashy neighborhood certainly increases anyone's risk!

@Account Closed - Really interesting perspective and advice!

Yes, we are knowledgeable about value investing and are quite conservative in our strategy.  We plan to buy in emerging/booming areas and hold to allow properties to appreciate.  We are more so interested in future returns, as we live quite comfortably now.  We just want to break even for now and allow someone else to pay the mortgage.  One of our strategies is to refi properties once they've appreciated, thereby hopefully giving us the cash flow, when the mortgage is reduced.  By purchasing in A-B neighborhoods, we increase the likelihood of finding quality tenants and can also raise rents when it makes sense.

Also, thanks for your thoughts on paying down the mortgage.  Totally value your advice and now understand why it may not be a good idea to pay extra to pay down our mortgage.  We should allow that equity to continue growing and perhaps use it later on a more lucrative investment.  Thanks again!!

@Account Closed - Wow thank you for your valuable insight! 

We agree with you and would never think of selling our property in the Bay Area. We plan to rent our SFR out at some point actually. We are now looking to diversify our portfolio, so will look at options in midwest, but will be mindful of the potential risks you mentioned in your post. We are really interested in purchasing either another SFR or a duplex/triplex.

Honestly, if we could afford something in the SF Bay Area, we would certainly prefer that. :) However, we all know how inflated everything has become in the past few years.  We'll likely wait for the bubble to burst. Thanks again!  

@Marco Santarelli - Thank you for your feedback! 

Yes we understand the drawbacks of having HOA on our rental property, but this HOA is pretty low and we plan to increase the rent again next year at lease renewal, hopefully enabling us obtain some cash flow. Right now, we are breaking even, which is fine with us, as we're more so interested in future returns.

Also thank you for your advice about leveraging some portion of our equity to use as down payment on our next property.  Will definitely consider this.

Thanks @Ali Boone! 

Really appreciate your insight. Yes agree that the HOA certainly eats away at cash flow, but fortunately our fees are pretty low. Also did our due diligence and ensured no rental cap, pending litigation, etc.

The reason we bought in Seattle is to take advantage of the booming tech market and take a chance in case it becomes the next "San Francisco" in terms of home prices.  

What markets (or cities specifically) would you suggest aside from the Pacific NW? We're really open to hearing ideas. Thanks again!