All Forum Posts by: Angelo Behar

 Welcome Brandon! I'm glad you found BiggerPockets bc I know it will definitely help you achieve your real estate goals. I love South Florida and I wish you a ton of success down there. 

And congrats on the baby!

@Tara Hall Wow, I can't believe I didn't see this thread when you started it. Mr. Money Mustache is my effin hero. Is it weird to love someone you've never met? I dunno, maybe its creepy, but I love that guy, ha! He saved me from a life a perilous spending and waste. My savings rate was worthy of face punches before I found his blog. And it's because of him that I found BiggerPockets.

Now, to answer you question, being a mustachian makes real estate investing painful at times. I have to separate my mustachian side from my real estate side. Sure I can cycle everyday regardless of the weather (Belgium has rain, snow, ice, hail, sleet so far this winter), but when I have to pay $5000 to fix up a house to get it rent ready, its almost depressing. You just have to think about the big picture when it comes to real estate.

Six months of picking foods at the grocery store that aren't name brand to save money can be blown away in one repair on a house. 

I just tell myself, if I didn't save as much as I do, it would bite even worse. So, I think you may have to create a real estate department for your mind to be at ease with the cost of being in real estate. 

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BiggerPockets is like a public library dedicated to real estate investing. 

@Brandon Duff Ouch, brotha. $10k+ combined in car notes.

I feel ya, I had two motorcycles....TWO. Granted they were paid off, but I sold them and used the money to invest, because I'd rather have a house that cash flows rather than "things". Especially "things" that depreciate. 

The fact that you're here is a good sign. Check out some of these well written articles. If you take heed to the advice found in those blogs, you will CRUSH. 

@Brandon Duff From your numbers, it appears her $500 car note is negatively affecting her future. Does $6,000 on a depreciating asset seem like the key to a bright future? 

I wouldn't personally dissuade her from a tax sheltered investment like a 401k, especially since her employer gives her 3k for the sake of contributing. I would concentrate on the 6k being thrown down the drain on a car note. 2015 401k max is $18,000. She's contributing $9600, and employment is contributing $3080+/-, giving her $12,600+. 

Two people making a combined $177k, there's bound to be some room to increase the savings to get the cash for down payments. Figure out a solid business plan and write it down since I'm sure a person like your well educated wife would enjoy seeing the awesomeness of a well thought out plan for real estate investing.

The numbers don't lie, just make sure you understand them all when you present her with your plan so she has less doubt. Good luck!

Hi Chris, I think your concerns are shared by a lot of people. For me, slow and steady wins the race. Understanding how my real estate investments will snowball has helped me be patient. If you expect massive returns out of the gate, you give yourself unnecessary pressure.

The numbers don't lie. Do your due diligence, and creating a business plan helps, because you'll write down every aspect of your business goals and how you'll achieve them. I also think you have to consider how risk averse you are. The more risk averse, the more conservative you may want to go. Go big or go home does not apply here. 

Risk is relative in my opinion. I invested in the stock market before I dabbled in real estate. Stocks and bonds will go up and down in value, and so will real estate, but over time, both stocks and real estate will be worth more 40 years from now. My investment horizon is forever. Think about investing on a macro level, and the day-to-day speculation will bother you a lot less.

@Hector Arreola Welcome Hector! Wow, you seem to have been through a lot. I'm glad you decided to take the time to introduce yourself. 

Nothing beats working on your own terms. I'm seeking something a bit similar, mostly just living off passive income, and enjoying all the time I'll have not dedicated to doing work for other people. 

Good luck out there, it seems you've already got some experience, I hope everything works out for ya. 

@Mike Hoefling Congrats Mike! Nice way to start the year off. Good luck to ya on making some deals now that you have your license!

@Dana N. Hi Dana. Do you have access to the MLS? If you do, under terms accepted, click the seller/owner financing box. Then continue filtering out properties that meet your criteria, and when you view results, only the properties that are open to seller financing will appear.

If you don't have access to the MLS, perhaps an agent could assist you. Just ask the agent to filter the search by finding properties open to seller financing.