All Forum Posts by: Andrew Freed

@Qais Attarwala - I'd recommend also checking out Charlotte NC. It's not too far from you and I know there are a ton of meetups out there. Charlotte is going through some pretty dramatic growth recently so there is a ton of development out there, e.g. a ton of investors. My partner on a 32 unit (in Lancaster SC) and friend, @Wendell Butler, lives out there and may be able to direct you to some cool meetups in the Charlotte area. 

@Brandon Gale - Not sure how you can cash flow $300K off of 4 rental properties. Seems super unrealistic. I have over 125 units and I don't cash flow anywhere close to that. 

Additionally, since you haven't been a landlord that long, you should dive deeper into how you are coming up with cash flow. Make sure you are allocating funds towards phantom expenses such as repair, capex, vacancy and property mangement fees. Without taking that into account, most properties look like they cash flow, however when a heating unit goes, your roof goes, or you have to deal with multiple unit turns, you cash flow disapears real quickly. 

I know this is an unpopular belief but I think having a W2 or job is an asset and can accelerate your way to financial independence. It makes you more loanable and provides a cushion for unforeseen situations which is inevitable in real estate, especially going into a recession. I recommend at least becoming an investor focused agent or have some other side hustle to bring in money while you expand your portfolio. 

Lastly, regarding your question about a CPA, make sure to choose a CPA that specializes in real estate. Also look into performing cost segregation studies in your properties and obtaining the real estate professional designation. These simple tactics can save you a ton of money in taxes. More or less, you can utilize your depreciation to off set any active income hence you can pay close to zero taxes on all the money you make if you have enough depreciation to off set it. 

@Brad Sparks - In today's world, you need to shop around to find the best loan products. The best loan products come from small local banks and credit unions. I would recommend that you make a list of local credit unions or banks and start calling and seeing what products they have available. I personally work with 4-5 local banks that have specialties in different areas. For instance, some specialize in commercial, others specialize in low down payment owner occupied loans, others specialize in construction loans and some specialize in lines of credit. But they key is to focus on small local banks and credit unions who are portfolio lenders and hold the loans in house hence they have the ability to not follow normal loan guidelines. 

Lastly, see what other investors in your area use, e.g. go on your local Knoxville investor groups and ask what local banks people use for cash out refinances, for lines of credit etc. Just my two cents for finding rockstar banking partners. 

@Rajesh Shenoy - My business partner and friend, @Wendell Butler, moved to Charlotte a few years ago and knows the market well. We actually bought a 32 unit together in a small suburb outside of Charlotte a few months back. He would be a great person to connect with regarding the market. He also is a lender and may be able to direct you to some good products. Best of luck! 

At least locally, I hear the Berkshires in Massachusetts are very profitable for STRs. Same with the Cape Cod area. Also, Arcadia in Maine seems to be a profitable STR market as well.

For MTR markets, it all depends on a highest concentration of hospitals. That will be the largest determinate on whether its a good market since that is your most common avatar for a tenant. I'd limit my search to states and cities with a high concentration of hospitals if that is your strategy.

For LTR's, I'd recommend focusing on markets that have a high concentration of multifamily. LTR's are way easier to make work with a multifamily than a single family. That is what I did, I targeted Worcester MA, which has the largest concentration of multifamily in the Massachusetts market.

I hope this helps and good luck on your search! 

@Luke Hoffman - In the future, I highly recommend that you store all of your business documentation on a google drive. Whenever a new document is created, I make sure to store it electronically on my drive and can access any document I need directly from my phone or computer anywhere in the world. I have separate folders for each property, business, etc. It makes tracking documentation a breeze! Also, google has a desktop extension allowing you to access the drive directly on your computer just like any other folder. It makes organizing your documents super easy. 

To @Theresa Harris's point, check with the tenant. Worst case, you may have to have them sign a new lease with the same terms and timeframe. If you have a good relationship with the tenant, this should not be an issue. 

@Ava Randelia - That's amazing. Congrats on the success.  I can relate, you get wealthy by holding assets and not selling them. Hopefully you can find a good use for the sale proceeds to transfer that into more cash flow assets. 

In the future, you should consider a refinance or line of credit to suck out the equity while holding the asset. I own over 125 units and I've never sold a property, I've used the equity in my properties (via lines of credit, refinance, and cross collaboratization) to buy more rental real estate. 

@Jonathan Greene specializes in the NJ market, is a super experienced investor, and has a team of agents. He would be a great person to connect to regarding expanding your investments in NJ. Shoot him a message, he is super approachable. 

@Donald A Brownlee Jr. - Can you try a hard money loan? Normally hard money lenders require 15-20% down and they cover 100% of the rehab costs. Given that you have $80K, seems like you have enough to go this route. If I were you, I would find a successful local flipper and offer to go 50/50 with them. You found the deal, they bring the expertise, the network, and the lender. You can also shadow a successful flipper and the learn the ropes. Sounds like a win/win for both parties.

@Ryan Williams - Leverage always increases your returns. If you are paying off a 3 or 4% mortgage, why not just take the additional cash and transition that into assets that provide a 8-10% return. If you're looking to scale quickly, putting the least down on cash flowing assets and buying as many as possible is the way to that path. If you are near the end of your journey and simply looking for stability and low overhead then I could see paying off mortgages, however that is not the most adventegous from a wealth building perspective.