All Forum Posts by: Andrew Kougl

I've thought about this myself, but really for an "in between deals" stage. Ideally I'd be investing in real estate, but with down payments, the reality is there is a considerable amount of time to build up the next down payment and you want your capital to be doing something. Higher velocity of money means you're getting richer generally.

We did the "open a new bank account thing". Seemed like a lot of hassle to us, needed to have $15k in the bank for 6 months straight and 6 months of a direct deposit going into it plus X number of transactions coming out. All for $250 and it didn't seem worth it. Also, make sure YOU are receiving the offer. My wife's co-worker received another bank's Direct Mail piece, told my wife, she went to the bank and the teller said, "sure we can do that for you" but come to find out 2 weeks later, we weren't qualified for it and couldn't claim it.

Me personally, if this is really just play money, I'd explore Peer-to-Peer lending. Higher yields there and I've read it's fairly safe.

@Steve Gregory Wow, sounds like you are getting the best of both worlds with sweat equity and forced appreciation but also the longer term monthly rental/lease income. That's an awesome strategy that probably keeps you flush with capital so you can do it again. Curious as to why you don't choose to do a cash out refi instead to still pull the equity out but keep the properties indefinitely. Would your DTI get out of hand and prevent you from acquiring more property? Either way, I aspire to be at your level some day.

To everyone else so far, thanks for all the advice! I'm reaching out to most of you directly.

One thing I am still unclear on is financing. Do lenders typically hang out on BP or are they usually a package deal with either the agent or property manager or do all the turnkey's have their own financing. Haven't heard from any lenders yet so I am curious. Also happy to hear from any other out of state investors who invested in either Indianapolis or Chicago or recommendations for agents in either market.

Thanks!

Awesome to see everyone weighing in on the topic.

@Andrew Johnson Completely agree! Not everyone gets to live in their ideal city and the fact that demand is low in certain markets keeping home prices low means opportunity for investors.

@Jeff Schechter Will do! Thanks

That's a good sign for continued economic development. Thanks for sharing! Builds my confidence in the market.

@Mike D'Arrigo Thank you, appreciate the feedback. I did look at Kansas City as well, but not as much came up on Realtor.com but you might have inventory I can't see...Looking for homes within 20 years of age versus 50 or below in my search to avoid getting a house with a lot of deferred maintenance. Not sure if that strategy will avoid that issue but that was my logic. Will be reaching out.

@Tom Ott I actually used Realtor.com to scour the entire US, and initially ended up with something like 72 markets that I eventually narrowed down to 5: Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland and Toledo. I don't know how to tell if a market is over saturated but that's a great point I hadn't thought of. How do you recommend I learn that information? I have keyword alerts so I am beginning to learn about the markets but it seems like everything is competitive out there, haha.

@Bruce May Appreciate you reaching out and glad to see you are in my area. I just watched your YouTube video on Rental Analysis and am starting your BP Podcast. Do you have experience in either of these markets? It seems like there is a strong leaning towards turnkey properties which I agree is probably a safer bet for a first time real estate investor from out of state. I just want to make sure it checks out and the purchase price does prohibit cash flow. Excited to hear more about the markets you have had success in.

I use Trulia crime map myself. Haven't found a good one for vacancy yet.

I'm looking to invest in Indy myself. What area of town are you seeing tenants that are consistently paying late?

Thanks.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/50-worst...

Article came out on MSN this morning and I'm wondering how much stock/value investors place in this list. Do these lists sway people's moving behavior or are they reporting trends that are likely already passed?

Hello BP Community!

First post here and I'm super excited to connect with like-minded individuals. I am interested in REI from a Buy & Hold perspective focused on cash flow. I live in San Diego and it's crazy expensive here so have to look out of state for my first investment property (already own a house in SD).

I'm specifically thinking 3/2 SFH in a B class neighborhood would be the ideal scenario to get stable tenants and good cash flow, primarily in the Midwest. Looking specifically at $60k-$90k properties in Indianapolis and the suburbs of Chicago. I know both areas can be hit and miss and you need to know the area which is why I plan to travel there in a month to check both out. Are there other areas in this range that are large metros that cash flow?

I want to make the best use of my time so would love to be pointed in the right direction when it comes to Real Estate Agents, Property Managers, local lenders and General Contractors (hoping to find something fairly turnkey...paint, carpet, updating appliances). Also considering the possibility of Turnkey providers if there are any that service those markets.

Thanks for reading and appreciate the help!

Andrew