All Forum Posts by: Andrew Merritt

Thanks @Mindy Jensen.  I was planning on using my realtor to do the paperwork and everything b/c I have no idea how to do all of that.  Would you recommend I do it all myself to save money?  If so, where could I learn all what is necessary for the process?

My neighbors (renters) are moving out of their house within the week and I've been told that the owners of the house are going to update/renovate and then sell.  How would I approach them and say I'm interested before they do their renovations without sounding like a cheapskate or to much of a salesman?  I checked on Zillow and they estimate the house is worth ~$202k, which is a little out of our price range (assuming we'll need to put 20% down).  

I haven't been inside the house so I'm not sure what all needs to be updated (it was built around 2001, so it can't be that much), so I don't know how much I'd be able to get off of the theoretical asking price.

@Ashby Tyler Cappelmann do you already have your properties or are you looking to buy through the managers as well?  

@Derek Stellwagen I believe that Clemson's goal with all of the student housing that they're building is for it to be just for freshman.  They're trying to get rid of everyone else on campus so there should be a lot more people looking for places to live.

Good questions @Ashby Tyler Cappelmann.  I'm also looking to invest in property in Clemson and I noticed the same thing about the property management companies there.  I dealt with Foothills when I was a student looking for housing.  They were OK, but they didn't give off the best vibe.

Thanks @Gail Poyner.  I'm still pretty nervous about investing in real estate, so I'm going to leave my Roth alone for right now and stick with the funds I have in my other account.

@Gail Poyner 

Interesting, I've never heard of a self-directed IRA. I just did some brief reading and it looks like you pay for everything w/ an IRA and whatever proceeds get put into your IRA and are tax-deferred until retirement. Am I understanding this correctly?

It doesn't look like I'd be able to roll this money into a self-directed IRA. I think the rollover money has to come from an already established IRA or 401(k). I have a separate IRA, but there's not as much in there.

Hey all, I just joined BP the other day as I've been looking for some info on REI. I've got about $40k in mutual funds (non IRA so I wouldn't have to pay penalties to withdrawal, maybe just capital gains) that I could play with. I just have that money growing for retirement right now. I also have probably about $50k in equity in my home that I live in.

What should I look at buying with this amount of money?  Should I just use the 40k that I have invested?  Should I take out a home equity loan?  How many properties would you recommend I buy?  

I was initially only thinking of using the $40k to put 20% down on a house worth up to $200k, but it seams that a lot of people here buy multiple cheap houses with very little down and that's sounding more appealing to me.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

Hey Everybody,

I'm new to the world of REI. I've been doing a lot of financial research as of late and through my reading I've decided to pursue real estate as a new venture. I'm 29 and a mechanical engineer by trade and I'm looking for another income stream to pad my retirement assets.

Looking forward to learning a lot and making some money!