All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Aaker

The best way to find a quality mentor is to go to local meetups and meet people. Join a mastermind group of similar investors. Learn all you can. It takes time to get the required knowledge. 

Agreed with previous.
I use a SDIRA for investments.
Set up fee and an annual custodian fee should be all you need.

At the end of the day, you won't be able to hide who you are even with this complex structure. Keep it simple is great advice. Don't do anything criminal or negligent. Having an or multiple LLCs helps keep the finances separate should you have a loss. Also make sure you have quality insurance with an umbrella policy. I recommend that for those who are moving to serious investing. Those starting out, your own name is good enough.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! I'm grateful for my real estate investments and having a property manager to answer the phone on days like today.

Hard to get multifamily for 250k, but I know they are out there. If you are willing to house hack and live in one unit of a 4 plex, this would work. With your VA loan as @Johnny Lynum says, you could get a nice property for little down. I recommend you contact a residential banker and a commercial real estate agent and start looking at deals right now, even before you are ready to buy.

Hi Jack from Dallas. What better thing to do on Thanksgiving Day than learn about real estate investing! I spent three years in Dallas and there are some great deals to be had there. Welcome and feel free to ask your questions here.

What are you looking for in an investment? With turnkey, the value-add has been done already and there isn't much left. Turnkey might be a place to sink a bunch of cash to hedge it for some potential downturn. Don't bet on passive appreciation, just forced appreciation. And in turnkey, all the forced appreciation has been done already. I'd love to hear from a turnkey operator here about the benefits. Perhaps there are some that I don't know.

Hey Jay, this is one of the few nice things about those Midwest winters. Up here we often have an outlet from each tenant's panel going right out to the parking area for engine block heaters. It's only 110V but would be nice on the property advertisement for potential tenants. Less EVs in the cold, I know, but thanks for the idea!

Hi Amy, It's always nice to see a neighbor posting on the forums. Run the numbers as the rental income might not be enough to keep you in the black. Keep in mind that with a mortgage you are also building equity, so that's a plus. You can keep it in your name. If you start doing more, the LLC will be your way to go, but right now, make sure you talk to your insurer about it as you will need a different policy. Also attach a $1M umbrella policy as JD Martin recommends.

I use Auto Owners Insurance. Give them a try.