All Forum Posts by: Ben Van Gorp

Congrats on your success! That's awesome, you are way ahead of the game and created some opportunity for yourself!

My two cents- 95% of the time, a HELOC is the best way to leverage equity and scale. Especially if you BRRRR.

Secondly- the way you worded this inquiry in regards to LLCs makes me think that you might not have a thorough understanding of the pros and cons to LLCs and how they effect the type of loans you can get and the liability you create or mitigate. I'd suggest you meet with you attorney and go over some strategy and make sure you feel good about your next steps. 

Best of luck!

 Have you considered purchasing a 1-4 unit as an owner occupied and renting out your current home? You could tap into the equity if you need for a down payment/renovations. This way you could end up with 2-5 units total. You would get some decent experience and confidence. After one year you can repeat the process. Now you have 4-9 units. You have gained experience, credibility, and equity to go after the next deal or potentially a commercial property (5+ units). Good luck!

Go to any and all meetups where real estate investors will be. It doesn't matter if it doesn't seem like it's a direct fit to what you think you want to do. You will learn more at a meetup than in books and podcasts, although those are great starters. Just remember to not focus on what you need when you go, focus on asking questions about what everyone does.

Welcome! 

Cashing out the equity on your current property is just another means of borrowing. I don't think that makes sense unless rates are really low. 

Your equity is not a savings account from which you can withdraw for free. If you cash out equity in a property, you are "borrowing" that money from the lender. Upfront expenses and monthly payments must be considered when calculating the return on your investment.

EXAMPLE
You cash out $100,000 of your equity and use this as a down payment on a $400,000 investment property. This creates two loan payments ($100,000 of equity and $300,000 on the new mortgage).

Key Numbers

• Home Equity Loan Interest Rate: 6%
• Mortgage Interest Rate: 7%
• Rental Income: $3,000 per month
• Expenses (management, taxes, insurance, maintenance): $800 per month

Income and Expenses

• Monthly Rental Income: $3,000
• Monthly Expenses: $800
• Monthly Mortgage Payment: $2,000

Explanation

• The investor earns $3,000 in rent each month.
• They pay $2,000 on the investment property mortgage and $800 on other expenses.
• This leaves $200 profit each month or $2,400 per year.
• However, you have to pay $6,000 interest on the equity borrowed.
• This leaves you with an annual loss of $3,600.

While the rental property generates positive monthly income, the interest cost of borrowing the initial $100,000 results in an overall annual loss. You should consider whether the potential property value increase or other benefits outweigh this loss.

Here's some generic beginner advice to help you get started.

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. NETWORK!!! Get out of your comfort zone. Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies that spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away. Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area. You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, facebook, or a Google search. Birds of a feather flock together!

5. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. A handy search bar in the upper right makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, recognizing a good deal will be much easier when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

6. Study the market. You can learn to do this independently or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR who works with investors and knows how to help you best.

7. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. You could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things must be learned through trial and error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a forgiving world; the average person can still make money even with some big mistakes.

@Ben Van Gorp is there a meet up local to your area you can attend? You can find them here on BP or online like meet up.com and places like that.