All Forum Posts by: Betty Cruz

Kassie Carrell please contact me through a private message. I would like to help.

@Francisco Trejo. I did a traditional loan on the first one. And the second I used HELOC money.

@Becky Bricker I have learned sooo much and have tons more to learn. Every day I could make a long list of things learned. One thing I can say I observed about multifamilies is they are competitive to find and so many are so run down. 

@Jason Yahner I searched for months and "decided on" several houses that I didn't win along the way. Then I began to be very interested in beacon hill because the location is awesome and the houses seem to be appreciating. I was looking for houses with back houses. Both of the houses I bought have back houses. One is in beacon hill the other in Los Angeles heights. 

@Account Closed thanks Eddie! I needed that encouragement this morning!

@Adam Mangrum Personally I don't agree but you have to tackle this the way you feel most comfortable. I understand opportunity cost but only to the extent that you are exhausting all your "opportunity". I believe in developing multiple streams of income, and, especially when you are young and presumably energetic, there is lots of time in a day to begin developing those streams. It doesn't have to be forever. I say this because it has worked for me. Over the years I have always supplemented my income even when I made a very low day job salary at a full time job. Just look at your hobbies and talents and you can find money all around you- I have tutored, prepared taxes for H&R Block, rented my personal residence, driven for Uber/Lyft, been a running coach, babysat, taken on a roommate, been a testing proctor, etc. In today's society with the Internet, opportunities are endless. You have an exercise physiology degree- I would look into personal training of some sort. Maybe lead an excercise group in your neighborhood. I have a friend who is a virtual coach. She gets paid to encourage people on an internet group who are trying to get fit. I'm thinking of a new job for myself right now. I could do debt reduction counseling. I could charge to help get people out of debt by encouraging them and being their accountability person!

Whatever you decide, good luck to you! You are on the right track. 

Congratulations on taking such a bold look at your finances and getting motivated to do something. That is really the biggest step. All the advice you've gotten is excellent. I want to add one other thoughts/idea. You're tackling debt reduction (which Dave Ramsey calls your hole) but it seems you could also easily increase your salary (Dave Ramsey calls this your shovel). 70k for two college educated people is very low. Are there side jobs you could take on? Consulting? Pizza delivery? Heck, I made several thousand dollars last year driving for Uber/Lyft on nights and weekends. I also rented out my house on HomeAway and AirBnb while on vacation. There's lots of ways to make a bit of cash here and there and the extra income will really accelerate your progress. Additionally, I wouldn't worry one bit about what other people think. Other people are broke. You won't be now that you are paying attention! Great job!!

@Chris Sweeney thank you!

Thank you all so much @Robert Melcher @Brad Larsen , @Ian R. I used a little bit of each of your comments to put together my packet of info and forms. This forum has helped me so much! Today I got my first signed lease! Yay!

Thanks @Jason Hill I'm hoping to get advice from others in my immediate area. Using this forum will hopefully get several perspectives quickly and efficiently.