All Forum Posts by: Betty Cruz

@Bill Gulley  thank you for taking the time to read my narrative. I guess I wasn't clear about my intentions. I don't want to start a business per se, I basically just want to figure out where to invest my $200,000 after I sell my house.  I like the tip about the SBA providing guidance. I'm going to investigate. 

@Thomas S. I'm listening. I just don't love tons of debt. I'm confused - when I run numbers on a non-leveraged property, my cash flow doubles. What am I missing? 

Here's a hypothetical scenario... :-)

I am not experienced enough nor numbers smart enough to figure this out with confidence but I am devising a plan and would be very grateful for input from some of you who are so brilliant at figuring out what I call real estate puzzles. I have read hundreds of posts and it always seems like the people with really great answers still ask for more info from the poster so I will try to write down as many details as I can think - sorry for the lengthy post...as the subject line reads, this is for analytical types.

1. GOAL - to have at least $1200 passive income and a place to live that is paid for by renters. I want to be able to achieve this within 2 years and sustain it for 10-12 years after that. Basically, I am trying to find gap funding for a pseudo-retired life as I wait to be able to tap into my 401k retirement savings. 

2. Current situation. I have a day job and I'm completely debt free except for my personal home. I have sufficient savings/credit and pre-approval for down payment on up to $200,000 worth of rental property. Additionally, I have $200,000 equity on my current residence that I will definitely sell within 18-22 months. It is way too much house and I'm just waiting till I'm an empty-nester to dump it. I don't think it is a desirable house to rent out because it has high HOA fees and a swimming pool (which I don't wish to maintain).

3. My idea. I have tossed around many ideas and am open to any other options, but this is my working plan...

a. Purchase a rental now (or as soon as I can find something good, which seems difficult) and set it up to cashflow at least $300/mo. This would get me started, get me learning how to be a landlord and get me building up some equity as I'm not a huge fan of a lot of debt.

b. After selling my personal home in about 18-22 months, use the cash ($200,000 equity) to buy a duplex or multifamily that I can house hack. I'm thinking that with no or very low mortgage, I could easily live in this for "free." This also gives me the flexibility to live elsewhere if I want (I'm thinking out of state/out of country, etc).

As I analyze deal after deal, I feel the combination of rental property earnings from one leveraged property and one non-leveraged property could give me the desired passive income. What am I not thinking of? What would be a better plan? Any help would be much appreciated!

Not only am I overwhelmed by your generosity and the idea behind it, but I'm envious of your position to be able to do such a cool thing. That is one of my goals as well...to be able to GIVE MORE some day in a big, impactful way. Blessings to you and your family!!

Making a poor buy. I think the purchase, especially the first one, better be a pretty darn good deal. And that seems very difficult to find.

I like that @jonathan bueno! 

A few things. Something to flip, perhaps a duplex or sfh to buy and hold. I'm new and learning and just thought this would be an interesting discussion since so many people say they don't have time for certain things. So today I have time and thought it would be cool to learn how different people would use their time. 

I'm looking for referrals for an experienced agent who is also an investor. Anyone have someone to recommend?