All Forum Posts by: Bob Woelfel

@Alex Oogjen...the easy answer here is both. If you goals is to BRRR then you probably wouldn't want a deal that doesn't cash flow at all with some equity because you'll be coming out of pocket for expenses every time. That 20k in equity for example is great, but not so great when you're losing money on the property day to day. You also wouldn't want to cash flow a couple hundred bucks each month but not have any equity in the deal after all that time renovating. You need to be looking to maximize both whenever possible. What you need to do is figure out the minimum cash flow number per month that you would need to do a deal and base your decisions off that. Then look for deals where it looks like you'll be able to have enough equity to get all or most of your money back when you refinance. Best of luck.

@Debbie C....you definitely need to get more opinions.  I know the Bay area is expensive, but you're talking about maybe up to a million dollars or more here.  If you aren't in love with your realtor and they haven't been very helpful I would highly suggest moving on and interviewing a few more.  Bring them to the house to see what they think.  I would even suggest finding really successful investors in your area and see what they would pay for the house as-is.  You could get it appraised as well for another opinion.  Get a few bids for the work you think it would need to sell, particularly roof and foundation as those will probably be bigger ticket items that will need to be addressed before sale.  Talk to developers to see what they would give you for the land.  It's clearly important to you because you are here looking for advice.  Do a little work on the front end so you can feel good about the decision you ultimately make.  Best of luck.

What do you mean by legalities?  Other than multiple family members what is holding you up?

Do you know the family?  If so, discuss with a family member about selling.  They will have to get everyone else on board to sign off before it can be sold.

If you don't know the family check the tax records to see if you can find out where to start.  More information on the exact situation would be helpful.  

@Kevin OBrien  I do not currently use a block schedule, although I have developed one.  I'm just not disciplined enough with my day yet to completely stick to it.  Right now I'm more of a to do list guy, but I did just get done reading "The One Thing" and I'm trying to be more intentional about what I'm focusing my time on and not just checking off things to seem productive.  It's a trap I've fallen into where its busy busy busy and you get a lot of things done, but at the end of the day I've neglected marketing and lead generation which is the sole core of my business.  I didn't move any closer to my goal because I wasn't focused on the one thing.  I would try to get clear about the one thing that is going to really help you.  Best of luck.

@Kevin OBrien Getting started can be tough, but your issue is time so I don't think it's going to get significantly easier until something changes to free some up.

Here is what I did and would suggest.  Use your lunch to go look at properties if you can.  I was able to start investing very close to where I worked so for the first few years of my investing career I would go look at houses over lunch.  Use any drive or commute time you have for educational podcasts as this will shorten your learning curve.  As others have mentioned, just try to identify small pockets of time when you can get things done.  Even a 15 minute window here and there can allow you to scan for properties to do an analysis on one.  

Not knowing your wifes schedule, but since you are with the kids during the week until 8 is there a couple hours on Saturday or Sunday that you can designate for "daddy's work time"?  I think this is going to have to be a team effort with you and your wife where it just needs to become a priority if it can't get done during the week.  My wife and I are on the same page as she has a busy career as well.  When she says she has to work I understand...no questions asked.  She gives me the same when I tell her I need to get some things done.  We have 3 kids are home including a 9 month old.  Some nights I can't get at my stuff until almost 9.  

As long as you work output matches your goals you'll be fine.  Best of luck.

@Larissa Luna...I think you have to pay off this debt first.  I'm just a firm believer in every investor getting their own personal financial house in order before moving on to investing.  Not knowing your income of savings rate, but I'm guessing that if you throw this 15k into an investment you are going to be years away from paying off this CC debt.  You could use the cash flow to help pay it down, but then you're risking your cap ex and maintenance repair budget for the investment property.  I just don't think it's a great idea.  Get debt free and then move on from there.  

@Justin O'Malley...I think the only way I would do this is if you were planning to house hack.  Don't do this to just buy a single family for you to live.  If I could start my investing career over and go back 10 years I would house hack and live for free.  Good luck.

@David Wagner...you may not want to. I don't know your market and price points. Maybe the fees will make it challenging to pull off. There is a pretty active thread going on right now about the BRRR strategy and if it's a viable option in todays market.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/672...

The way that I look at it though is if we are going in and doing a full rehab and the plan is to hold for a number of years it's really not a big deal to me if I've got to leave a few $$ in the deal.  Just another option for you to consider.  Good luck.

The best use would be to move on from these properties IMO.  Even if you sold and purchased other property with cash, you should be able to double your gross income with that amount of money.  Now, if you wanted to get aggressive and 1031 into larger buildings you should be able to do significantly better than that.  Every situation is unique because of markets and personal taxes, etc.  But if you're just talking about shifting dollars around for the highest return then I would look at moving on.  Best of luck

Welcome to BP.  Congrats on taking some action and listening to podcasts in the car.  This is a great way to accelerate your learning.  What type of investing are you looking to get involved in?  Are there areas you're looking at now?  Keep learning and growing.