All Forum Posts by: Bob Woelfel

It seems like to me in reading your post that you already answered your own question.   The goal of going to college is getting a job.  You are 23 and already have a full time job with good benefits.  It sounds like you are doing well on saving money for your first purchase.  You said your goal was to get into real estate.  I don't know what you make or if you like your job, but if you make decent income and enjoy what you do I can't imagine why you'd want to spend money to go to school.  Just keep working and saving for your investments like the thousands of others who post on here everyday.  To me it sounds like college is just going to be a distraction over the next few years that costs you money only to place you in a different field....working full time......with good benefits.....while you save up for your first purchase.  Do you see the run around path you're looking to take?  Now, if you hate your job and you think you can triple your income by going to school and doing something else then it's worth consideration.  I would also suggest though that if you hate your job to go find a job in real estate that will give you real life experience in something you want to be doing.  Good luck.

@Elliot Rudmann is right on.  Pay off the 1k in consumer debt.  I would contribute to your 401k up to the point to get the full match of your employer.  After you've done those two things then just figure out your budget and see how you can save or cut in certain areas to help accomplish your goals.

I didn't cash out per se...I rolled my 401k from my employer over to a Solo 401k for my business. We typically use it to lend on deals with other investors. Initially I thought I would buy and hold properties with that money, but haven't done that as of yet. I kept a little money in the stock market via and IRA, but most everything we do is real estate.

I think it's going to be different for everyone obviously.  I'm at 10+ units and still don't feel like I'm there financially, but I was able to leave my W2 job to invest and work as an agent full time.  Once I did that I stopped pushing so hard for awhile, but now I'm back trying to tackle the next thing.  I think when I get to the point where I net in rental cash flow per year what I used to make at my job I'll feel like I'm there.  With that said, I think the mentality of what it will take I already have acquired.  I've proven the concept to myself of what RE can do...now I just have to follow the plan and be patient.  While I may not answer your question directly I think you're going to have many milestones in your career and you may not even realize at the time when they are happening.  Just enjoy the process.

Hey @J Scott....almost done reading this ebook.  Incredibly helpful and it offers great perspective.  I've learned a lot and it's confirmed with data what I've been seeing and feeling for recently.  Thanks so much.  

What are your thoughts on purchasing buy and holds in areas that are transitioning positively?  Most major metros have these areas and mine is no different.  Do you think that's still a viable option in a recession or would you advise to shift focus and pivot to a different strategy altogether?

Thanks again for your insight.

I think as others have said it seems to be have a lot to do with where we are in the cycle. I'm an agent and rental property investor. We'd done a number of BRRR's using private money. Some we've gotten 100% of our cash back at refi and some we had to leave money in the deal. It's significantly more difficult to find them now than a few years ago in my market, particularly in the areas/neighborhoods we want to invest. Many of the turnkey guys in our market have pushed into more undesirable neighborhoods to make their numbers work. IMO if you were doing this 3-5 years ago you probably did pretty well and are sitting on decent cash flow and a fair amount of equity. If you are starting today and trying to find MLS deals I'm not sure you'll have a lot of success. Every market is different, but that's what I see in mine.

Hmm...that's interesting.  I'm surprised to hear that, but it is what it is I guess.  

As long as the murder isn't an indication of the neighborhood or the direction it's heading then you shouldn't have to worry about the appraisal IMO.

This is exactly why I became licensed a five years ago. I was tired of having to call my agent and set an appointment to go view a potential property. To be honest I felt like I was a burden and wanted the flexibility. I was able to meet my broker at a REI meeting. He was a rental property owner/agent and wanted to start a brokerage to represent other investors. It was a perfect fit. My goals have evolved a bit over the years and now I do represent some retail clients. Just get out and talk to people. Go to meetings and see if anyone in your market knows someone or can introduce you to someone who might be interested in working with you.

The chances of your tenants or an appraiser knowing that this happened before moving or appraising is virtually zero.  It's not like they post the exact address in the paper or give it out on the news.  Now, your tenants will probably find out after moving in from the neighbors so you have to factor that into the scenario, but for the purposes of your numbers it really shouldn't matter.  After a few years of owning and having good tenants even the neighbors will stop talking about it.  Good luck.

@Michael Kay...I think you should probably budget between 10-15% to start depending on the condition of the building.  Could go higher in year 1.