All Forum Posts by: Bryce Wong

Yes you should be able to do that as long as the income is passive and you are not managing the properties yourself. Where are you investing in currently? 

H1B holder here. You can get a real estate license on a H1B for the sole purpose of purchasing your own properties, but you can only earn income from an authorized employer who filed the petition for you. You may invest in real estate for passive income. Anything that does not constitute passive income like flips or wholesaling is generally not allowed and you may be violating the terms on your work visa. While USCIS does not collect data from the IRS on your income activities, they will if you decide to adjust your status (immigrate) or pursue permanent residence and that might lead to complications in obtaining future immigration benefits. Tread carefully. 

@Ryan Rush Your courage to share a setback is admirable. I really hope you’ll get through all of this. You’ll look back and think to yourself that it wasn’t so hard after all! Out of curiosity, what is your main motivation for taking on such a massive project even though you’re swamped with so many other commitments? Do you have a goal you’re trying to hit by a certain time frame? Have you considered other passive income streams such as REITs or index funds, which offer a true hands off approach? I invest in dividend growth stocks, REITs and rental properties, but by far I’ve found out over the years that cash flow is nice and gives me income, but appreciation is what builds wealth. Don’t let cash flow be your only source of wealth accumulation. Good luck!

Hi Anna, I was wondering if you were able to find any deals yet? I just recently moved into the Visalia area and I would like to connect with you sometime to figure out where you're at with your goals. Let me know!

By the time you are finished with the project, I'm sure your cheap bones would be even "cheaper" from all the backbreaking labor you're engaging in, haha. 

Also, have you considered making certain repairs after getting in tenants? That way you can write it off immediately as opposed to adding it to your basis and depreciating, potentially leading to even more cost savings. 

@Lee Fahy Is this your first rehab project? Nicely done! How much time have you invested in this so far, and how much longer do you think you need to before the house is rent ready? I took on a rehab project similar in magnitude on my first home, and I had to decide between getting the job done myself or hiring people to do it. In the end, I decided to hire contractors as I was able to get the whole home rehabbed in about a month, as opposed to 6 months if I were to do it without any help. The 5 months I saved justified the additional expenses, and allowed me to get it rented quickly, cutting down any time wasted which translates to lost dollars in revenue. 

Of course, nothing beats the satisfaction and the kick you get out of the final results after all is said and done. Props to you!

@Deanna McCormick Great comments, thank you. The gutters and downspouts are in good shape and I don't see that as a problem at the moment. There are certain parts of the joists that are showing some signs of rot, and that could be attributed to a water leak that probably happened in the past. That being said, I think the crawl should have had all the necessary measures for moisture removal beforehand, and not after the fact. I was worried, thinking that the structure might have already been compromised, and surmising that the blocks were placed there to prevent further degradation of the wood or the supporting beams. I was hoping to gather feedback from fellow owners who have owned a house with a crawl, to see if this might be a potential deal breaker or something that buyers would accept. Another note: There are traces of mold on the dirt. 

I don't know if I am being paranoid here, but since I'm in this for a long haul, I don't think I would want to risk buying a home where the previous owners had not done anything with moisture control. 

Should I just grit my teeth, install a crawl fan, and go ahead with the purchase?

Hello fellow friends! 

I am just about ready to close on a property that appears to be of tremendous value, but something came up during the inspection that worries me. 

When going down the crawl space, the inspector noticed that the beams and the joists were being supported by stone cinder blocks that are merely placed on the dirt instead of digging in a deeper footer for support. The crawl also appears to be quite moist, since there weren't any vapor barriers set up to prevent moisture from building up.

I am worried that over time the soil could shift, causing the supports to give way. It appears to be sturdy right now, but only time would tell.

Would this be a concern to you if you were buying it? A logical solution to this is to obviously remove the concrete cinder blocks and properly add supports with a deeper footer, but that might add a lot of unnecessary costs in the equation. 

Also, according to your experience, would you recommend setting up a vapor barrier in crawl space?

Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. 

Here are some pictures: