All Forum Posts by: Carlos C.

Our first one we liquidated our 401k, overpayed in down payment. Could have bought two. But oh well...

We purchased the second from cash out refi from first.

The third we used money from heloc and from first.

We now have enough income from three that they are close to buying themselves. 

Next year we will be rehabbing one and replacing roof on another. We are saving for that. 

Our down payments are 20%.

I agree! We are conditioned to think we need a 9-5. Read or listen to podcasts on REI. Or financial independence. We have to reprogram our way of thinking. We were not meant to sit in a cube.

I am still working on reprogramming my brain to think differently. It’s hard but it’s working and I feel it and see the results!

That’s a tough call for someone to make for you. I feel that’s something only you can answer as we don’t know your situation. 

I will share what we did and maybe that will help. My wife and I sat down and calculated our “freedom” number. Ours is roughly $6k/month. When we reach this number she can stop working.

My goal is $10k/month for BOTH to stop working. Our only major debt is primary mortgage. Virtually zero extra debt. 

Currently buy 1 duplex/yr. bought 1 every year for the last three. Next year my goal is a 4 unit. Rinse and repeat. ;)

This is my advice...if you can make it work do it! Good luck!!!

As a newbie investor, im curious as to what you all think of the Florida market. I have seen an increase in the past three years i started. Should i worry? I have been cautious and making sure my properties cashflow enough to handle a single renter, but i dont know if thats enough.

@Courtney M.

Welcome from a newby myself. Im in Florida and im looking to invest OOS. I have two duplexes and started 3 years ago. We are looking for our third now but im finding properties in our area are a little high priced. We are on a 1/yr purchase plan and will jump to 2/yr when we have enough cash flow. We basically just dump all earnings back to into buying.

I have been researching OOS for a few months on/off looking at market data; crime, median income, home prices...etc. I think that is a good start. But the hardest part for me is finding the right people, i dont know who to trust or who to reach out to OOS that i can trust. 

As for turn key properties; i would be very careful. I have no experience in dealing with any of them or buying from them. BUT i can tell you i have talked and gone thru their numbers and they did not look very good 'for me'. Might be different for you what you call acceptable. 

The cash flow they stated was not at all what my numbers came up with. Do your due diligence when checking their numbers. Run it by yours and stress test the numbers to make sure it still works with higher figures. Dont MAKE the numbers work because you will just screw yourself.

I live in Tampa, Florida and if you like a property and need an assessment of an area/house let me know and i can give you thumbs up/down.

If anyone has an idea on how to find people out of state i would be happy to listen. My main issue is trusting someone to tell me if its a good, area, crime...etc. Kinda stuck. 

Section 8 is going up. When we bought our current duplex it was roughly $300 [$500 lease] below market rent. We increased the rent on one by $275 [with water/yard work] and the other lease is coming due in August and we are asking $910 and includes $60 in water bill. Just because its low now does not mean you cant raise in a few months to a year, make minor improvements and build cash flow. I like section 8 as it gives me requirements to meet and if i do i get rewarded for it. :)

That $700 at first glance is really weak, just CYA!!

On my first duplex with 2 newly moved in tenants BOTH ac systems died the same day for each. The tenants still had to pay the rent. We were very apologetic to the tenants and were in constant communication daily with them until it was resolved. In severe situations a landlord can be liable for a tenant to find them temp living arrangements, such as sewer backup as its a health hazard and a bio hazard.

Tough to know without all the details. But i can say that the tenant still has a legal responsibility to pay full rent on time. 

No way bro. My two little duplexes that i started with make more than that. Run!

Thats a ways out... We used Hillboro Bank for our duplex. Was a great experience. 

https://www.hillsborobank.com/

@Jeff McRitchie 

Thank you for your reply. Will definitely PM you. :) 

Hey Jeff,

My wife and i are hitting a road block. We are trying to buy our first rehab property but are bring told we cant do 100% financing. How did you get a lender for your first project? Did you have to put 20% down and pay for the rehab out of pocket? 

Ty!