All Forum Posts by: Alexander A.

Thanks for mentioning me.   About 3 years ago is when I first started buying turnkey properties, I had a lot of haters and people telling me then that I should not invest out of state and turnkeys and this and that.   Well to this day, I'm very happy I did and wouldn't change it for the world.  All 4 of my "turnkeys" that I bought are still performing well today and I have yet to have any crazy issues with them.  It was not even close to being a mistake for me.  At least not yet!    The worst of it was I had to fire one property manager but I moved them over to a better PM and have not had any problems since.  It wasn't even a problem with the tenant, just bad communication from the PM and I didn't like that.

My "turnkey" purchases all have appreciated since I bought them, a few of them more then others.  Albeit, the market here in Indianapolis the past few years has grown tremendously and the demand is higher then ever.   So the numbers and even the locations of where I bought my properties pretty much are non existent now from what these "turnkey providers" are selling today.

As other posters have mentioned, I've only had these for around 3 years and less so really its still very early in the world of owning buy and hold rental properties.   Obviously everyone will have a different result or experience with owning properties no matter how or who you purchase them from.  One bad rental can and in most cases will RUIN your opinion on owning rental properties.

At the end of the day, I'm just a landlord with a PM, forget that I bought "turnkey".   It was indeed easier and more convenient for me to buy "turnkey" when I was living in Austin as I wanted to buy out of state and build my passive income and that is exactly why I did that.   I didn't think it was a magical investment that couldn't go wrong.   All I wanted was a fully rehabbed house in a decent location that came with qualified tenants.  Is that too much to ask for?  Apparently it is these days. 

Today, i no longer purchase "turnkey" and the last one I did buy via that manner was in January 2016.  So its been awhile.  I wouldn't go that route today personally because I want and expect higher returns.  The numbers I see these days from turnkey providers are horrendous and the locations are atrocious.  (In my opinion of course)

I was super picky back then when i was buying turnkey properties and im still to this day super picky about what properties I buy and you should too.  Don't ever trust anyone but yourself when analyzing and researching properties to buy.

No matter who you purchase from, there is certain due diligence that needs to be done in order to determine whether or not a "turnkey" or just any rental property will be good for you. I think the most important factor at the end of the day is location. The better the location, the better the tenant base and I think that is the main reason why my properties have performed well to date.  

Anyways to sum it up, no I don't invest much in stocks but I do have some for sure.  My preferred method of investing is and always will be rental properties.   I'm now up to 8 investment properties and I am loving every second of it.  Currently saving up for my next one now.

My dream of financial freedom is alive and well and I wont stop until I reach it.  If any of my rental properties go sour or just aren't making me money, then ill get rid of it, learn from my mistake and buy another one.  Make sure to have an exit strategy people!

Onward and upward my friends!

I wouldnt call Dallas affordable but no we wanted out of Texas.   Lived there for 14 years and was tired of the heat, we both wanted to experience the full 4 seasons also.     The weather is definitely a lot different then Texas but we are secretly loving the weather so far.   

We went through our first winter this past one and it was supposedly the 4th warmest winter recorded in history so it wasnt bad at all.   As for now, the weather here is perfect for us.  We'll see how this next winter turns up.   We both work from home so we dont need to commute anywhere which makes the weather basically a non factor.

Hey @Chad Gaither

I moved from Austin, TX to Indianapolis literally for the sole reason of buying real estate and being able to achieve financial freedom faster.   I have been living this new life for approximately 1 year now and I can honestly say it was the best decision for me and my wife.  My life is as stress free as can be now and I have already increased my monthly cash flow close to $2k per month more.  Life is way better for me because of this move.

I chose Indy because of the cheaper cost of living, its clear signs of growth, and good price to rent ratios.  

I was able to do this by cashing out (selling) one of the houses I owned in Austin, I made over $130k profit tax free (because I lived it in it for 3 years) and used that money to move and to begin my new investment strategy of purchasing fixer uppers, rehabbing and renting them out.   My old strategy was buying turnkeys in Indy while living in Austin.  

Since moving here, in just this first year, I have purchased 3 new rentals, fixed them up and rented them all out.   My cost of living has gone down considerably and my wife and I are enjoying everything this city has to offer.    We actually love it!  I now have 7 rental properties and even have one performing note that I hold.   

What went right? Well pretty much everything so far (knock on wood).   I was lucky enough to be able to retain my job in Austin.  When I disclosed to them I was leaving and ready to put in my notice, they offered to allow me to work the same job remotely.   This made my life so much easier and pretty much removed any possible stress that I was going to have.    I now have been working from home for the last year and couldnt be any happier with it.  No more traffic and the amount of sleep I get is amazing.  Being able to wake up just a few minutes before I start my shift makes a huge difference.  

The toughest obstacle to overcome was leaving family and friends.  We came to this new life only knowing a few people here and not having any family.    Since then we have already made new friends and got involved in our community so we are constantly keeping busy and meeting new people which is great.

As for family, we plan yearly trips/vacations to go see them which isnt a big deal at all.   We aren't really missing family yet to be honest.  But that could change in the future.

Let me know if you have other questions.

I lived in Austin for 14 years, have been working for software companies that whole time and saw Austin go from a super cool little weird city to the massive beast it is today.    I still work for a software company based in Austin however they allow me to work remotely.   Being able to move anywhere in the united states, I chose to move to Indy just 9 months ago.

Its strange telling people that I did this as they look at me like im insane, why in the world would I leave Austin for Indy?   Well im not one to speculate, but all the signs i see happening in Indy right now are very similar to what I saw happening in Austin 14 years ago.    Despite what the articles say or what others think, the fact of the matter is Indy is on the rise and moving in the right direction.   Albeit it might be a slow crawl but its happening.   Ive increased my monthly passive income by $1400 since moving to Indy and my wife and I have never been happier.  There is a lot of good in Indy and we love living here so far.

I live in Bates Hendricks and have made friends with neighbors, joined the neighborhood association and am seeing first hand the kind of people moving in and the people involved in turning these neighborhoods around.   People just like me, younger couples making good money and wanting to be part of a vibrant and growing community.  We are proud of being part of the process that is shaping Indy to become whatever it ends up becoming.

And in the meantime, Im going to gobble up as many rental properties as I can while living here.  :)

I left Austin and moved to Indy about 9 months ago. Since then, I have increased my monthly cash flow by over $2k. No joke.

I was fortunate enough to be able to cash out from a house I owned in East Austin, used that money to buy 2 rental properties in cash and also lowered my primary mortgage by over $500.

My wife and I couldnt be any happier. We dont have any kids yet either, just have 2 pups just like you.

We made a big life decision to that would impact our financial future and set the path to financial freedom. For us, it was moving to the midwest, decreasing bills, increasing cash flow and slowly building an empire (mini empire) of rental properties.

Its also funny you mention as the days go by, you just want to leave Austin more and more. Same thing happened to me, that means you are definitely ready to get out, just need to pull the trigger.

Good luck bud!

You will find that everyone has their own way of investing in Indy.  What works for others somtimes doesnt work for others and vice versa.

You need to decide what will be best for you and what type of investor you want to be.  I moved to indy 9 months ago and I like having SFHs in areas of low crime.   It just makes me feel better having those.  Not really any other reason.

Just be careful what you buy, as you have read a million times, this city is definitely street by street.  Especially within the loop.

Well you could always sell all your homes, wait for the economy to crash and get a killer deal on one big apartment complex.  That would be cool!

When I lived in TX, I bought 4 out of state rental properties (3 in indy and 1 in KC)  All my research led me to those two cities being the best for out of state investing.   Since then, I have moved to Indianapolis so I can have a lower cost of living as well as grow my rental portfolio here.

You will need to research as much as you can but I would start with these two cities.   Both cities have growing populations, economy and very affordable real estate.

I would look at available properties in both markets and whichever one has the best deal available when you are ready to buy, then just go with that one.

After doing all the proper due diligence of course.  :)

1 in Austin, 3 in indianapolis and 1 in KC so 5 total.  Im also not including my performing note.

Need like 10 more for financial independence!  :)