All Forum Posts by: Christopher Cousin

@Zander Dragony From a CPA, get a second and third opinion. If your income is sufficient, you could potentially save thousands using the S-Corp structure.

I would suggest contacting Kohler and Eyre, CPAs and taking advantage of their free 15 minute consultation to get your questions answered.  

Disclosure: I do not work for them and this is not intended to be tax advice.   

@Dante Foreman I'll send you a PM.

@William M. I will PM you with more information.

@Brandon Tamura and @Adam Gratt I can refer you to a credit repair company that is A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau. They offer multiple options that both enable you to remove negative items for your credit and establish a positive payment history if that is a necessity.  Let me know if you like additional information.  

@Mayes White Rarely ever is a 15 year mortgage more advantageous than the 30 year mortgage.  I do understand that the interest rate is typically lower for a 15 year mortgage, but if you can afford the note on the 15 year mortgage, you will actually pay the debt off faster by financing it on a 30 year amortization schedule because each payment would be an overpayment due to the lower monthly payment requirement for a 30 year mortgage.  

@Albert Gonzalez You're welcome.  We currently have the Meetup monthly, on the last Saturday of the month.  Due to the holidays, we are having 2 Meetups in the month of January.  With that said, I'm strongly considering making it twice per month since I put in my 2 weeks notice at my day job to pursue my passion for real estate full time, so now I'll have more time to run the Meetup. We should definitely stay in touch, and I can keep you updated on the plans. 

@Albert Gonzalez Welcome back to the BP community. I'm an investor in Houston and I am always looking to network with other investors in the area. I run a Meetup where I teach people about investing and finance concepts.  Our next event is this Saturday, so feel free to join us! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

http://meetu.ps/c/3qghS/vFsMx/f

@Lee Lockhart This strategy could work if you have a network of private lenders in place to fund your deals. However, it may be more difficult with most traditional lenders unless you have experience and a proven business model.  I would personally work to improve my credit, since credit affects far more than your ability to refinance a loan, such as insurance costs, interest rates, deposit requirements, etc. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

@Armando Pastrana Jr Best of luck to you no matter what direction you decide to go.  Before, choosing a strategy, one of the best things you can do is to ask yourself who do you want to serve?  When you have a clear definition of the tenant base, you gain clarity on which strategies to pursue and can provide a better product to the market, which tends to improve one's odds of success. 

For example, you mention that you have an interest in investing in multifamily property.  Multifamily properties can be utilized to provide low income housing or student housing among others.  These 2 tenant bases will have different characteristics, expectations as far as amenities, etc.  Furthermore, understanding the person that you want to serve will help you determine the best location of the property within a submarket and even help you to determine the most appropriate team members. 

Feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions.

@David Seale In order to determine whether or not this is a "good deal", you should first ask yourself who do you want to serve? When you truly understand your target audience, you can better anticipate their needs, plan for them, and ultimately provide a better product (property) for the marketplace. 

For example, you mention buying a plot of land in a certain area of town and building on it.  What type of customer would be attracted to this part of town?  What would this customer expect in a home/rental? The answers to these question will ultimately help you to select the right team, put the right amenities in the property, etc. Best of luck in your investing!

Feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions.