All Forum Posts by: Cindy Szponder

We have a HELOC, which is a line of credit. We make interest only payments when we have a balance. The nice thing about the line of credit is that we can draw on it or pay it off as we wish. I'm not sure how a home equity loan would work but like the flexibility of the line of credit. It does have a maturity date set a few years out, but we can draw on the line as we like until then or refinance it for a new HELOC term.

Depending on the floor plan, a conversion may or may not make sense. Are you wanting to keep the property or flip it? You may make more per house in the end if you want to hold the duplex in your rental portfolio. Most conversions I've seen are very awkward and then hard to resell at the end. Really depends on how the home is laid out, whether you can create separate entrances, how easy it is to put in the extra kitchen, bath(s). SFR will have a broader appeal to many types of buyers, while a duplex will be mainly an investor market. Do you have connections with other investors in your area that would be willing to purchase the duplex or is there pent-up demand for such investment properties? Do you know people at a local REI who are looking to house hack (live in one unit and rent out the rest)?

Welcome to BP!

Upgrade to a Pro account on here and save yourself the money and the degradation. Get active in the forums and with the training available here and then take action. I've taken a lot of courses and they can't compare to actually getting out there and taking action and getting involved with other, local RE investors. You'll probably make some mistakes along the way, but they'll probably be cheaper and more educational than the training courses in the long run.

The short answer is YES. If the numbers work, a SFR or multi would be a great way to start. If neither of you has experience with managing a property and will be managing the property, you might want to start with a SFR. If you have experience or will hire a manager, then anything that has good numbers will provide cashflow and get you started. The multi-family properties usually require a little more hands-on approach than a SFR.

Congratulations! Should be fun to have your first listing be your rehab project!

I love Dave Ramsey and think he has helped a lot of people get back on track financially. That said, I believe his audience is people who have run into serious financial problems due to a lack of basic financial knowledge and money/personal management issues. One advantage to financing your properties is that the rate of return is much higher and you have less money at risk. You can also purchase more properties. That said, start slow with one property and get used to managing that property efficiently and well. Set up cash reserves for each property so that when repairs and/or vacancies occur you won't be put into a tailspin financially. I like to have six months of mortgage payments in the bank as a backup. Sounds like you have the financial wherewithal to begin investing and I'd recommend you do so. If you can afford to live on one income and invest with the other, you'll figure out a way to invest in real estate and pay down your personal debt, too. If you haven't already done so, read The Book on Rental Property Investing from Bigger Pockets. They outline 4 strategies for building your portfolio safely and realistically. Much success!!

@Dave Meyer  Very interesting post--my left-brain analyst mind really lit up and loved it. Thank you for crunching the numbers and for the ideas.

Congrats! Sounds like you're off to a strong start.