All Forum Posts by: Jason Cooper

This should be a sticky somewhere. This is a wonderful debate!

Thanks for your input.

Ryan- I am enjoying it here, a different pace then what I was use to. I was originally from your neck of the woods. (McHenry County)

Mike- Forgive me if I seem naive but my strategy is on a more long term level. I make enough to support myself now. The way I see it, if I can break even and pay down the debt service. I should build equity, appreciation should increase the rentals rates and the value of the property long term. Which is my true goal. More a backup retirement plan. I wouldn't count out on all three but 1 or 2 would be fine. However I would like to stay away from single family as they seem harder and more costly to manage.

Thanks again for all the wonderful posts and help you folks provide every poster.

I have been lurking for a long time time and just decided to post. I lived in the same area for 31 years and just moved to Northern Wisconsin two years ago. I have owned, built, flipped many houses but never held any as rentals. I am wondering where you guys find properties for so cheap. I would never have found a property that could hold up to the 50% expenses or 2% rule in my last area. Where I live now most properties seem to sell for around 100 times the fair monthly market rent to a shade below that (example- 100k duplex with 500 per side monthly market rents). These seem cheap to me compared to the last area I lived in. However none of these ever stand up to either of these rules. I am obsessed with finding properties and renting them out for long term growth. I do not need to cash flow just break even for the time being and hold on for rent increases for later cashflow. So where do I find a deal?