All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Cope

@Julian L. 

Your approach seems thoughtful. 

Being deliberate is wise whether this is your first purchase or 100th. 

Begin to build an inventory of useful vendors to support you and your property. 

For example, plumbers, electricians, a back up property manager if your first one flakes, attorneys, etc. 

It is best to have such an inventory readily available whether you are local or not. 

I self-managed three places in New Jersey while on foreign assignment in London, UK. 

The quality of our places and tenants allowed this to be fine. 

I replaced hot water heaters via email and phone calls. 

It is all doable if you find a property and tenants that partner with you. 

You might want to look up some of @Brie Schmidt's forum content. 

She owns a portfolio of out of state property and is thoughtful about its management. 

Good luck,

Jonathan

@Brie Schmidt 

I am supportive of the approach @Joe Villeneuve suggests. 

If your market provides the option, consider buying a multi-family as your primary in place of renting for your housing. 

Ensure the rental(s) on your new multi-family primary covers your living expense. 

In such a scenario you are cost free with an expanded portfolio. 

Rich Dad would be proud of you in such an arrangement. 

Good luck. 

@Brandon Sturgill and @Ryan Billingsley 

That approach to news was one of my favorite take-aways from The 4-Hour Workweek. 

Keeping focused on what matters rather than what others want you to focus on.

It is amazing how much time and peace of mind one can win back with that approach. 

Will try again for the die-hards this morning. 

Happy Thanksgiving

@Brandon Sturgill 

Starting today with BP seems right. 

:-)

It's a day to remember those things for which we give thanks. 

Happy Thanksgiving. 

@Account Closed have each offered you wise counsel.

Keep looking for those who are looking to share their experience because they are paying it forward or being grandfatherly. 

Avoid the folks looking to share in exchange for payment or advantage.

Paul Timmin's welcome content for newbies is always excellent.

Do take Bill G.'s advice seriously. What he offers above is particularly wise. 

Become a life long learner and a student of life. 

Begin doing so before life gets more demanding, as it does as your responsibilties increase with the passage of time.

The world's best investors, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, each credit their success to perpetual learning. 

Each claims to read and study most of 12 hours per day every day.

Neither suggests that what they learned in college made them.

However, they each credit college with helping them learn to learn for life.

Good luck with your pursuits.

See you around the forums,

Jonathan

I am enjoying a quiet day, today.

Lots of cooking and cleaning happened earlier but most of today has been work.

During a break for lunch, I began to wonder whether I invest in real estate today for the same reasons that I did when I began in 2000?

I suspect some of this thinking is spurred on by Thanksgiving contemplation and beginning work on my BP blog (see link below).

When I started investing in real estate I had a dream of wealth and the certainty that property evokes.

Starting out with only student debt to my name, building wealth has always been important to me.

Today that dream is still intact but added to it is a passion for serving others.

Helping others make a home and providing for my family at the same time has largely replaced my more vague ambition for wealth.

I enjoy being a provider of the roof over the head of my tenant.

Being my tenant's keeper.

It offers purpose, and one that feels wholesome.

Why do you invest in real estate?

Happy Thanksgiving,

Jonathan

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@Chris M. 

Congratulations on the new addition.

Your plan seems wise.

Renting the footprint you all require while reducing your cost structure makes sense.

Do you need to own your residence?

Seems that you have good investment exposure to real estate.

If you are okay renting then you can let others pay for what debt you have while reducing your obligations until you have enough equity to buy a residence for cash.

Food for thought.

Good luck,

Jonathan

@Fred Stevenson 

Yours is a good question.

Like @Account Closed , I am a conservative investor. 

I prefer the W. Buffett philosophy of no personal debt if at all practical.

Controlling our personal costs, such as mortgage expense, reduces our demand for cashflow and allows us to be careful deploying capital with reasonable levels of associated leverage.

Do you need to begin your investment with 3-5 units?

If not, can you use your cash position only as the down payment for your first investment?

Doing so would eliminate the need to mortgage your residence.

If you can afford to build your portfolio more slowly then you could maintain a mortgage-free personal cost structure while you acquire experience as a landlord and develop expertise.

Food for thought.

Good luck,

Jonathan

@Wendell De Guzman 

I am thankful for BP for the way it keeps me focused on my business goals daily. 

The community offers a contagious energy that makes keeping up with the necessary next steps of business development a joy. 

The content offers perspective and learning even when you think you know what you are doing. 

The podcast shows make long travel and commutes productive and entertaining. 

The people make for nice and powerful connections. 

The forums share answers to questions you should already know the answers to but shy away from asking. 

The humor keeps the business and one's goals fun and seemingly more attainable. 

The books authored and published make it clear how knowledgeable, thoughtful and accomplished the membership is. 

Great thanks to all of BP,

Jonathan