All Forum Posts by: Daniel Rutledge

I am looking at both mobile homes and single family homes as options for cash flowing rentals. In my area a 3 bed 2 bath mobile would go for an all in price around 50k but the same size single family would run about 80k after rehab. Both would rent for 800+ but the mobiles tend to already be on larger lots that would have room for a few more. Obviously the appreciation would be on the single family but if I am looking for the cash flow what things would you consider in making a decision.

Thanks for the replies. I've been going through some other threads where people have used them and the feedback is mixed. I thought I would dig in further after a recent podcast of his where he had an investor on. She had not gotten a tenant yet after the rehab as of the podcast and it had been a couple of months. Homes in my area rent much quicker but will cost more for anything over a war zone property.

So this is going to seem non traditional but I thought I would share as I am always looking for creative ways to help my bottom line. I am installing solar on my primary home but this post isn't about why or why you shouldn't go that route. The state that I live in offers credits currently along with the federal credits for solar installation. The credit is 55% of the total cost of the system but of course you have to pay enough in taxes to redeem that money come tax time. The Mosaic loan is structured to where you can take the tax rebates you receive and pump them into the loan to keep the initial payment (lower than your average electric bill) at the same rate. If you spend the rebates or save the money then at the end of 18 months the payment will increase but the rate (5%) will remain the same for a 20 year period. So here comes the creative part! I will be using the tax rebates to pay off other personal debt that are shorter terms with higher rates which will decrease my monthly expenses. It is also allowing me to start a large snowball on personal debt that will allow me to gain about 2k a month back in cash flow during the first 18 months. At that time the loan payment will go up by around 200 bucks a month but at that point I will have added 10x back in cash flow which will go a long way in investing in real estate. If someone were to use this strategy that did not have personal debt to pay off it could very quickly allow them to fund real estate deals and jump start their investing career. Along with all of this I will be having 8k worth of trees taken down with the loan that will also be included in the 55% rebates. The trees need to come down as they are near the end of their life but 8k out of pocket is a big hit. Doing it with the solar means nothing out of pocket and a huge discount on getting it done. Its a win all the way around.

I believe the answer to whether or not go the 401k route is in what your goals are. If you are young and plan to use real estate as a way to leave your job and live off of your investments then maybe its not a good idea. If you have a career that you love and plan to stay with until at least 59.5 then it might be a good thing to do as many have mentioned due to giving free money. If you have a plan to leave the rat race in say your 30s and work fully in real estate then you may be better suited to make that your "one thing" and really go for it. Once again, it depends on your goals. 

Thanks @Tom Ott for the reply. I follow his podcast and he has been on Bigger Pockets podcast twice I believe but I have yet to call and talk with them. Hopefully someone on here has some experience with his company or similar to give additional feedback. Essentially I will either invest in my local market or work with his company but have yet to make that decision. Thanks again for the reply.

Originally posted by @William W. Humphrey:

Hello David,

Along the lines of creating strategies for your contribution dollars, an HSA (if you qualify) can be a powerful investing tool.  Most people are just unaware that their HSA can be a real estate investor.

 William where can I learn more about using an HSA for investing? I know its a great tool for other reasons but I have never heard of investing with it. Thanks

Hi everyone! Has anyone had any experience with Morris Invest? It is a turnkey company founded by Clayton Morris who is a former Fox News Anchor. His company purchases properties, rehabs them and then has a company to manage them for investors. From what I see an investor would need to fully purchase the property (say around 40K) but at times will cash out refinance later on to pull out their cash. I would like some opinions on this type of investing. Thanks.