All Forum Posts by: Geo Tan

@Logan Allec

Hey Logan!

It's always great to hear more information on both sides. In terms of the house hacking route, I really want to emphasize how new I am to this so as I read your response, I could somewhat understand the math and your explanation behind it but I'm still a little lost on your explanation so I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain some more!

From the quick read I did, it sounds to me like FHA loans are just loans more catered for people who might not be able to make the loan payments through mortgage insurance? I should really really study my loan terms and all the vocabulary a little more since anything regarding loans or government regulations, etc, are all very very new to me.

So since I am planning on going through with a 1031 to avoid taxes on my profits from selling my unit in Vegas, if I'm understanding you correctly, you would suggest paying a FHA 3.5% down on properties? Since I have to use the full amount of roughly $200k from my Vegas unit, I'd be able to get quite a few properties if I only have to pay 3.5% as a down payment? I honestly feel like I'm totally misunderstanding your explanation so just wanted you to know that I'm not counter-arguing or anything. I honestly just wasn't able to understand your breakdown as well as I'd like and I did try to do some quick research to better understand your method.

So if I do 3.5% down I feel like I could start off with quite a few properties in my portfolio? But does that mean I'm affording these properties with majority of the payment being loans? That seems extremely risky...

I'll just stop right here since I really think I'm not understanding the explanation properly and I feel like I'm making a complete fool out of myself hahaha.

Thank you so much for your explanation Logan and I'll definitely do some more homework regarding the FHA loans. I'll also definitely be checking out the spreadsheet to better analyse self sufficiency! Thanks again!

@Jesse Peña

Hey Jesse!

Thanks for all that great information! You had it all nice and laid out too.

Definitely a big thank you to @Nathan Sharp as well.

I think the majority of the content you provided was exactly what I was looking for.

I've been listening to the podcasts as often as I can while I commute and at home too which is definitely a huge help. I love how they break it down so even someone who just started out like me can stay in the loop. Definitely awesome materials.

Thanks a ton!

@RD Delgado

Thanks again RD! Will definitely keep you posted as I find out more on my end as well.

Let me know how things go on your end too!

And yeah Bigger Pockets is definitely one of the best decisions I've made so far.

@RD Delgado

Thanks RD!

I was originally planning on "house hacking" when my search span was within LA but if it's a better investment choice to buy properties outside of LA (which is what I'm seeing and leaning toward) I'm perfectly content renting for myself in LA. Plus I work in downtown so I love living in LA just for losing the commute time. I'm leaning more towards not living in the unit I purchase as of right now but definitely can go both ways.

The only issue is that my lease is up end of February and going month to month until this gets sorted out is very very expensive! (Current rent is $1400 for 1b1ba and jumps to $2100 for month to month)

I also heard somewhere that if we live in the property we invest in for a certain amount of years that we can get tax deductions for a certain amount? Not sure if this has any truth behind it at all and I'm definitely not at that level in learning yet.

@Eric Dowling

Thanks a lot Eric!

Makes a huge difference hearing that from people on Bigger Pockets. 

I'm glad I can finally know my goal is attainable. 

I wasn't too sure if I was over-reaching with my first goal.

Appreciate the quick response!

Hello!

I have just recently started to look into real estate investing and am learning as much as I can. Let me explain the situation I am currently in and hopefully anyone here can help me with any advice they can offer which is greatly appreciated!

**The next 3 paragraphs will explain how I got to where I am today in terms of getting started on real estate investing. If this does not interest you, please feel free to skip the next 3 paragraphs!**

I was fortunate enough to have my father purchase a two bedroom condo in Las Vegas with both our names. I wasn't really hands on with that unit since we had a property manager do the heavy lifting. I just recently was able to sell that property for roughly $200k. I am currently in the contract signing process but I would like to do a 1031 to use this profit to dive into the world of real estate investing. I currently live in LA (Ktown) and have been learning as much as I can through Bigger Pockets and any other resource I can get my hands on.

I would like to start with a buy and hold approach and make some income from renting the units out. I have a full time job currently so I'm not in dire need of income. Through the little information I have learned so far I set my goal as "Earn a steady $2,000 per month of steady income through multi unit properties (duplex, triplex, quadruplex) in LA by June 30th". I know how ridiculous that sounds but I was lacking a lot of researching and learning at that point so that was what got me started.

After some more research I learned that it was extremely difficult to make profits through rent in LA. The more I researched, the more I realized that the 2% or 1% rule cannot work with most of the properties. If anything I was lucky to find a few that would meet the 0.5% rule (if that exists). So now I have expanded my search area to the greater Los Angeles area.

Thank you for taking the time to read this long story. I hope that will answer any questions any of you might have in terms of the history behind where I am currently at.

So bottom line is, I have now amended my goal to "Earn $2,000 per month of profit through multi unit properties (duplex, triplex, quadruplex) in California by June 30th".

First of all, please do let me know if this is a horrible goal to start off with. I am still very green to the real estate world and have yet to fully grasp all of it yet.

Second, I will most likely start with a $200k cash for my previous property I will be selling which I will do a 1031 with to start my real estate venture. So with a loan, I'm leaning towards a spending budget of $500k - $1.2m for a property (or properties).

Well that's about as much information as I can share I think...

So any tips or guidance in terms of the direction I'm going would be greatly appreciated! Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have and I'll respond back as soon as I can. 

Thank you again and hope everyone has a great day!

@Michael S.

I'll be sure to get on those local forums. Thanks Michael!

Hello,

I am currently living in Los Angeles, CA. I am still in the infantile stages of real estate and was blessed with the chance to purchase a condo in Las Vegas a few years back. Real Estate investing was an intimidating concept to me so I left the most of the work from the property to professionals. I am currently in the process of selling this unit and will be looking to be more hands on in the next investment I purchase.

I currently reside in LA so was debating if I should start my real estate venture in LA or if I should start somewhere with a better market? I'm open to any information or even past experiences in terms of real estate investing in the LA area.

I am currently reading up on everything I can get my hands on in terms of real estate investing to better familiarize myself with the industry. Hopefully I'll be sharing with everyone here my first real estate investment goal here as soon as I get a better grasp of what is a reasonable goal and what is too far fetched. Still quite green to this world!

I was hoping to start with a duplex or triplex with the profits from selling my Vegas condo which was a cash offer around the end of February. I have moved forward with going with a 1031 and to use this opportunity to purchase a new property here in the LA area. I am just starting to research about LA and learning as I go on anything to look out for or keep an eye on. I'm also torn between residing in the next property I purchase or if I should rent and keep my investment property purely an investment and not reside in it. My lease is up end of February as well so I'm trying to get as much knowledge in, to make a wiser decision.

I apologize in advance if any of what I said was an incredibly dumb idea or if the decisions I'm leaning towards currently is the last thing everyone here would do. Hopefully I can learn from all of you and will be able to make the better decisions moving forward!

Excited to interact with everyone here and learn as much as I can.

Thanks in advance!