All Forum Posts by: Michael Powell

When it comes to getting over your investment fear, I’ve always felt it useful to think... “what will my life look like 5 years from now if I don’t start investing? “

Back in 2008, when I worked in the cube, I felt more fearful of being stuck in the corporate world 5 years down the line than trying and failing at buying rental property.

So sometimes you have to create a bit of drama to pull the trigger.  Ask yourself questions that will will motivate you.  The plays that move you forward are always the most scary.  But if you can do it, the rewards are out there!

Good luck!

Mike 

Stephen,

If you are just pushing 30, don't be discouraged.  Many successful people didn't start to get serious about wealth building until 35 or later.  As the proverb goes, "the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago and the second best time is now."

To invest in real estate, first you should work on building cash reserves.  I think Robert Kiyosaki is great but you'd probably get more bang for your dollar by joining a local real estate club for a couple hundred dollars and learning shoulder to shoulder with other passionate students and networking with local realtors, brokers, lawyers, and accountants.  Not to say that you won't run into the guru types there but your likely to meet some in the know that will be eager to help you.

I found my rental properties by joining Toastmasters at the local real estate club.  You could also volunteer at the real estate club.  One time I got to attend a bus tour for free because I was a volunteer while members had to pay $500 for the tour.  I got to look at 10 or so houses that needed to be rehabbed and listened to professional rehabbers talk about what was wrong with the properties and what they would do to get it in top selling condition.  All for me volunteering one hour of my time per month!

I wish you the best of luck on your real estate and life journey.  

Mike

Roshan,

Your plan sounds good!  Multi-family could save you a lot of time over the long run because less deals are needed to accomplish the same cash flow as many houses.  You can also benefit from cheaper per unit pricing than buying single family.  If you've got the resources to jump into small apartments then I'd go for it!

I didn't have any problems finding tenants for my SFR's because I work with a good realtor and and luckily I've been able to keep renewing tenants. However I did have to evict my first tenant!

I will definitely keep you posted on the 1031 exchange once it happens.  

Mike

Roshan,

All my rentals are in north Harris County for now, but I'm thinking about doing a 1031 exchange to acquire a multi family property closer to home.  Since I moved to Sugar Land its quite a drive to check on rentals an hour away.  

My rentals are doing well, the rents have steadily increased and I've had some good tenants.  I also don't find flipping houses very appealing.  

Do you plan to manage your properties or hire a manager?

Hello Roshan, 

Welcome to bigger pockets.  I also live in Sugar Land,  

Do you plan on investing in Ft Bend County or in Harris County?

Mike

You're welcome, @Alexander Lang!  

@eddie t. Yes, got approved a couple weeks ago. They asked for the last two years of tax returns to qualify for the 300k.

@Aaron Rodriguez

I would pick up a book called Building Wealth One House At A Time by John Schaub.  It's an excellent primer on getting started in real estate.  

It'll walk you through buying single family homes, the math that makes a deal work, and it gives practical advice on dealing with tenants.

Start right where you are.  Try to learn about your local real estate market by driving streets, learning what houses sell for in the area, what rental houses rent for.  Become an expert on a one mile radius at first, then expand into five mile radius, and so forth.

Learn negotiation tactics - Roger Dawson's book Secrets of Power Negotiating is excellent.

Join your local real estate investment club.  You'll be shoulder to shoulder with people who have the same interest in real estate and some will have a deep understanding of the market you're in.  You may also find partners to do deals with.

Hope this helps,

MP

@Darryl Duff, lot of ways you could finance it.  401(k) loan, funds from possible investor partners, bank financing, home equity line of credit...  You could present the deal to your local real estate club and find a private lender.  Make sure the seller does in fact own 100% of the property.

@Alberto Gil, in my opinion, try to qualify through conventional financing if you can for your investment property.  If you've got great credit and a 20% down payment, can't beat the interest rates that are available.