All Forum Posts by: Cara Lonsdale

Looks like you have some good options in front of you @Martin Phinney. You gave some good info to work with.  So let me see if I can contribute anything that might help you....

First, I would ask yourself if you want to hold a rental property in Seattle...?  There is no wrong answer...just the answer that gets you to the next question.  IF you plan on going back someday, and this is the home you want to move back to, then renting it would be a good idea as long as you estimate that it will cover itself, or preferably, cash flow, which it appears that yours will at @ $2K or so per month (after expenses).  Next question.... will you self-manage it, or turn it over to a professional management company, or some type of hybrid?  This is often where the decision is made.  Many people don't want to self manage from out of state, and professional managers can suck up alot of the cash flow, and not do as great of a job as you would've hoped.  So, in your considerations, I would park right there for a bit and determine how this would look for you.

Since you have about 2.5 years to think about it before you would need to spring into action to take advantage of the rollover for tax advantages, maybe you try on a rental and see how it fits.  They say not to make two major life changes within a year.  A major move, and selling a family home are 2 big life changes.  Perhaps some time will provide clarity in one direction or the other.  On the other hand, there are many out there who jump into their next adventure without looking back.  That works too.  However, evaluating your sentiment (and your wife's) on that will be important.  It's worth a conversation.

IF you determine that selling is the way to go, $1M could buy you a comparable property in Scottsdale, depending on where in Scottsdale you'd like to be, and how much land you want on your lot.  If you go north up into Rio Verde (North of Scottsdale), you can get the big house and the land.  If you want to nestle into North Scottsdale, you can get the big house and a decent lot, but it will not be a huge lot.  It will be enough for a pool and a yard (think 8K-10K sq ft lot).  If you go into Central or South Scottsdale (Old Town) $1M will buy you a smaller, older home, OR half of a big, remodeled home (as alot of the Arcadia and Old Town area are turning over old small homes to be big beautiful homes in the $2.5M range and higher).

There are options.....for both buying and renting, that would work with your situation.

By the way....it's 51 degrees in North Scottsdale right now where I live.  We had a light rain last night, but today It's sunny.  It's beautiful.  So, anyone who tells you to worry about the heat in AZ doesn't get it.  For the 2-3 months of dry heat, (that most of us spend in the pool or at the lake) we get to enjoy 9-10 months of pure joyous weather without extreme rain, snow, hurricanes, tornados or any other extreme conditions. :)

Would love to hear an update on your Real Estate journey, @Kyle Barnhart.  Did you make that leap to invest in Phoenix Real Estate?  If so, how do you feel about the property you chose?

If not, what led to your delay?

@Gina Washburn I have the same experience. I spent a little more though.  My LOT was $32,500 and then they added the FOA to cover the first 2-3 years.  It was still under $38K in total.  I think late 2023 was supposed to be the first year we saw profit.  We didn't.  2024 was supposed to be a profit year.  It wasn't.  Their updates state that they expect 2nd quarter to be the winner.  We will see.

Good news....they haven't asked us for any more money....yet.  So far, the FOA is covered by the fruit production.  So, hopefully that continues.  I would hate to go backwards.  Ug.

This really comes down to what your ultimate goal is.  Only with a definitive goal can you accurately assess your options.

What I hear you saying is that you do want to build a rental portfolio.  So, why would you sell?  Right now, you have a property with a great equity position, solid cash flow, and cheap debt (interest rate is low).  It doesn't get any better than that for building wealth through cash flow.  Additionally, while rates aren't historically bad right now, they are higher than 4-5 years ago, and they will be even higher for you as an investor than they were as an owner occupant, which is what you were when you bought originally.

I get that you are anxious to add to your portfolio, but that could be achieved without touching your first golden goose.

Sometimes on BP, the push is to leverage every last spare penny, but that can be a risky game as the markets shift.  Think of this.... Right now you have $1,000 in cash flow that can be used to fund other projects (seed money), pay you in profit to supplement your lifestyle, or fill in any gaps for underperforming properties.  

If you sell your only overachiever to go with a more leveraged position, you could have 2-3 properties that may cover themselves or even provide a little profit, but when the rental markets shift (and they do), now you have 2-3 properties that all require you to supplement for their shortages.  Not a great position to be in.  Whereas, if you are holding $1,000 cash flowing property and the markets shift, you likely still have a cash flowing property that can sustain itself, and even help supplement another property that isn't in as great of an equity position.  It's hedging your bets.  It's smart investing to have a balanced portfolio.

Now that being said, is this property a good rental?  If this property is hard to rent, or is functionally obsolescent (only 1 bathroom, no yard, etc), or has deferred maintenance that will be costly, or is in a location that is not appealing to Tenants, then maybe a sale would be a good option in favor of a property that has better Tenant appeal, which will likely increase rent and avoid long vacancies in between Tenants.

An option to consider.... Convert the property you are living in now to your second rental, and buy a new home for yourself.  It will give you a lower interest rate on both properties because you bought them as owner occupants, and it will require less down payment to get into.  House hacking is a great tool to use.  Just saying...

My suggestion would be to cap your utilities at a certain amount and have Tenants pay anything over that amount.

That will help you manage your expenses, and also allow Tenants to gage their usage each month, and make adjustments if they don't want to go over the allotted amount.

As far as collection, provide the bill showing any overages and just have them pay for it along with their rent. 

@Owen Wang I applaud your enthusiasm to hit the ground running!  That's wonderful.

Your state requires 72 hours of Real Estate education.  There are any number of Real Estate schools available to you, so choose the one that compliments your learning style, whether that be online or in person or a hybrid.  I included a link below to your state's association with all the requirement info.

Keep in mind that getting into Real Estate is not a cheap adventure. There are fees associated with going to Real Estate school, obtaining your license, joining the board and MLS for your area, getting proper E&O insurance and so forth. THEN you have to support yourself while you are working on your first deal. Even if you get something in escrow right away, it's still a 30-45 day escrow period before you would get paid, unless you are working with cash Buyers.

I say this not to discourage you, but rather to encourage you to prepare for what lies ahead so that you have the best chance of success.  So, start saving now while you are in High School.  Get that Summer job that you can pack away paychecks in order to launch properly.

Best of Luck!  I'm rooting for your success.

Wisconsin Association Of Realtors License Requirements

 This is absolutely correct.  As of August 17th, 2024, gone are the days that any Realtor can meet you at a property and show you one-offs.  Now they are required to obtain a commission agreement before setting foot in a property to show it to you.  The only exception to this is an Open House.  Agents can host an Open House and allow potential Buyers to walk through without having agreements in place.  Any agent who violates this is communicating to you that they are unethical.

Best practices proves that interviewing agents BEFORE you go looking, to find the most competent one for your specific needs is the right way to do it.  With mutual trust, your agent will be able to put more time and care into your searches, evaluating properties for you, and not having to worry if their time will all be for not.

@Jay Fayz Do you have a source of regular income?  You mentioned that you are not a W-2, but that is not the only status of income producing individuals.  Are you receiving income of any kind? 1099, social security, trust payments, annuities, etc?

My next question is what kind of cash do you have available?  There are some markets that you may be able to make a purchase with what you have available.  Then any rental income you could obtain from that property could be used as an income source for loan pre-qualification. It may be out of state, so you will have to determine if that is something you are willing to explore.

It isn't always cut and dry as some suggest.  I have seen loan qualifications based solely on passive investment income from rental properties, social security/disability payments, pension payments, etc.  So before dismissing your options, you may want to consult an investor friendly Lender who is an out of the box thinker.

@Natalie Tran How do you know you will lose 50% of your capital?  Have you had it evaluated by a Realtor, or are you relying on Zillow or other online algorithms to estimate your property's value?

Before making any decision, I would get a customized property evaluation by a local Realtor to determine the value of the property on both sides of the spectrum; sale OR rental.  Having the info will help you weigh the options and make an informed decision.

@Landon Sheveland How exciting that you and your wife are taking this first step in Real Estate! 

Before diving in to offer advice, I'd like to clarify a few things with you, if I may....

You mention that you are going to live in the property while you renovate.  So, how long do you estimate that you will live there?  The reason why I ask is because that could determine what loan options are available to you (and interest rates).  So, something to think about.

Next, what methods have you used to determine what kind/size of property to purchase?  Are you basing this solely on what you can afford, or what you intend to make on it, or your target sale price?  The reason I ask is that knowing the fast movers of the area may help you choose your project.

Lastly, what kind of renovation budget have you established, and is it an upfront budget, or will you be contributing to it over the time that you live in the property and renovate it?  This may determine what things you focus on.  In general, I would say Kitchen, Bathrooms and any deferred maintenance should be your focused items.  However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend full replacements of any or all of them.  Sometimes you can bring to life an old cabinet simply by painting it, putting new hardware on, and maybe updating a light fixture in the room that shines brighter, and not yellow.  So, starting with a budget, and then narrowing it down to the must haves, then the like to, then any bonuses.  Also, you can't know how the cost of materials could fluctuate over your project time, so consider purchasing any materials upfront so you can stick to your budget.  As an example, my neighbor added a second story to her home and the contractor gave her an estimate that she agreed to.  He came back to her during COVID and told her that it would cost $30K more because of the cost of lumber and other materials that had jacked up during COVID.  In some cases, it may not be possible to purchase and store materials, but if it is, that is one way to protect your budget and avoid a costly mistake.

The last thing I would offer for you to think about is having a pivot plan.  If, through the process of renovating the property, the market shifts, do you have an alternate plan for the property, whether it be to live in it until the market improves, or convert it to a rental property, etc.  Whatever the option is, you should discuss it, and pencil it out so that you know you have a pivot option as a safety net for your adventures in Real Estate!

I would love to hear more, and dive deeper into suggestions with a little more info.  

I'm rooting for you, and for your project to have success!