All Forum Posts by: Henry LiChi

@Federico Gutierrez is right with with B class tenants 'generally' take care of your property better than a C or D class tenant.  Though I have property that is in the A, B, C, and D class, I have yet to have any problems.  I do notice the D class tenants tend to complain about the smallest things, but that's also cause I inherited those tenants.  

@Account Closed

I currently have property in the 44105, 44128, 44120, and 44137 area.  They are all duplexes, I am about to acquire quad in 44105 area (Would say it's a D class, but the property is completely renovated and cash flows insanely well).  I am looking into more properties in Shaker Heights and thinking about offering on one.  The downside is the high property taxes but anyone that knows Cleveland, knows Shaker Heights is a very nice area for the most part.

@Michelle R.

Best way to figure out which locations is to invest your time (reading, visiting, research, etc) into learning more about the locations.  I personally have investments in Cleveland and I am an out of state investor.

@Jenny Tang I honestly haven't been actively looking.  I should and am open to suggestions as well.

Set for Life was a really easy read.  Lots of common sense stuff for us that commonly visiting BP site, but it still hit the nail on several key points.  I read the book in a week on my lunch break and work commute, it was short but to the point.

Why would you bet on both ends?  You're bound to lose one hand.  If Mayweather wins, you only receive 3077 (4444-1367).  If McGregor wins (in your case, I hope not), you lose 15,557.25 (20k - 4442.75).  

In my opinion, McGregor is going to be so frustrated with Mayweather's dodging techniques, that he is going to roundhouse kick Mayweather in the head and get disqualified.  Just my opinion.  

I am definitely interested.  I am less concern about how much it would cost if they can save me thousands from taxes each year.  I rather pay a good CPA than the US TReasUry(MP?).  

@Quinton Slay you are not alone.  I apologize ahead of time for not reading most people's response since this thread had pages and pages of responses.  But based on my experience with my wife that was in a similar situation and some what still is, I can only provide my personal advice.

First off, I would definitely have her read Set for Life by @Scott Trench.  Even if you are not a believe or real estate investing, everyone would love to retire young and I strongly believe if you have the will, you will find the way to do so.  

I have always been financial minded and tried to convinced my wife that working good jobs to buy a large house in the suburbs through financial and being forced to retire at 65 with savings that will last only 15-20 years, the American dream, is absurd.  This is not my goal nor dream.  She bought into this quick and was all for investing into long term buy and holds.

Convincing her instead of buying a 1.5m dollar house in Pasadena, we should house hack a duplex and up, was the challenge.  The same challenge you are facing.  My situation is furthered weighed down by the fact that she is going on 8 months pregnant and does not want to live in a property that is shared with strangers, which I completely understand.  My biggest priority is my wife, my future daughter, and their safety, so I could not argue with her on that.  

So how did I convince her? I told her that our passive income from our rentals is enough for her to retire now as it replaces her income. By end of next year, I will be quitting my full-time job to focus investing. My situation is a bit different since I have a lot of free capital that I am able to buy properties for cash out-of-state. But if she wants to go ahead and buy a million+ dollar house, all our capital will be drained and she would have to go back to work and same with me and we would have to hire a nanny to raise our children. Sounds like a terrible scenario to throw at her but this was the consequences that we would endure. I have always been very upfront with her and tried to always find a medium to our goals/dreams. To hit her with a reality check that to buy a large house when you are gone half the day because you’ll be stuck at work, is absurd. Also, to tack onto that, we were planning to retire next year and travel often once our daughter turns one. Making it even more absurd to throw money away on a house, instead of using it to make money. I gave her an alternative that we can AirBnB it when we are traveling to balance it out and still pay for our travels, but I was even not convinced by this since I will never ever rent out my primary residence (a secondary unit separate from the house, maybe). After days of pondering and shedding some tears, she said I was right. I promised her that we would only house hack for a few years until our daughter is ready for school or more children pending in the future, which will allow me to build up enough equity and income to offset paying for a huge mortgage.

Long story short, we are not moving to Pasadena anytime soon, as we currently own our home, almost free and clear (not nearly the price of Pasadena homes). We plan to find a multifamily in Long Beach next year that will pan out to us living there for free and allow us to be closer to her family. In a few years, we will make take the plunge and hopefully by then, we can buy a property in Pasadena with cash.

I am in the process of closing on my 3rd multifamily in Ohio and the first property is already filled with tenants and a professional property management team.  

My next task is to have a CPA that I can get advice from, from time to time and also help with tax filing and organization of deductions.

Does anyone have any recommendations?  I currently live in SF area, but does not have to be local.  Just someone that specializes in real estate long term buy and hold investments.  

Congrats @Wade Stahle

You said you built them right which equated to more equity than expected.  Can you elaborate?  Do you have pictures or plans?  I am very interested in the development side of real estate.  I have an architecture background (soon to be licensed California architect), I am interested in what is phrased as Architect as a Developer.  I wanted to understand your process further.  Were these built in Alaska?  How long from survey to certificate of occupancy did it take?  

Welcome @Chandler Canepa.  I own a Single Family house in Temecula that cash flows quite okay but that's because I bought it dirt cheap during the crash.  Otherwise finding cash flowing properties in California is tough (unless you are buying properties cash and can suffice with a 3-5% return yearly).  But the good thing about living in California is the high paying jobs compared to most other areas.  As a result, I am able to bought properties for cash in Ohio that cash flow very well.  Like others have said, it is about who is on your team there that really makes or breaks it.  For Californians, OOS investing is the only way to go if you are starting off and want to accelerate your financial freedom, in my opinion.  Unless you are house hacking, that's just a different story.