All Forum Posts by: Jaclyn K.

Originally posted by Christopher W.:

The house prices compared to rental rates in most places of CA are really bad - especially compared to other parts of the country. They require a larger outlay of cash which messes with the overall return. A lot of the landlords I know have owned houses for at least 10 years. Most have owned the same rentals since the 60s and 70s.

CW, you hit it right on the head -- We've owned our property for about 10 years now, and still it is barely worth it to rent it. Most HOs in our area that are renting have been here for 20 years or more ... makes a little more sense for them.

Originally posted by Charles Perkins:

Welcome to BP,
Are you purchasing property in the CA area?

Charles, we considered buying and holding in our area (Orange County) and managing it ourselves, but the thin spread between the cost and the rental rates makes us wonder if it is worth it. If we did it, we think we'd have to do it more for the potential home value rather than a monthly cash flow, which would be meager. Still, it's worth considering ... we've had our eye on a particularly promising neighborhood for some time now.

Originally posted by Marc Freislinger:

Jaclyn,

Which areas in the Midwest are you investing in?

Interestingly enough: Indiana. (I see you live there.)

Brandi, we're open to most locations, particularly those with stable growth and a strong middle class pool of renters, which is our target group. Currently that has put us in Midwest -- major cities.

Rich and Vikram, thank you for the encouragement. :-)

P.S. Rich, I will have to check out that post.

Thanks for the advice.

Asset protection is definitely a priority (among some others). Unfortunately, we live in a litigious area; I have heard threats of lawsuits tossed about too easily in these parts and sometimes to the most well-meaning of people.

I will take all of your advice and begin looking into it with an advisor. I learned a lot here.

Thanks for the reply, TinyElvis.

Yes, I do have a team on the ground. I was just curious to learn from others how they went about finding the best people.

Wow. All very good and thorough advice. Thanks all.

I am going to have to digest this is a bit. It sounds like there are multiple layers to consider -- asset protection, costs, taxes, etc.

Eddie, out of curiosity, how did the WY/TX pairing get matched as such, whereas AL/AL are together?

Hi Marc, thanks for the advice! I have heard that "a good team on the ground" does make a big difference. Any tips on how to get one started/find the best people?

It seems like an overwhelming task when you are first starting out.

Hello Chris. Nice to meet you. Oops, I neglected to mention the location: it's out of state. Better prices. :-)