All Forum Posts by: Jarrin Benson

@Antony Munoz Hi Antony, I’m in Portland as well. I am an agent who focuses a lot on investors and especially first time investors- whether house hacking or buying flips and rentals.

I would suggest a house hack for your first one- primarily because you can get into way more house for way less money. With a non owner occupied rental property you are likely looking at 20-25% down payment.

I hope this helps get you started! Happy to talk more with you if you’d like.

I just met some folks in Vancouver WA (Portland Metro) who are doing 180-200 flips/ year and have been at it for ~20 yrs. Some of that is building but a lot is flips. Family run. 

I'm interested in this topic, and I'm finding answers to be drastically varying. I think one important factor to consider is each individuals current needs and situation. There is a huge difference between keeping 10 $100K SFR properties in 10 LLC's with 10 (or 20) bank accounts, than keeping 10 $2MM+ multi-family properties in separate entities and accounts. Someone with a relatively low personal net worth should realistically not be worried about keeping separate entities and accounts for each property (and if you disagree, then there is your answer: DO IT!). Conversely, a company buying large multi-family properties or high equity positions will more likely be advised by their legal and tax teams to have a higher level of separation. One other variable to this would be succession planning, which I'm not ready to focus on for myself just yet. Personally, I'm creating one entity with one account that I will use to operate all of my investing opportunities that will be held in my own name for now, and I will also handle my income and expenses of my Real Estate Agent business in this entity and account as well. This is what I will do FOR NOW. As I grow, I will be advised to do things differently, I'm sure. Right now I don't want to be held back by feeling like entities and accounts are a hurdle I have to jump over before chasing deals!

Very nice! 

Very funny thread. I called on one of these as a renter a few years back- in fact I went to it and I was in the back yard of the place looking in the windows and the guy next door came out. We asked if he knew the owner and he WAS the owner. Needless to say he was happy to learn of the fraud. 

Based on what you have said above, I like your offer structure. You just didn't mention much about the neighborhood and comp properties and whether that will help pull the property up or down. 

It really comes down to earned income vs passive income and what peoples' tastes are. Some don't look forward far enough to see a day when they'd appreciate having a high rate of passive cash flow, and are only focused on earning enough in their productive years to approach a savings that provides the magic '4%' retirement rate. Above, Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant is mentioned. This had a profound affect on me, and provided guidance to a lot of questions that I had at the time. When the student is ready, the teacher will present itself. Now, I'm focused on re-investing my earnings. High earned income into high passive income. I don't even know 100% what that looks like yet. I don't know if I'll want to manage 100+ SFR, or have a combination of MF complexes that total 100+ doors, or invest in private funds or notes or what. The one thing I know is that I'll be investing. A high earning real estate agent has to work with a lot of people's indecision, various personal and emotional issues with buyers and sellers, dishonesty, and the list goes on. At the end of the day the last thing some of them probably want to deal with is a bad tenant. It's really a matter of personal preference and taste. No matter what anyone else tells you: it's a long time before investing is not a job anymore. Anyone who tells you otherwise is worth 4mm plus and got there by 20 years of hard work, or high earning, or legacy wealth. Period. Anyone who thinks they can own 10 properties in 2 years and retire off that cash flow either has good capital going in or has a brutal truth coming to them the first time a property needs major repair or capx investment. While I plan to be diverse with my investing, the first and foremost goal is high earned income. A high income will put you ahead faster than investing will, but investing wins the wealth race in the long term. Do both, and you should be far ahead of your peers.

@Joseph Walsh  I know how that feels - I didn't buy my current house with any equity and I feel like I could buy smarter next time. 

@Nik Moushon Thanks for going to bat there, but I do respect all opinions, even the 'tough love' style. Living like a monk for the sake of the cashflow drip is a tough subject - it's SO personal to individual situations. 

I cannot emphasize enough how much I appreciate all of the varied opinions here. What a valuable community.

 Now that is meta! Thank you for the existential approach Arlen. That speaks to me.

I really enjoy the varying opinions here. I feel all of them. Thank you all for the feedback so far.

Yeah - I am definitely being honest with myself that this would be an emotional decision.. But it does have some good numbers to back it up! Thanks for the response. I totally get not wanting to move backwards down the road. Cross that bridge when you get there, right?