All Forum Posts by: J Scott

Sorry, but there is nothing that anyone can tell you in a single response that would provide enough insight for you to go out and start making successful deals...

Try this:

Go read through these forums, read at least a couple books (I recommend starting with "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor"), start asking a lot of *specific* questions, and find a couple successful investors in your area that are willing to help you get your feet wet...

J Scott

1) Hire a property manager (or be prepared to work very hard)

2) Make sure maintenance costs are factored into your analysis/plan for acquiring each property

Try these...

http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/

http://www.insideselfstorage.com/

http://www.selfstorageeducation.com/

Here's a primer on performing Financial Analysis of multi-unit properties, if you're interested:

[LINK REMOVED BY ADMIN - The point of the forums is to share information, not to plug your website. Please share your article here on the site so we can all read it.]

Mine is completely public (see link above)...

Happy to answer any questions or go into more detail where necessary...

If anyone is interested, I'm building my Business Plan in real-time on my RE Blog...feel free to take a look:

You should definitely consult a tax professional (I'm certainly not one), but something to keep in mind is that -- for tax purposes -- you don't want to keep appreciating assets in a corporation. Many real estate LLCs that buy and hold property elect to be taxed as an S-Corp (use IRS form 2553), so that way the bulk of the profits can be paid as salary and you can avoid self-employment tax (up to a certain amount).

Again, don't take my word for it...consult a tax professional before you do anything...

J Scott

Just something to think about before moving property into an LLC these days (not saying it's the wrong thing to do for asset protection, but you should have all the facts):

http://www.taxloopholes.com/connect/blog/diane-kennedy/2008/05/do-you-have-llc-you-might-not-

Unfortunately, there's not enough information here to really help analyze this property.

First, are you clear (and confident) that you fully understand the income that this property will bring in? How long are the leases? How reliable are the tenants? Is there a likelihood of a vacancy any time soon? If so, how difficult would it be to lease the empty space?

How about the expenses? What are they? Are you sure? Is there management expenses built in? Will you be managing the property yourself or outsourcing it? How about deferred maintainance? You mentioned that the property is 75 years old, what repairs need to be performed in the next couple years? Have you budgeted for them?

Once you understand the income and expenses, what does your cash-on-cash return look like? Your total return? Your cap rate? How does your tax situation factor in? Can you get financing? Do you have the cash reserves that you need?

Most importantly, what is your real estate plan, and does this property fit your plan? If you don't have a plan, forget about this property and create a plan for your investing. Only then should you start looking at specific properties...

Just my $.02...

J Scott

That's one way to think about it...

I prefer the other way, though. What he has really isn't that much money (there is an abundance of money in the world), and while he should certainly make prudent and well-thought-out investments, he shouldn't be *scared* of trying to parlay that money into much vaster sums.

$220K isn't that hard to come by (if you're motivated, smart, and hard working), and is certainly not "practically impossible to replicate." If it is, it's because you're not thinking big enough... :)

There are lots of ways to make lots of money, and if you take the attitude that money is scarce, you'll forever be avoiding the opportunities that will make you rich.

Be smart, analyze intelligently, work hard, and don't be scared to take well-thought-out and calculated risks...

J Scott