All Forum Posts by: Jia Liu

My 2018 goal is to buy 5 units by the end of the year. One single family and two duplexes. I will have $20k saved by next April. About $40k in 401k and $13k in stocks. Should I sell my stocks and borrow against my 401k to reach my 2018 goal?

I agree with @Kyle M. With that amount of equity I would put it in an apartment complex. It's easier to scale up with an apartment complex than to scale up with turnkey. You can't do much to increase cash flow with turnkey, but you can with apartment complex. Increase rent by $20 on one turnkey, you get $20 extra a month. Increase rent by $20 on a 20 unit apartment, you get $400.

@John Mocker ,

Just out of curiosity. I see that the Dwelling Fire policy covers almost exactly the same as the homeowners policy: "Dwelling", "Other structures". The only difference is "Loss of use" and "Personal property" for homeowners policy and the "Fair rental value" for the Dwelling Fire policy. In terms of the structure of the house, both policies should cover in case of an unfortunate event, right? Or is there a clause in homeowners policy that voids the coverage if it's not a primary residence?  Thanks!

So basically, I am screwed if Irma hits (knock on wood)...

@John Mocker , my next question is that would I've been better off keeping my original homeowner insurance than to switch it to the landlord insurance? I figured my agent would've told me if it's better off... The fact that she didn't and immediately switched me to landlord insurance subconsciously told me that it's better to switch to landlord insurance... What are your comments? Thanks!

P.S. My best wishes and thoughts to Texas and Florida...

Thanks @John Mocker . 

I just asked my agent for the Declaration of Policy and here's what it says: 

Hi everyone! I lived in my property for two years in South Carolina. I moved out and turned it into a rental on March 2017. This whole time I had it covered under my original homeowners insurance. Hearing that Hurricane Irma is going to hit South Carolina, I immediately called my insurance broker. She helped me cancel my original homeowners insurance and set me up with a different company for Dwelling and Fire insurance (landlord insurance?) The effective date on the new insurance is 9/7/2017. Let's say the Hurricane hits on 9/11/2017. Will I be OK in terms of coverage? I am asking because I have heard that it can take anywhere from 15 days to 45 days for a new insurance to be active. Thanks!

I am currently educating myself while saving $10k. Once I reach $10k, I will start reaching out to agents and putting down offers. Once I reach $15-20k, I hope to buy my second buy and hold. Of course I will be investing out of state. I can't even rent a toilet for $20k in my area.

I love my job too and working "on the side" on real estate as well. I think that's the best combination: have a job you love so that you can save money to invest on the side. If you lose your job you will have the investments to support you for a bit. If you take a hit on the investment, you still have a job you love.

I use cozy.co as well. easy to set up and easy to go autopilot.

THanks for the post! Very helpful!