All Forum Posts by: Jocelyn Kaufman

I think either option seems like it would work for your purposes, I would leave her off the lease to avoid having to claim a higher income. 

But honestly, if she is able to I would ask her to pay what the other girls pay and save it for her for the three years. Then by the time she graduates she has good savings and can maybe buy a house of her own. 

Good luck!

-Jocelyn :)

Hey!

It kind of depends on the capital you have available. Financing through a bank will want you to put a high percentage down because you are building. However, HMLs will kill you on the interest rates so you kind of have to weigh the pros and cons. 

If you have a lender you work with at a bank I would bring the situation to them first and see if they can come up with a solution. I would suggest trying to do traditional financing just because the interest rates are going up and by the time you are ready to refi that HML the interest rates may be even higher.

Hope this helps!

Good luck.

-Jocelyn :)

Hey Tamara!

I listen to the "Tax-Smart Real Estate Investors" podcast. They are awesome and just listening to their podcast I have learned so much. I know they offer CPA services and I personally do not use them but I have heard great things. 

Hope this helps!

-Jocelyn :)

@Lynzie Mackey I like to have one picked out before selling. In this market, it is super easy to sell and hard to buy. I would start looking around and see if anything would be worth switching to. 

If I remember right for the 1031 exchange the property(s) you buy have to be of greater value than the one you are selling. Then what's also cool with 1031 is if you do not have to use all of the money on the two or three properties you buy you can get it as cash. Keep in mind this is still taxed but if you need cash that may be a good option. 

30-50k seems like a good cash flow for a single property so make sure you really look into the properties you would be trading for. 

Have you thought of doing a cash out refi and using that money to buy another place? 

I was in your situation not too long ago. I think there is nothing scarier than working your whole life in a 9-5 job until you turn 60 and retire. I will answer each of your concerns in my opinion but I will keep it brief. 

1. The market will always be changing and I personally don't see home prices going down anytime soon in most areas. The sooner you jump in the better assuming you are in a good spot financially.

2. I think it is always important, to be honest, and not try and take advantage of the sellers. If you find good deals and are a good human things will work out in your favor more often than not and people will be more willing to work with you. Think of it as a business when you are offering to buy a house. You want a good deal but you also want a relationship to maybe get more deals from that person in the future. Plus I believe in Karma. 

3. I think a great place to start would be reading "rich dad, poor dad" and listening to podcasts like "the bigger pockets podcast" and "The real estate CPA podcast." Once you learn more it will make more sense. 

4. I am not sure what you mean by this question but I think a great FREE way to start would be finding an agent that can send you an email alert for the area you are interested in. You can start looking for properties at no cost and even if you are not able to buy window shopping is always a great way to learn. 

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions I may be able to help you with!

-Jocelyn :)

Awesome, it sounds like you have done an amazing job with this property. I do not know much about Florida but I could bet your equity will continue to grow, especially with all the improvements it seems the island is making. I think it is also important to note that island living is becoming more and more popular with people wanting to be secluded. 

One thing to keep in mind is if you do sell you would have to pay taxes on the gains. 

If you want to sell and use a 1031 exchange to purchase a bigger property or multiple properties you could defer the tax losses and then I think it would be worth looking into. However, if you sell and pay the taxes I feel like you will kick yourself in 5-10 years for doing that.

I don't have a crystal ball but I think you are in a unique situation being on an island and I don't see your value going down. 

I sold a duplex about a year ago and had to pay heavy taxes. I regret that decision because it cost me. If I could do it over again, I would have held onto the duplex and only sold it if I had a better property to 1031 exchange for. (Meaning you defer the taxes)

I did end up using this method later on another duplex and 1031'd the duplex into a 10 plex. Using this strategy I have been able to build my portfolio to 49 rental units. 

I hope this helps!

-Jocelyn :)

I started right where you are two years ago. I had $12,000 in the bank and started on my real estate journey. That 12k has now snowballed into 49 rental units in just two years so you can see why investing is amazing!

I would advise you to start with an FHA loan and try and find a property you can add value to but that can also provide income. FHA loans are super upfront and forward and you only have to put 3.5% down so you may be able to find a deal that your 15k will work for.

I would look for a mother-in-law, duplex, or even a house with a separate entrance that you could turn into a mother-in-law. This way you can live in part of the space (required for an FHA loan) and rent out the other part.

Also, I would look for a way you can add value. However, the property cannot need too much work because then it won't qualify for an FHA loan. Look for a place that needs new floors or an unfinished basement.

I hope this helps! 

-Jocelyn :) 

Wow, that is amazing! I was in your situation about 2 years ago. I put a lot of work into a property that was a mother-in-law single-family home and I was able to really showed the property's value. I wanted to expand and I looked into doing a cash out refi or selling. I ended up selling the property and using a 1031 exchange into a 10 unit building. It has now snowballed into 49 rental units in just 2 years. Sometimes it is scary to sell or it sucks to sell something you have worked so hard in but if you can turn it into something bigger, why not? 

On the other hand, if you are able to get a cash-out refi and you can stay in positive cash flow you can keep your current property and still expand. That may be a good option to look into as well. 

I hope this helped! 

-Jocelyn :)