All Forum Posts by: John Postma

 Thanks Todd!  Maybe it's because I had a relatively tolerable day at work today, but I don't have any specific plans to quit the W2 just yet.  As others have stated, it's tough to lose the various benefits (health insurance, 401k employer match, etc), not to mention the income itself.  Once I'm collecting rent from Florida, I'll be able to refocus on changing up my RE strategy, or even go into buying small businesses for the cashflow.

 I suspect that's exactly what I'll do with the Florida properties.  After the first year of renting them, and if their values have risen enough, I'll "trade up" for something else with a higher cashflow (assuming I go for a higher downpayment.)  We'll see in a year's time where they're at.

 @Caleb Brown  Yup, I'm close to swapping the empty lots for a tenanted new build.  It'll be nice to have that behind me.

And yes, in the Denver area the inflation of house values has outpaced my ability to save, so that's one reason why I decided to try investing from a distance.  In the end, once I have the two rentals up and running in Florida, I can always sell them and put that equity into a local Denver property if the numbers work.

 Thanks for the suggestion Marcus.  I've been intrigued by the concept of buying small businesses a la Codie Sanchez, but it seemed so foreign to anything I'm familiar with I just focused on RE.  I'll give the podcast in your link a listen.  Thanks!

 Copy that.  In truth, my goal has always been to replace my W2 income, so the focus was on the $ coming in every month, and not so much the number of properties.  I equated it to a property per year simply because in the Denver area it's very difficult to find cash-flowing deals that make the investment worth it, so I figured I'd be looking at several properties to reach my financial goal.  I get your point though.  I should've started with a specific $/month in mind and worked backwards to figure out how many properties it would take to get to that number.  Instead, I just decided to head in "that direction" and figured I'd get to the destination eventually.  Like you said, not much of a plan.

If I could make the financial goal work with one or two properties I'd go that route, so it's not really about the number of properties. That kind of cashflow is just unrealistic in my neck of the woods. I've been watching Chad Carson's videos and his approach of accumulating more properties than you need, then start using that income to pay off mortgages and cull the lower performing properties makes sense to me.  With my two local properties bringing in about $1,200/month, I'm in the growing phase.  I don't want to just buy another house though if the cashflow isn't right.

Thanks for your feedback Joe.  It helps to have the reminder that I need to proceed with the goal in mind, and not just go through the motions.

 For sure I was in that group. Not so much FOMO, but buying into the hype of the moment. If the houses had been completed on time it would've worked out, but over 3 years to complete 1 house is crushing my progress.  Not to mention lulling me into fearful complacency while I have that money tied up.  If things work out with this 2nd company, and I have one operating rental in place of two empty lots in North Port, I'll be happy(ish).

 @Joe Villeneuve Ah, gotcha.  Missed the point of your question.  I guess I was thinking small.  I was thinking 1 property per year was a huge thing for me, and if things worked out I could accelerate to 2 properties the 2nd or 3rd year, 3 properties the 3rd or 4th year, etc.  I thought 1 per year was enough to push me out of my comfort zone, but also not too much to overextend my finances.  Of course, in hindsight with what the market has done, I wish I'd gone full steam ahead, but in the moment I was playing it cautious.

I'm also looking for income to quit my W2.  I know, I know.  Doesn't every rookie investor?  I'm currently helping my aging parents, and I need to be spending more time taking care of them. My current W2 is going through many changes, and whether by their choice (layoffs) or mine (12-16 hr work days is unsustainable) I need to figure out how I can spend more time taking care of my parents.  I'm feeling the delays I've imposed on myself in my RE investing, so I'm trying to correct my trajectory to get back on course ASAP.

 I'm in the process of potentially doing just that.  There' s a buyer who will credit me the value of the lots towards a finished and tenanted property in their inventory.  However, it does mean forfeiting the deposits which is tough to swallow.  I won't be making money on the North Port lots.  I'll be losing it, but I'm willing to consider it the cost of education.  So long as I come out of it a little wiser.

Back in 2019, I figured a goal of saving for a year for each downpayment was an achievable goal.  However, in my market house values were outpacing my ability to save sufficient funds.  I also got involved with a builder in Florida who has yet to produce the first of three houses they're contracted to build, which was a major hit to my available funds as well, setting me further behind.

I also figured if I fell a little behind in saving (18 months instead of 12 months for example), I'd still be making progress. But, since I've been in a holding pattern waiting on the Florida builds, I haven't seen a clear path forward to purchase another house while waiting for the builds to finish.

I don't want to get into too many details yet, but to sum up my experience so far. . . 

Started the process on 1 house in Cape Coral Nov. of 2021.  It's Dec. 2024 and, while the house is built, septic still needs to be installed, exterior grounds, and internal trim and appliances are yet to be completed.  Still no estimate for completion yet. Also, there were issues with subcontractors getting paid.  I won't go into details, but experienced investors know what it means when there's trouble with subcontractors getting paid.

Started the process of 2 houses in North Port in the spring of 2022.  At the end of the summer of 2024, finally got permits approved.  With the constant delays for the one house in Cape Coral, I've been very discouraged about moving forward with the North Port builds.  Together I have $50k in deposits for North Port, so a lot on the line for me.

Needless to say, after 3 years and counting to have a single house built in Cape Coral, I don't know how I can confidently move forward with the North Port builds.