All Forum Posts by: Josh Kredit-Phelps

@Steve Proia

If you have the network and knowledge to invest in real estate, especially implementing the BRRRR strategy, you are far better off using real estate vs 529 plan.

Loan pay down, cash flow, and tax benefits far outperform than 529 plans.

@John Fortunato

I personally recommend Long Distance Real Estate Investing by David Greene. Gets you more comfortable going to areas where the best deals exist instead of forcing a deal in your area.

@Moritz Bode

I think this is a relatively obvious answer but kitchens are always great returns. Kitchens are the area that most of the time is spent in for most families.

However, the caveat is they have to be slightly better than neighboring houses. You don’t want grade A finishes in B/C areas. It’s all relative and based on market demographics and consumer desires.

We have seen quick turnarounds inside of 3 weeks but, we have also been on the other side of 2 months. It really depends on the lender. 

This doesn’t help a whole lot but try and do some research and pin them down one dates. We typically have to go back and get several remedial documents for underwriters. 

It can definitely be a painful process at times but, keep searching if you are unhappy with your last refi bank and eventually you’ll find one that you work well with 

Based on several books I have read, this seems to be a mini syndication type deal. If he is completely passive, i would offer him 30-40% vs 50%. You’ll be the asset manager and be quite a bit more involved and I think it is fair to have a larger percentage 

@Erin Wicomb very impressive! How did you get started overall and how did you ultimately land this deal? Networking? Direct Mail? 

I have seen it said already but, I will repeat it. It depends on your goals. What do you want out of your capital? 

My wife and I rent with 3 roommates. our total rent is 675. Instead of dropping the money for a down payment in our expensive market, we decided to buy rentals with our capital. 

Instead of owning a very marginal/below performing asset (Your own home). You leveraged that capital to earn 8-12% cash on cash returns plus plenty of tax benefits. 

After several years, refi out tax free and take that money and use for your own home. 

There are plenty of good books out there along with some great tools. I would google a little bit more and read through some blogs as well as the forums. 

Our simple rule of thumb is for properties under 150k that you plan on rehabbing to use 35% costs plus Principle, Interest, Insurance, and Taxes

This works well for us because we know what our vacancy rates will be in our market and we know management. If you rehab and do a decent job, you will have lower maintenance and have typically done some significant Capex work going into the property as well so we lump that into our acquisition costs.

First spot I would look is at any equity you may have in your home if you have any. 

Second, think about your 401k. You will pay yourself on the interest plus rental property has many more benefits and generally speaking better returns than the market over a longer period of time

Third, you could always ask for owner financing. This is definitely pending the situation they are in. Usually a small down payment and favorable terms then refi out in 5ish years. 

Fourth, don’t be afraid to ask a friend. That’s what I did and my buddy and I now own 9 units collectively. They could also get the money out of their 401k or any current equity in their personal home

Let me know if you have any questions and good luck!

Plenty of Pros for both sides. It starts with what you want. 

Do you want higher CoC returns or are you good with lower returns?

If you want higher returns, generally speaking, you can do better with owning single family properties vs syndication. This of course has exceptions. 

We own SFH and it is very passive as we have a great property manager company. It takes a few hours a week at the worst to manage issues with the property managers, if we have any.

If you just want a decent return and want a solid fixed asset, then syndications are a great way to go. 

You just need to determine your financial goals and that should help guide you to your answer.