All Forum Posts by: John Lyszczyk

Hey Kai,

Thought I'd comment on time management and offer my services to help you find deals.

I also work a day job from 7:30am - 5:00 sometimes 6pm Mon-Fri. I'm also a real estate agent and I'm closing in on $1.5 million in home sales. In addition, I self manage a small portfolio of 6 rental units. Needless to say, my time is thin. Whatever you decide to do make sure you can follow through with your commitments. I have made the mistake of over-committing and it's the worst feeling to not follow through with something, especially when others are involved. 

Like I said, I am a rental property owner and real estate agent in Southeast Michigan. If you're serious about looking in other market, take a weekend to fly out here and we can discuss this market in detail and how you can invest here. My brother and I self manage all our properties and are open to taking on other investor's properties for a management fee. If you're interested let me know and we can discuss next steps.   

Whatever you decide to do I wish the best of luck to you! 

@Sean Bennett Starting with rental properties for passive income is a great idea! Getting your license will only help with that process and even further your understanding of the real estate business. Educating yourself first is key and it sounds like you're taking action towards doing that. 

My advice to people interested in getting started with passive income through rental properties is to just buy a single family home and see if you still want to continue down this path. You will learn and become experienced in the following:

-Landlording/Property Management

-Finding/negotiating deals

-Construction/renovation management

-Real Estate transaction process

These are just a few major things you'll learn and I'd say that's a great start! If you find out that buying rental properties is not for you, then just sell the property and move on to the next thing. Buy a rental property that you can afford and see if you like it. 

 Curious how this panned out for you. I am experiencing something similar. Huge tax hike on a duplex I own and we've been informed that taxes are increasing, but not certain how much. What has the lawyer done to help? Can the tax increase be overturned?

Is purchasing the property in a "Land Trust" and transferring it to new owner a loop hole? Curious to see if that is possible. 

 PS- My brother and I are looking for a real estate attorney. Are you accepting new clients, Josh?

@John Boyorak Welcome! Someone once told me the most successful people in life are the best at playing dumb and listening lol You'll find this site/community to be very helpful. Best of luck to you!

@Casey Helmick Read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" for mindset education and motivation. Read "Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller (owner/founder of Keller-Williams Realty). These two books kept me motivated and furthered my education in RE investing. 

Personally, I told myself that I just wanted to be in the game. I wanted to understand every aspect of real estate and know it well. My first deal was a small 2 bed 1 bath single family home, and I liquidated my IRA to pay for the down payment. I'm really glad I took the leap of faith because that property has cash-flowed well and helped me acquire other properties.

I picked one thing to focus on and took action. That's all you can do when you're first starting out. If you overthink things and try to avoid EVERY issue you'll never get started. Pick something that you see yourself doing and run with it. Best of luck to you!

@Alfonzo C Rushin II "Other real estate companies" could be a tired "mom and pop" landlord that is ready to dump their rentals.. definitely call or mail a letter. Speaking of mailing letters, when you're driving for dollars write down the address, type up a letter, and sign the bottom. See how many calls you get from those and track them. 

Congrats on closing! What to take action, and it sounds like you have a good grasp on your next steps.

1. How important is having separate bank accounts to separate my house expenses from personal expenses? I'm planning on renting out 2 bedrooms at around $600 a month. My PITI will be in the $1300-$1400 range which means I likely won't be cashflowing. I know that rentals should be treated just like businesses which is what they are, but seeing as the businesses would technically be losing money every month, I'm not sure how crucial the separate accounts would be. I could be totally ignorant on this and am curious to hear feedback!

If your plan is to scale and continue to grow your business/portfolio, then you will want to get an LLC and bank accounts. Start treating it like a business. Get organized, develop systems and become efficient. One main reason to start your LLC and bank accounts is to show banks/JV investors/Private money lenders that you're serious and legitimate. Down the road you may need some of the aforementioned entities or individuals to make deals happen. Banks often look at your business /industry history and experience when lending out money for commercial loans. Having your LLC and bank accounts already established will give them proof that you know what you're doing. As a result, this will give them more confidence in lending you money. If you're going to scale start your business now.   

2. What rent collection methods or tools have people found best?

For my house hacks I just went with a drop box in the house where everyone deposited rent. Good old fashion check or money order. I'm looking into Cozy.co as an electronic option for my properties moving forward.

3. In general, what tips, methods, etc have people found helpful in making their house hacking successful?

Have a strong lease agreement and be firm with your tenants. They may be friends, but explain to them that this is a business for you, and not a gentleman's agreement. Make them sign leases. I would also add that it would be beneficial for you to chose your tenants wisely. Try to find someone that will not only pay rent, but maybe someone that is like minded, professional and driven. Who knows maybe they'll be a business partner down the road. 

Hey Mike,

Send me a message of your specs/requirements of what you're looking to purchase. I belong to a local landlord association in Port Huron, MI that most of the members are older and may want to unload their portfolios. As a local real estate investor and agent, I can help you acquire the properties you're looking for. Let me know! Looking forward to working with you!

@Salvator Lorick Thre's a lot to be learned from house hacking your first investment property. You get an idea of what the demand is like in your market and what people are willing to pay. 

My best resources have been local Real Estate agents that have a pulse of the demand and understand the submarkets. Call at least 5 agents and ask them about the rental demand and what areas they would recommend investing in. If you find a good/helpful agent that knows the market hold onto them! I recommend referring them business or using them to purchase properties as they will be more likely to help you. Questions to ask:

-What are some good areas to buy a (rental, fix-n-flip, insert whatever)? What are the best areas? What is an area to avoid?

-What is the demand for rental properties like? Are there a lot of renters looking for homes right now?

-Do you know anyone who has rental properties that I could talk to? I'd like to learn more about their experiences. 

Secondly, I have printed out the UPDATED zoning maps of each municipality that I invest in so I know what areas allow rental properties (if you're looking for a rental). This is important to know because some municipalities do not allow rentals specific geographic areas as they may have other plans for developing the community.