All Forum Posts by: Kelley Lefmann

Thanks, @Joe Mclain!  Great resource. I need to get more familiar with tax liens. With little to put down at present, this may be a good route.  Will keep you posted! Cheers!

Thanks, Jim.

Sincerely appreciate your input. We are considering several markets in TX (we are in CA), and we do have a couple of folks there (who live there part time) who can help us build a team and narrow down our neighborhoods. That said, we don't have "boots on the ground" full-time. Therefore I agree that it is risky doing our first deal so far from home. 

That said, we have not found anything within a 3-hour drive from where we live (Monterey Bay) that meets our criteria of <$200k with high job growth and strong appreciation. Personally, I would like to buy and hold single family as well as well as small multifamily (2-4 unit) properties. With this strategy however, our cash flow needs to generate a profit, after the out of state CPA, the property management fee and general operating costs. I've been told to expect to pay $5k/year for a CPA to handle our LLC and the transfer of income from one state to another. And to expect 5-10% to go to the property management firm. Then, assuming our private investor expects a return, that may be anywhere from 5-7%. We are not sure if this would come out of the monthly rental income/profit, or if he would realize his investment interest upon the sale or 1031 exchange.

So much to consider at the outset. If we go for a conventional loan and bypass the private investor, we are limited to putting $10-$15k down MAX. And in most of CA, that's hard to do when it's not owner-occupied. We've even looked at the USDA loans for rural areas like Fresno and San Benito Counties, but don't think we qualify under these circumstances. 

We are a blended family with 2 school-aged kids in a fantastic school district (but expensive area we will not be leaving anytime soon). We are around 40, both starting over, and have an interest in real estate and moreso in building our nest egg late in the game. We are not risk-averse, and want to shift from renters to landlords within a couple of years. 

Any additional advice is sincerely appreciated!  We "don't know what we don't know" - but are insatiable about learning, and about making headway within this calendar year. 

Best wishes, all!

Kelley

My partner & I (new to real estate investing) have been advised to pick a niche: homes for first-time buyers, “value-add” properties (those in need of work), foreclosure buys, tax lien purchases, etc.  That said, since we are looking to invest out of state, and will be partnering with a private investor, I'm intimidated by foreclosure buys & tax lien purchases. In hot markets that have seen huge appreciation (10%) in recent years, are we being naive to buy & hold, versus buy low & flip?