All Forum Posts by: Ken Swearengen

@Brent Paul That's kind of what we were thinking. My wife is the more extroverted one so I usually have her reach out to the agents and owners while I run the numbers and (someday) do some of the repairs.

@Joseph Firmin Thank you for the advice and helpful words. Dedicating more time to my family and volunteer firefighting are my biggest whys and have helped immensely in keeping me dedicated to real estate investing. I think sometime I just need to step back and realize these things take creativity and time.

@Nick Rutkowski I love the idea of having the kids help out, and it's one of the reasons I want to get into real estate while they're young -- they'll actually want to help out! The work/o=life balance really hit home this past July when my dad passed away at 61 from brain cancer. While he loved his job I know one of the hardest things for him was knowing he wouldn't get to spend time with my kids/his grandkids. It put things into perspective for me, so I'm trying to figure out where the balance is with being in the present with them now while also preparing for a future in which I can spend even more time with them and with my wife.

@Dennis M. The kids are why we do it, right? I love your remark about giving up time and income now so that you don't have to work until you're 70. I think I just need to keep that in mind as I do this.

@John Chapman That's helpful knowing you were able to do it in what little spare time you had! As long as my kids aren't waking up, I spend 4:30-5:30 am working on finding deals as well as any downtime I have during the work day. Thanks for the advice!

I'm looking for some inspiration. I'm working full time while my wife stays home with our kids until they're both school age (so about another 4 years). My wife is slowly starting to get interested in investing with me. Right now we're focusing on finding a family-friendly house hack around Baltimore with the long term goal of investing in mobile home parks, but the pickings have been slim (or maybe I'm just two picky). So my questions for you:

How did you balance family and work life with finding deals and managing your properties? What investment strategies did you use (house hack, SFH rentals, MF rentals, flipping, wholesaling, etc)? Any general advice for someone in my situation?

@Billy Linn Good to know someone else who has tread the path. How did you approach the remote work with your company before the move? Or did you move and then just find a remote role? 

Thanks @Anthoney Hanks! 

Hi! I've posted on Biggerpockets previously asking for deal analysis around Baltimore but haven't introduced myself on this forum yet. I'm a full-time software developer, husband, father of two small kids, and volunteer firefighter. 

I want to get into real estate for the financial freedom. I have some money invested in crowdfunded apps like Fundrise. But being a non-accredited investor limits my options with that so I'm looking to start doing long term buy and holds or possibly find a syndicator that works with sophisticated investors. I've been keeping an eye on 2-4 plexes around Baltimore to house hack, but having two kids limits my options a bit so we haven't found anything yet. 

Ideally I'd be able to find a remote job and house hack in other locales, but until that time we will be sticking to Baltimore.

I look forward to talking with everyone!

@Daniel Haberkost He originally had it on the market because he was getting old and didn't want to be a landlord anymore (he has a farm down the road). Our agent reached out to his and said he delisted just because it didn't sell in during the initial listing period he had with the agent. Not sure why it didn't sell, but my guess is because it was overpriced. We're gonna work with our agent today to work up a price, but I'm going to offer significantly less (probably around $230k) since he wants to sell as-is and we'll be taking on a bit more risk. But we'll put in an inspection contingency in the contract so we can back out if the deferred maintenance has lead to any big cap ex items that he's not willing to reimburse us for.  

@Daniel Haberkost Thanks for the input! To clarify on the basement -- it's one of those old dirt floor cellars common in older houses.Not sure if that makes a difference on the wetness.

If we can get median rent for the place, we will have no problem covering our mortgage payment and our utilities. If we get the low end on rent we'll be out of pocket by probably about $100 a month, which is still significantly better than what we're paying for our two bedroom condo.