All Forum Posts by: Kevin Wang

Hi Richard Arden Here are two sources that I use for research www.citydata.com www.neighborhoodscout.com Hope this helps

Hi Timothy Woodland Never tried this before but I would write a personalized letters and possibly include a gift. I believe doing so, they would be more receptive and yield a higher response rate especially older folks. People might say this is a waste of money but I believe if you put more work and money into this you'll get a good one or two positive response. This is especially true in yellow letters where most get toss out before looking at it. Hope this helps.

Yali Sharon You can do a 1031 exchange on your property to defer capital gains taxes. You can trade up to three properties equal or greater in value within 180 days but have to declare which property you're buying within 45 days. For specifics, I would communicate with a qualified professional in this field.

Welcome to Dallas Kirk Norris! It's a hot market here in Dallas. Not to dissuade you or anything it's still a good market to be in long term. I guess that depends on your goals and how much time you're willing to put in. For a young professional getting started is one of the most challenging moments I had to encounter. Being young myself, I'm currently working with a broker to pursue a career in property management to gain experience. With the experience gained you can use that as a powerful leverage in building your own book of business and persuading potential cliente. Money isn't nearly as important since you're starting out. But I guess it depends on how ambitious and determined one is. Really recommend local meet ups and expressing your interest through particular real estate companies (cold calling) if you're looking to go all the way in. -Kevin

Save and and then invest when you know you’re not at risk losing something or being in debt thats difficult to get out of. Have enough savings to cushion any surprises. 

Often times the unexpected can come up and suddenly you don’t have enough to make that extra payment. Plus you’ll get better mortgage terms due to a stable income. You’ll also have more opportunity because you saved a lot more money. I'm sure your husband can find another job and you'll be able to start investing again.

Texas is pro-business, supports small business. It’s not like in Cal where you see drastic movements in prices and it’s not like in Detroit where prices are so suppressed that the hopes of being a top city seems like a dream. Texas has that “just right” flavor to some investors.

Hi @Joshua Rolfe make sure there's nothing holding up the property like inspection or title transfer issues and if its good to close. It is more safer to wait until you close. 

@Ben Wilkins

I don't see why the property can't go up in value if it's in a good location based on fundamentals with low unemployment, nearby amenities, aesthetic appeal etc.. Unless employers moves out and the place becomes like Detroit as Ron said San Antonio is hot. Josue said it will be rented out in no time. Also the type of property in a neighborhood will determine whether you can attract either a good tenant that will take care of the house versus a bad tenant that trashes one. 

Hi Josue

I would keep and rent it if it's less trouble than what its worth. Second is the property will probably be worth more a few years later. If it's worth more usually you can charge a higher rent as your expenses are also increasing. If you're using a property manager It's going to come down to trust with your property manager in handling HOA related issues. If you have a good pm then he/she should be able to screen and get a tenant that at least take care of the basic stuff, usually in a desirable neighborhood this is the case. It's going to be a lot of time spent communicating with the PM. Another thing you mentioned is the pool, I would get protected with insurance if you haven't already. But if it takes more time than you're expecting then I would sell the property.

Welcome to BP!

Is this a smart first step to building a large mound of passive income?

Depends on what you mean as a large amount of passive income. Is there a certain income you have in mind?

Can I actually build serious wealth/net worth by acquiring rental properties?

Hell Yeah you can

Can you also lose a lot of money in Real Estate?

Yes, you also can

Lastly, will people not take me seriously given my young age?

Yes, but you also have to look at the downsides

Real Estate is really about holding properties and sitting on them if they are in a good location for as long as you can. The market/inflation will the do the rest for you. If you’re interested in excel models or reading materials, I can pm a few to you. Also you’re off to a good start by asking questions.