All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Chris Mylan I cant thank you enough for your advice! Also, how cool is it that you know about Shadyside and LV lol. It's awesome that you are familiar with my area. Yeah, pretty much that is why I was trying to get into holding in the first place. Im finding that I need to be very careful when weeding through all the advice. One person says one thing and the next says another, which is totally fine. Its great to hear everyones experiences and perspectives. That said, if it is possible to start a new CAREER in this industry by starting with holdings, I will do whatever I can to find the answers I need. Hearing that I should just put up with a career Im unhappy with for the next 10 years, cause thats life isn't an option and its not in my entrepreneurial spirit and nature. If it wasn't real estate that I chose to start a new venture in, it would be something else I enjoy. I've heard a few success stories about people who were in my same situation and a few is enough to show me that it can be done. It's all about figuring out how. I just need to figure out a way around the cash down payment situation to get enough of a snowball going. Honestly, I have enough set up with other investments that even a thousand or two a month in cash flow would be fine for now. $5,000+ a month would be financial freedom, which we all want and attracted me to long term holding in the first place. Thats more of a long term goal. I do a lot of stock market investing and I use the same long term holding formula in that perspective as well and its worked out pretty well. Thank you so much again and I'm going to start looking into everything you mentioned as well as the BRRRR strategy Darren B suggested. If and when I finally link up with a mentor I hope that they are as helpful and positive as you guys.

@Darren Budahn Thank you for that. I'm going to look into it right away. You hit it on the head. When I first started looking into all this, I thought to myself, how can you possibly get a snowball effect going if you need to continue putting cash down. From my math it would take at least 260k to make the amount of cash flow needed. That was the day I said I better look into it more. I have no problem at all with rehabbing properties. Actually, from what I know its the most profitable way I believe, which is fine with me. Thank you again for the reply. I really appreciate helping me get the answers I need. 

@Thomas S. Well, though hard to hear, I appreciate your reply and it sounds like you understood exactly what I asking and summed it up, point blank. If it's true what your saying, holding is absolutely out of the question for sure and is precisely why I started this thread. Though with the way your talking about the flipping side, it doesn't make much sense if you continue to buy and sell around the same price points. If you plan on buying and selling a property for a profit, you should be able to use that same original investment capital to start the next. That is unless you plan on doubling down, which I wasn't planning on doing. You should be able to take that first 20k profit or which ever amount and use it to float you until the next property is completed, no? Correct me if Im wrong. 

@Sean Tarpenning Thank you very much. I have heard of lease options and I plan on looking into it right away. Especially since I am having doubts about starting out in holding. It will all come down to what is more profitable as a full time job. I hear all these investors talk about only working 10-20 hours a month and I dont even understand that. For me, that would be when Im retired and reach my end goal. Right now Im looking to put in the work and build and empire. 

@Jeremy Gonzalez Thank you for the reply and the words of encouragement. I wont lie, after reading some replies from other investors, it took some of the wind out of my sails haha. I been extremely excited and optimistic about this new journey and to hear that it might not be possible can be a downer. Fortunately, your reply has giving me some hope. Your advice is great and well taken. I would love to find a partner for my first deal or two, being that I can find the right one. I reached out to a couple people on BP from Pittsburgh and asked what the best REI club or association is in my area. I am waiting to hear back from them and trying to make as many connections as I can. Though I graduated in Business and Marketing years ago, my first job out of college was working for a national contracting company as the marketing and sales director. It allowed me to learn the entire construction side of the business and since that time all I did was research and do my homework to get ready for this day. I even got my LLC started back in 2014. At that time is when I planned on finally making the leap in REI, but the company I started was doing so well, I didn't have the time. Finally, I just couldn't take what I was doing anymore and was so unhappy that I knew it was time to make a change. Being an entrepreneur, I knew I wanted to start another business in something Im more passionate about and REI always seemed like the best fit. I been investing in everything and anything but real estate since I was 23 and I have a background in architectural design. Mixing it all together is what led me to REI. I also agree with what you were saying as far as unforeseen issues and you are spot on with the down payment amount. I set aside around 40-60k in my own cash for my first flip and was hoping to have it done in 3 months with at least 20k in profit. I was hoping to do at least 3 of these in the first year and possibly hold the 3rd and start the process over. Eventually the goal would be to have at least 14 duplexes that produce at least $300 each in cash flow a month. From there could reevaluate and decide if I want to continue flipping or simply continue building my rental portfolio. This was the plan at least.

Hi Matt, thanks for the reply, No, I absolutely understand that. Im in no way looking to get rich quick. Im simply trying to figure out if it's possible to make this a full time career? I want to create a business. I don't mind working 20 hour days, it's what I been doing for years. I'm just trying to do my DD and decide exactly what niche of REI I should go into based on my personal situation. I have no debt what so ever, a pretty healthy savings and finally the chance to do something I enjoy and Im passionate about. With that though, as I said earlier, I need to make sure that I generate enough income to at least pay my bills for the first few years. Not looking to become a millionaire tomorrow. Im simply looking for the right way to begin the journey and I would prefer it to be a real estate road. All Im trying to understand is the best way to get started if you want to make this a full time job and make at least an avg income of 50k a year. A friend of mine told me years ago about a formula he used to get started and Im thinking now that it might be the right move. He suggested that I flip 3 houses and on the third, instead of selling it, keep it as a rental. Then start the process over. He called it playing monopoly. I found that formula quite interesting. It just sounds to me after digging deeper into this subject that flipping instead of holding would generate faster income, which would allow me to pay some bills and slowly build a portfolio of rentals. Then maybe in the future once I have enough rentals to generate at least 50k+ cash flow, I can decide if I want to quit flipping and strictly focus on holding or continue the model used?

Hi Carlos Tavares, thank you so much for your reply. You understood exactly what I was asking and what my concerns are. With that said, I take it that all the quit your job talk is all hype then? A way to sell books and classes if you will? If I may, in your opinion, how much start up capital would it take to get started and make it a viable business? Also, would flipping instead of holding possibly bring the income I need? Selling my company was not only a financial choice, it was time for a change. I was extremely unhappy doing what I was doing and it was only a road to real estate or something that I was passionate about. Though its disconcerting to hear that I wouldn't be able to make at least 50k a year starting out, its good to know the truth before I get started. 

Also, I am new to BP, so would you be so kind as to tell if you are able to reply directly to a post and if so how? Thanks again!

Hi Samantha, thank you so much for your reply. After reading the replies, I think I might have came across wrong and as someone looking to get rich quick overnight? I have no problem working hard and building a business. I am actually in the process of selling a company that I started from absolutely nothing and was able to make successful in just 4 short years. My question was more about the cash needed to buy multiple properties one after another to continue that snowball you spoke about. From the numbers I ran I know 1-2-3 properties isn't going to cut it if I want to reach my goal of 50k+ a year c on c flow, so I wanted to make sure that the 40-70k capital I put aside was enough to start? After much research yesterday I was able to find the answer to that question. I understand now that I can continue to use the equity of my properties as down payments to buy the next(youtube duh! :). The second part of my question was simply if I want to sell my company and have REI be my only source of income, is investing in rentals solely the way to go? When I do something I like to put 100% into it and make it my life. I was hoping to make real estate a career and not just another one of my investments. That being said, I wonder if flipping is the way to go? I'm starting to think that maybe at this point in time it would be better to do both? All I know is if Im going to try and make this a business and not just an investment I need it to produce enough to cover my bills and expenses and who has 7-10 years to pay the bills? Point being, once the sale of my company is finalized, I am in a sense unemployed and I better make sure I know where the next mortgage payment is coming from. So I am just trying to make sure I use my start up capital wisely and make sure this is the right business for me to start. After being an entrepreneur all these years, working for someone now is out of the question. Again, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to answer my question and help me. I am in the process of trying to find the right REIC and mentor at the moment as well.

Hello everyone, I am a new REI as well and I also have a similar question. Though I have no debt, mine is more about how much in savings you need? I decided to start my new career in long term holding rental properties instead of flipping, in pursuit of the financial freedom aspect of it. I have one very important question that has been on my mind and would like to get cleared up before I jump in with both feet. At the moment, I put aside about 40-60k in start up capital to start this new venture and I am wondering if that is actually enough to make this a viable business that can sustain my life and pay all my bills? I have decided to sell my current company and go full time into REI, but in order to do so, I would need to at least make a minimum of 50k-100k a year.

My main question is this... say for example I am looking to invest in du or triplexes and I found one that I would like to start with that is around 100k and will need 20% down(20k). After running analysis I find out that the cash on cash flow will be around $300 a month. This means that essentially I would need to have 14 properties in order to make enough cash flow to support my lifestyle and pay my bills. I understand that, but what I am having trouble with is the amount of cash needed for the down payment each time you purchase a new property. If I did need 14 then it would mean I would need around 280k in cash. Going with this formula it seems that it would take years before the properties where generating enough cash flow to save and buy another. That is why I am starting to wonder if after the first property am I able to use the equity as the down payment? Also, is it better to just buy larger properties with higher rent instead of multiple properties with lower rent? Before I jump in with both feet I really would like to get a strong understanding of this. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

P.S. I am also in the process of joining a local REIC, but I wanted to try and get the answer before then if I could. Thanks again.