All Forum Posts by: Logan L.

Hey Jake, thanks! Yes we used the VA loan on one of the rentals and our primary residence. I have been considering a HELOC. I am wanting to start growing faster than we have so far. Between our equity in properties and money in savings I believe we could comfortably acquire two to three more houses, we just need to have a conversation about risk tolerance I guess.

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Fayetteville, North Carolina

Hi all,

As the title suggests I am hoping to get some recommendations about my path forward in real estate investing from those who are more knowledgeable and experienced than myself.

My story:

I am an active duty service-member living in the vicinity of Fort Bragg (now known as Fort Liberty). My wife and I currently own two rental properties and our primary residence.

House 1: 4 bed 3 bath. Purchased for $145k - approximate value is currently $235k. Mortgage is $920, rents for $1700

House 2: 3bed 2 bath. Purchased for 93k - current approximate value is $180k. Mortgage is $500, rents for $1,450

Between just the two rental properties we have somewhere in the neighborhood of $150-200k in equity. My wife makes around $50k per year working two days a week, I make around $100k. While I am grateful for the benefit we've already seen from real estate investing, I am wanting to scale faster and I believe utilizing our untapped equity is a good starting point. Additionally, I am pursuing a career as a CRNA to increase my income (and I'm familiar with the job and enjoy medicine). My long term REI goal is to generate $120k per year in passive income (this number is always going up to account for inflation). As I said earlier, I am just looking for your thoughts and feedback about what you see as a viable next step. I am not usually the smartest person in the room but I like listening to them and paying attention to their advice. Thanks guys!

1 Vote

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Quote from @Martin LaBelle:

Hey @Logan L. congrats on your move to investment while AD. I know the Fort Bragg area well and my wife and I have been investing here about 15 years. I'm liking your two positions here, from a financial perspective, however I'm slightly concerned about the Spring Lake location. At the entry price you mentioned, you may have seen all the short-term appreciation you are likely to. The rent is fabulous, however I'm sure you are already feeling the upward pressure on the rental market reduce.

Also, I'm spending some money looking for off-market deals, and may have some surplus in the near future, so let's connect.

On a closely related subject, I'm really interested in the ways fellow veterans find their way into the business and would enjoy chatting sometime.

Hey @Martin LaBelle, I would be happy to connect and share some ideas!

1 Vote

Raleigh, North Carolina

Quote from @Paul Vail:

Logan, I'm in the Triangle so maybe I have a local birdseye view. Yep, the Triangle sprawl shows no sign of stopping as it consumes Fuquay-Varina (yes people, that's a real town here in NC). In ten years, Lillington and Sanford might be bedroom communities. There is a tremendous surcharge to 'Triangle' housing at the moment, but the appreciation of the housing market is no different than the appreciation of the stock market: its future is speculation at best. Trending up over long-term horizons, might go down from present for a few years. In my opinion, cash flow is always more important than appreciation because that is your bird-in-hand.

Love that you want to keep $30-40k in reserve. Laddered I-bonds or CDs out of curiosity? Anyway, with 50k to play, if you have paid down your VA loans, you might be able to go for a multifamily. From the podcasts, we learned the value of them -- multiple doors so when not rented, it's usually only a fraction of the units out of play any given time. Then again, you already 'know' the SFR game. Fort Bragg/Liberty isn't going to be growing smaller any time soon - I'd think it all depends on which category comes along as a 'deal' first.

@Paul Vail, I actually just learned about I-bonds from a friend and I’m very interested! Yeah, the multifamily route has always been very interesting to me. I think I will keep an eye out in both Fayetteville and Raleigh and jump on the best deal I can find.

1 Vote

Raleigh, North Carolina

Quote from @Seth Young:

@Logan L. It depends on how much time you have to allocate towards investing. Do you want to be more passive on this property or take an active approach?

@Seth Young, I want to get to a place in my career where I have the time to be a bit more hands-on but as for now, I would prefer a more passive investment. I have a very busy and unpredictable work schedule, a newborn, and I’m in grad school so time is precious right now.

1 Vote

Raleigh, North Carolina

Quote from @Doug Spence:

@Logan L. Congrats on your significant progress so far, especially while active duty. It seems like you're in a great spot and you have options.

What goals do you and your wife have for the next 5 years? 10 years? Once you know where you want to be, it will be much easier to devise a strategy for how to achieve those goals!

Good luck and keep us updated on your journey.

Thanks @Doug Spence! I know that I need to develop more specific goals. My approach has just been to buy more properties without a real plan in place. I guess our ultimate goal is total financial freedom. Within five years my wife plans to own her own counseling practice and I plan to be working as a Nurse Practitioner. Meanwhile, we both want to build up as much passive income as possible so that we have the option to retire whenever we’d like, spend a lot of time with our family, and I can train jiu jitsu and go elk hunting whenever I want haha.

1 Vote

Raleigh, North Carolina

Hi BP community!

I am looking for some advice. I am a newer investor located halfway between Raleigh and Fort Bragg, NC. My wife and I currently have two investment properties and our primary residence.

House 1 is located in Fayetteville. It is a 4 bed 3 bath that I purchased for $145k. Mortgage is $920, it’s currently rented for $1,700 and is worth approximately $200-220k.

House 2 is located in Spring Lake. It is a 3 bed 2 bath. Purchase price 93k. Mortgage is $500, it’s currently rented for $1,400 and worth approximately 145-155k.

We have about 90k in savings but would like to keep at least 30-40 in reserve after our next investment. I am 28 years old, active-duty military and my wife is finishing up grad school this winter. I have read several books from BP and am an avid listener of the podcast so I am familiar with most of the common investing strategies. In general, properties to the south of my location tend to be cheaper while north of me are more expensive to due the Raleigh/Durham area expanding south. I feel a bit conflicted about what my next step should be. Do I continue buying mostly turnkey single families? BRRRR? Multifamily? Should I target cash flow or appreciation primarily? I would appreciate any thoughts and feedback you have for me, thanks!

3 Votes

Raleigh, North Carolina

@Pratik Shah thus far I’ve been able to take care of everything by using family and friends who are skilled in various trades.

0 Votes

@Joe Splitrock Thanks Joe!

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@Douglas Spence DM’d

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All Forum Posts by: Logan L.

Logan L. has started 7 posts and replied 30 times.

Post: Looking for suggestions on next steps

Post: Looking for suggestions on next steps

Post: What would you do in my situation?

Post: What would you do in my situation?

Post: What would you do in my situation?

Post: What would you do in my situation?

Post: What would you do in my situation?

Post: Property doesn’t meet 1% rule but cash flows. What am I missing?

Post: Property doesn’t meet 1% rule but cash flows. What am I missing?

Post: Looking for advice: $100k in savings, what is my next step?