All Forum Posts by: Matthew Perry

@Wesley Lewis yes, the cash flow is really strong, and there’s less risk. When you have a vacancy in a fourplex it’s stings less than having a vacant house. It will also keep you more motivated and focused to get your best deal sooner. Eventually you’ll also get too old to put up with roommates.

@Wesley Lewis do an FHA duplex, triplex, or fourplex, and live there for a year. Keep the rest of your cash saved you a year, then buy the house. I know it sounds a little weird, but it will give you a lot of rent, tax deductions, and property appreciation that will give you a better life over the long run. :)

@Jared Lomker I’m saving right now for a new property or two this year. I’m looking to try to buy a house with a guesthouse in the Tempe/Scottsdale area, and then do a second home loan acquisition in Prescott later this year.

@Serge S. Congrats and well done. That’s a successful sixty days. :)

@Jared Lomker

The Book on Real Estate Investing with no or low money down, by Brandon Turner. It’s the best book on how to do your first several deals.

Set For Life, by Scott Trench. It has an excellent blueprint for the non real estate parts of life, while still making real estate your primary investment. He also talks about how real estate can enable you to take more risks with your career and jump to a more interesting and challenging job.

House Hacking by Ben Leiborvich. This book has a really creative chapter on how to scale using low money down to buy houses with guest houses. I used that strategy on my last deal. I liked it because I could improve my lifestyle, while still resisting lifestyle creep and buying two units with one deal.

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads by Larry Loftis. This book has a lot good detail on how to structure offers to get accepted. It’s older, but a lot of the ideas on how to get an offer accepted are useful now as things have become a sellers market.

Every Landlord’s Tax deduction Guide by Stephen Fishman. This is a really handy introduction to landlord bookkeeping. I used it to teach myself bookeeping and how amortization schedules work. I have now done my own rental property bookeeping for eight years and have been able to save over 20k in expenses with a thirty dollar book. Real money.

Buy and Hold Forever by David Schumacher. This is another older book, I got it at a used book shop eight years ago. But as a younger real estate investor this is really helpful seeing the power of appreciation over a long period of time. Many of the investments in this book where held longer than I’ve been alive, and that’s where the bigger profits are. I have reread it a couple times when I have been slacking on the savings, as motivation to remind myself the potential profits over the long term of invested savings.

@Neil Tollner I would start with a duplex to fourplex with your fha, and then do a five percent down condo loan later, after a least a year. Gary Eldred did a book specifically on condo investing. I would recommend reading that before taking the plunge.

@Casey Boerger HOAs are tricky. You don't control the rules they set. I bought a house with a guesthouse and was hoping to Abnb the guesthouse. But the HOA changed the rules

Within two months of buying the property. I would recommend buying a property without HOA.

@Bariso Sora I own a fourplex in Tempe, near ASU, and I have had no vacancy issues. I just raised rents on one unit last month.

@Robert Dunbar I do vinyl plank or tile. Plank is cheaper, but tile is very popular because of how cool it is, especially in Arizona summers.

@Anna Mecagni I have a fourplex in Tempe I’m having the same issue with. Your rate is quite a bit better than what I was offered.