All Forum Posts by: Matthew Thomas

I can think of a couple reasons people wouldn't do this. 

Ignorance - the average person does not think of real estate as a viable option towards retirement or they think they don't have enough money to do so

laziness - most people aren't willing to put in the work after hours for years to achieve the financial freedom they desire

Seems like you have a good plan ready to set in motion, good luck!

@Ramon Mota If there is a housing shortage in your area and they are on month to month what is stopping you from raising the price and looking for a 1 year tenant at the price you desire? Month to month renting in multiple properties seems like it would, and already is causing you more trouble than its worth. 

While I don't manage any properties I do manage a large amount of business as an engineer and my general rule of thumb with price increases is to go in and be as transparent as I can be, give legitimate reasons for the change and what justifies a fair but necessary price increase. (we dont always look for the max possible)

@Matt P. not sure why but I just got the notification that you had responded, so I apologize for the delayed response... 

I guess one thing I'm failing to understand here is how people are able to get started, "Little to no money down" which is the situation we're currently in if everyone keeps telling me I don't have nearly enough money yet.

After looking further into pulling everything out of non retirement stocks and crypto holdings My total cash on hand is closer to 30k. That being said if people are able to get started with less and I have good credit/ a partner that has less cash on hand but has the ability to do all of the labor on the property at no cost to keep the rehab cost down to only material then I feel like we should be able to make moves before having to stack cash for years. 

We also plan to have him live in the first property so I would assume this could open the option of a possible first time buyer loan if I'm not mistaken? 

I am open to any and all suggestions, I have friends and family I could raise funds through, I have also considered getting licensed to try and sell and earn commission to help raise funds. 

I also don't want it to come across that I'm trying to rush into anything which is why i created this thread, I would like to start sooner than later but if I truly am being over ambitious then I want to better understand where I should be to start so I can work towards getting to that point as soon as possible.

I also feel like I should probably either edit the initial post or start a new thread because we have narrowed in on what we want to do and I don't think the initial post is as clear as it could be. 

Thank you for your input!

@Mike Bean

My partner and I want to start with a small multi family using the Brrrr strategy, he will most likely be living in one of the units and doing all of the renovation because he is a contractor. We will be splitting the equity so he isn't going to charge any labor, we just have to factor in for materials. I will be taking all cash flow until i have recouped my initial investment and then we are going to split it after that point. 

@Jim Goebel 

Fair enough, and I'm aware its not much but its what I have and I'm an ambitious person so thats why I'm reaching out here. I'm looking for options to allow myself to get started sooner than almost a year from now. I know that I could save more in that time but working with a partner will lower my risk. I've already been reading and saving for about 6 months now so I feel comfortable enough with the basics to get started with a small project (I;m not looking to get a 15 unit building on my first deal) just something to get going and i know there are people out there doing it with no option to save up and with less free time on their hands I don't want to run into the analysis paralysis scenario which is where I feel I've been for a while now. 

@Jim Goebel 

I am locked into a lease until fall of this year but i plan to buy a place at that time. I am an engineer and I have good credit/ am very good with numbers, I'm looking to get into rentals just because I don't want to break this lease early. I wont have to go into any retirement funds to get to the 15k, if i had to i could pull together roughly 30k but that would leave me with nothing else so i dont really want to do that...  I completely understand that most recommend to start with a house hack but its not an option until later this year and my partner and I would like to get started sooner than that so im just trying to get a feel for financing options. I dont want to find a deal and have no way to fund it. 

would you be willing to discuss further over the phone at your convenience? 

thank you! 

I have the ability to put roughly 15k down on my first deal. That being said I wouldnt have much left in the way of funds for a rehab, ive been back and forth on either going through a private lender or getting a traditional loan. Does anyone have reccomendations on how they would finance a first deal (Assuming you have good credit and 15k to put down or use for rehab) 

@Evan Hooks I live in richmond but i work throughout the hopewell/ colonial heights/ richmond area... the unfortunate thins about hopewell is how much of the local economy depends on Advan6 (the large chemical plant)... My main concern would be that because they split off from honeywell a shutdown could cripple the already struggling financial situation in the area. Most of the town center is dead from what ive seen although there have been a few new local businesses popping up in the last year or two, so you could say things arent 100% grim... If you would like to discuss the area more shoot me a message, as of right now im not aware of any meetup groups in the area 

@Brandon L. Thank you for the detail. I apologize for the delayed response, I was traveling for work and moving apartments over the past couple weeks so now that I'm settled in all of my free time will go back into learning all that I can. 

I would certainly be interested in chatting with you in the near future. As I mentioned before I just signed a lease for another year but I would like to try and get started in some way before my current lease ends. I'm currently considering taking on something small in my hometown of Mathews Virginia because I know local contractors there that are friends of my parents, my dads best friend owns multiple rental properties in the area so i plan to pick his brain before I close on anything and its also what im most familiar with/ is in a good school district and is one of the cheaper areas in Virginia to live in as long as its not on the water.  

All that being said I would definitely like to hear from experienced people that I dont know to get an unbiased opinion/ outside look on things... 

Would you be available anytime soon? I know its difficult this time of year with the holidays but even a 10 minute conversation would be great! 

@Ben Hutto I appreciate the response! if you dont mind me asking what area did you end up getting your property in?