All Forum Posts by: Matt Lyons

@Albert Velasquez DONT BUY IN CHICAGO! I live west of Chicago and the city is a very rough area. Nothing but issues and the moment you need to evict it takes forever.

My suggestion is travel a bit west or south. Much better tenant base and friendlier counties. Don’t buy in cook county. You will wait months to evict and you will need to evict

@David Emerson if the math works the interest rate does not matter. If you buy for cash flow and it cash flows at 5.5 then it works. If you refi later it will work better. Don’t worry about the rate worry about the cash flow. If it works it works

@Kristen P. I would do a rent credit as a per day amount which the apartment can’t be used. So if they can’t use it for three days give them a three day credit

@Elijah Williamson their age

And their family is

Not your concern or problem. Neither is their excuses. That said it’s a hassle to kick people out and always great to keep people IF you can

My suggestion work out a deal that pays you WEEKLY SOMETHING, don’t wait till they get a job and back on their feet and so forth. You need something weekly from them to “work it out” if they can’t do that then kick them out

Every spouse is different and every relationship is different...so I will share MY experience and how my wife and I make RE investing work:

My W2 job pays all our bills, money gets direct deposited and my wife runs the family and family related bills.  I stay COMPLETELY out of all of that and never question her about ANYTHING she spends my W2 income on...I trust she is spending it to feed and take care of our family

My investing funds are 100% up to me to put to work and build our security and long term cash flow strategy. She never asks or questions ANYTHING related to that side of our life as she trusts and knows I am doing it all so WE will be more secure

In short, it is not about convincing but about trust... have a talk with your spouse and explain that YOU trust HER to manage the house and use your W2 income to keep the family moving forward day to day, but that you need her to TRUST YOU as it relates to building generational wealth in the world of Real Estate...what you do will not always be easy, will not always be a win, but overall, in the long run is being done to take care of your family and your future.  No matter how good you are at your W2 job, it can be taken away IMMEDIATELY at any given time... your real estate CANNOT so what many perceive as RISKY is actually way more SECURE then a W2 job

Quote from @Will Gaston:

Quote from @Andrew R. Lucas:

Quote from @Scooter Williams:

@Matt Lyons I would also suggest linking up with @Andrew R. Lucas. He is the king of cola when it comes to all things real estate investing. He also has a large active community of other like-minded folks on Facebook that I would highly suggest for networking and getting to know the area. 

 Thanks @Scooter Williams!  Cash Flow is King in Columbia!  This is a great market for building cash flow through rental properties.  The market is hot here just like every where right now, but there are still deals out there.  We are getting 10 contracts a month that work for us or other investors in our network.  

@Matt Lyons, the Facebook group is REI Live! - Columbia. Look us up and you can make some connections right away.

I agree with the others that trying to digest everything within 4 hours would be tough.  Are you looking for a market that is similar to where you are coming from??  I'd be happy to help point you in the right direction when you are ready. 

Cayce, West Columbia, and Lexington (all right outside of Columbia / Richland County) are all good spots. Properties in the City of Columbus are brutal - just a heads up.

Will Gaston, when you say "Brutal" what do you mean:  Bad Tenants?  Rough neighborhoods? Properties in bad shape?  Gangs?  Just looking to better understand if its a property thing or a local resident thing that makes it brutal

Just buy pretty much anything by Bigger Pockets Team... all their books are good. Figure out what you want out of real estate (retire early, replace current income, get a new job in this field, etc) and then search the Bigger Pockets library for books and search their podcasts as well for ones that fit your goals and desires

Finally, consider signing up for their boot camp for newbies buying their first property... in real estate you learn and grow quickly by DOING not by READING, so jump in!

First, CONGRATS on your plan...I like it and was in a similar position 5 years back...so far I am at 80 doors, about $10k in free cash flow per month and still have my W2 job...not ready to retire from all yet but on th right path.

Second, your route should be pretty easy: Find the right bank! I currently work with 4 banks and have 13 mortgages. The key is to FIND THE RIGHT BANK for you and for the property. For example: Triumph Bank will finance any deal I bring to them that has over 10 units and I put 20% down. They really dont want smaller properties (just not a fit for them). Resource Bank will do 25 year loans at about prime plus 1% with 5 year adjustments on ANY property within their geographic focus (far western IL small towns), with 20% down, but they will do mixed use, commercial, multi-unit and SFR. Bank of MO will do pretty much any property for me that I can show it cash flows in pretty much any state. Mr Cooper (mortgage company out of TX) will do a second home loan for me in literally any state, and each state can have a second home so my limit is 50 second homes through them, all 30 year fixed loans with 5-10% down. And finally First Midwest will do up to 10 loans for me, with 10% down fixed for 30 years but must be either SFR or under 4 units

Those are my examples of how I scaled all on my own...call different banks and ask them simply "What type of real estate loans are your focus"  They all have their niche, you simply need to work through all the banks to find the ones that fit your lending needs the best

Quote from @Mike Kehoe:

@Matt Lyons ahhh, good for you. I would have done the same thing if I was in a county that could get it done that quickly and inexpensively.

No way that timeline is happening in Cook county, which is extremely tenant friendly.

I always feel out cash for keys before proceeding with an eviction in Cook. It’s usually way less expensive and quicker.

My process depends on location. I invest in NC as well, and my first step there is the formal eviction process because it’s landlord friendly, quick and inexpensive.

 I agree that Cook County is no friend to landlords and truly should not be a place ANYONE invests in..sorry for those that have invested there!  There is a reason I went as far west as I did in IL, its the only way anything works.

Cash for keys is a route I have gone as well... to evict in the areas I am in takes $300 and wastes at least 2 hours of my time (at least usually more like 4 hours)...so offering money to get them out is a win for me, HURTS I have to admit but that is part of being a real estate investor

@Mike Kehoe gave five day notice… they did not pay within five days, filed with court on day 6… got court date one week later, they showed up by zoom and judge gave them 5 more days to come to court. Went to court, tenant lost and had to be out 10 days later. This was Whiteside county not cook