All Forum Posts by: Michael S.

@Kendrick Smith  I think there are a lot of solid investment concepts here to review.  The sum of all this is you have to find whatever method works best for raising capital in your own individual situation.  

Joe's method is great - but it won't work for me for three reasons: 1. I am trying to scale our REI with money rather than time. 2. I have a business partner with whom we have to match our investments to keep everything 50/50. 3. I do not have a better investment option to put my W2 proceeds in right now otherwise (stock market, savings account, etc are not as desirable investments for me right now).

Lowe Mill is a transitional area - could be a home run with appreciation, or could be unchanged in 10 years.  Actually, the number of investors who are predicting/speculating it will do well have inflated prices this past year quite a bit, so proceed with caution accordingly.   

I honestly don't have any specific neighborhood/areas that we only focus on.  It's all about reviewing any opportunities that come our way - Huntsville/Madison are too small with too many investors already to have a niche market focus so to speak.  When I mentioned we don't have anything in 35806, it is simply because better opportunities have come along in other zip codes, and we can only invest so much capital at a point in time with our business model.  

@Kendrick Smith  I will give you a different answer altogether.  I use the proceeds (disposable income) from my W2 income toward down payments.  While my work colleagues drop a large amount of coin on nice trips or cars, or extravagant purchases otherwise, I simply use my disposable income on properties.  

Make sure you know your neighborhood for investing in 35805.  You can find both a great deal there that cash flows (we have one ourselves), but then find an absolute disaster/money pit only 2 streets over.   Would not recommend 35805 for the out of state investor who is not inspecting their property options in person.  

@Kate Richard We don't have anything in 35806.  I am certain you could find opportunities in that zip - but that location would not be toward the top of my list of locations for Huntsville/Madison.  

As @Tim White mentioned, 35758 is a good location - however, the market in this area typically moves very fast - again, not ideal for an out of town investor as you will not have time to fly and inspect these properties if they are good options.  

Started in my early 40s; my business partner started in his early 50s. One big difference for us is making numerous investments in other areas outside of real estate before diversifying our personal portfolios to include real estate. Ironically, both of our wives thought we were nuts to start investing in real estate...not anymore. In addition, having a business partner for REI has allowed me to continue working full time, continue investing in other ventures that are not at all related to real estate, and also helped split the time and financial burden associated with REI itself.

@Dave DeMarinis synopsis of Huntsville real estate is very accurate.  Nice post. 

Simply put, the best time to buy a rental, in my experience, is when it is the best deal to meet your personal investment goals (cash flow, desired location for appreciation, target price, etc).   Time of the year is irrelevant compared to the deal itself - there are always folks looking for rentals at all times.  

Instead of spending 20k for a random seminar, use the money for your first down payment on a property.

Need motivation?  Once you have the title for the house, you will be very motivated. 

Need more knowledge?  You will acquire it quite quickly once you own a rental property.

I was always told the best way to learn a foreign language was to go to a location where it is commonly spoken, and force yourself to try and communicate until you are comfortable with it.  Same is true with real estate.  Take the plunge on the first property, and it will force you to learn a lot very, very quickly.  

Actually, prices in several parts of Huntsville and Madison have been showing exceptional appreciation.  I can't speak for other parts of Alabama, but we have seen nice appreciation here.  

ALL of our tenants are required to have renter's insurance without exception.  We don't have any rentals for under $950/month. If they can't afford renter's insurance, then it's a guarantee that they won't be able to keep up with their monthly rent payments either.