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All Forum Posts by: Michael Swan

Michael Swan has started 14 posts and replied 1095 times.

Post: RE MAKES LOWLY PAID TEACHER MULTIMILLIONAIRE!!!

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

Gary that is the thinking I don't understand.  Will you have to pay taxes no matter what?  Yes.  Who knows what the tax structure will be 15 or 20 years from now.  The only thing then that is holding people back is the 10% tax.  I am getting so much more than that in returns as I have shown you.  I don't know what my health will be like at that time of my life.  I have to pay for my son's college now.  I want to live now.  I don't want to wait for some imaginary date in the furthered.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change right before your eyes!!

Swanny

Post: RE MAKES LOWLY PAID TEACHER MULTIMILLIONAIRE!!!

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

I have 3 rules from now on.  1. Don't lose money 2. It must cash flow. 3. I can't get rich slow.  You can't do this with any other investment.  There was a ten year period that I was contributing $6,000.00 a year to my tax deferred retirement plan and I virtually had the same balance at the end of those 10 years.  Who was making the money there?  Financial planners, mutual fund administrators, and life insurance agents will never make money from me again!!  You can do the same!!!

Swanny

Post: RE MAKES LOWLY PAID TEACHER MULTIMILLIONAIRE!!!

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

I realized in February of 2011 that my ladder was leaning against the wrong financial building. Sooooo, I started to use my savings, refinancing my personal home, and taking out my IRA's and 401K money through the course of a little over a 3 year period and each time I took out that money, I took out enough to put 20% down on cash flowing San Diego single family condos. We averaged between $25,000-$30,000 for each down payment. If you know anything about San Diego Real Estate, it has tremendous appreciation potential. In 2011 when we started investing, we were stealing properties with excellent cash flow by short sales and REO. Our original goal was to replace lost W2 earnings, that I realized was occurring. I simply wanted to replace about $12,000.00 in W2 earnings I was fearful of losing in 2012. We then over the course of a 2-3 year period had accumulated 10 dirt cheap condos. In about the beginning of 2014 something miraculously started to occur. My Condos started to appreciate wildly. Many doubled in value as of today. I being a teacher here in San Diego for a Catholic School and a Community College too, am I life long learner and from 2011-present have soaked up so much information from experts in the area of creating wealth through real estate, realized my return on equity was at a minuscule 3%. That was unacceptable. We also started pooling our money together in my family and started in the beginning of 2015 to buy high cash flowing single family in Ohio. We have 8 right now in Ohio. We loved the cash flow alone.

Then, here is the real kicker. Upon all my learning and investigation, I found out, that all this cash flow was tax deferred and it really blew my mind. Thirty years in the rat race and in a few years if I play this right, I could surpass all W2 earnings with cash flowing rental real estate. Then, I realized if I take one or two pricey San Diego Condos and do a 1031 exchange, I can buy a million dollars worth of Multifamily Apartment complexes, with no money out of pocket. When I realized I can trade $8,000.00 tax deferred cash flow per year in for approximately $30,000-$40,000 per year in Ohio, where I have my other single family, already with a property manager I trust, I was all in. Soooo, now fast forward to Aug 4th of 2015, and yes, I have control of over $4,000,000.00. That includes 2 personal residences valued at over $1,100,000.00 in equity combined, 5 condos in San Diego, valued currently at $1,500,000, 8 single family in Ohio valued at $300,000, those have no mortgages. Also, I have 3 apartment complexes in Ohio valued at $1,600,000 appraised value this month. Soooooo, when adding, I come up with $4,500,000 in total real estate. The 8 Ohio single family properties we paid cash for. That is $300,000 in value for single family in Ohio. $600,000 equity remains in my 5 San Diego Condos, and $450,000.00 down payment money for the three Apartment Complexes in Ohio, Sooooooooo, the total net worth is about $2,000,000,00. My success is primarily due to buying low in San Diego and riding the wave,. The real X factor is moving dead equity into higher cash flowing properties. Specifically, Apartment Complexes. I love the control this gives me to increase NOI.

Thus, the banks say I have increased the NOI, increasing the value of the complex. Two years later, 1031 exchange and use all that appreciation to buy a bigger complex and do this again and again. Defer and increase deferred cash flow. Keep repeating this process until you die and your kid or kids inherit at a stepped up basis.

This all was due to investing in San Diego real estate.  Get this.  It was all before Warren Buffett came out and said, if he had management and systems to match he would buy over 150,000 single family. 

People here thought I was making a big mistake. Why buy when it is sooooooo low. They said property values will never go up like that again. I was buying for cash flow at the time. Appreciation just happened. I recently heard that people with low 600 credit scores and under 600 credit scores are getting loans again. Based on history, California will be the first to have prices Real Estate prices to escalate rapidly and also the first to plunge rapidly. I will sell all my pricey San Diego rental property in the next 12-15 months. We should be at an unsupportable peak at that time. 

That means not enough high paying jobs to support that price level. I see soooooooo many million dollar or greater homes out here it would make your head spin. Those same homes were going for $700,000.00 or less 4 or 5 years ago.

Regardless, without us slowly purging our IRA and 401K, this never would have happened. By January 1st, we should have $144,000 cash flow per year and we still have 5 rental properties in San Diego that we will trade in by 1031 exchange in the next 12-15 months. Right now, I am 1031 exchanging a condo I puchased for $120,000 in 2012, that is currently cash flowing approximately $5000.00 a year for a 12 unit in Euclid, Ohio that should cash flow at least $15,0000 a year. I should be able to increase that to at least $20,000-$25,000 in the next 2-3 years.

The plan is to continue this business strategy and in 7 or 8 years time have approximately $50,000,000.00 in total worth of all Real Estate. Also our net worth will be approximately $16,000,000.  

If you reach for the stars, you may not get there. However you may grab a handful of clouds. Certainly, you won’t grab a handful of mud!!

Swanny

Isn’t life grand!!

REPLY 

Post: Please Evaluate My Plan

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

Hi Erik,

I live in Mira Mesa. What a small world.  I have my 6 months plans, 6-24 month mid term plans and my 24-36 month secondary mid term goals and my 36-48 month long term goals etc.. I have also outlined the size of complexes that I am continually trading up to achieve these goals.  Eventually, I have 2 or 3 large multifamily complexes and 1000-2000 front doors.

Swanny

Post: Please Evaluate My Plan

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

I again Erik,

Right now I teach during the day full time and teach 2 nights a week and Miramar College.  If I could just focus on my real estate eventually and manage the managers, that would be an incredible retirement for me.  If I do this right, in the next ten years, when I turn 60, I will most likely be just managing the managers.  Maybe my son will take over someday, when I am no longer interested in working at all.  Who knows.

Swanny

Post: Please Evaluate My Plan

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

Great point Erik,

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.  That was a clear point that came across in Napolean Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich.

Swanny

Post: Please Evaluate My Plan

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

That's right Justin.  The ones that had it and lost it didn't follow those rules I speak of.  1. Never lose money.  2. It must cash flow.  3. You can't get rich slowly.  All three are must exist so you never lose it.  Speculation is the culprit here.  Not into gambling anymore.

Swanny

Post: Please Evaluate My Plan

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

That's an interesting take Marc,

These are Condos in San Diego. They have HOA fees etc.. Those fees are constantly changing. I would never have paid the prices they are selling for now. They would barely cash flow at these inflated prices. The return on equity currently is less than 3%. That is unacceptable. The only reason I purchased them originally was to eventually replace my W2 earnings as a teacher. I teach in the daytime at a catholic school and at least two nights a week at the local community college. I wasn't making enough W2 earnings. Soooooo, appreciation was just an incredible benefit that happened. I love teaching, but I just turned 50 and want to first replace all my w2 earnings and then far surpass those w2 earnings and then keep deferring taxes with the 1031 exchange and leave a significant economic legacy that my child could continue if he chooses. I just read Brandon's article on the 1031. It is amazing and clearly explains my defer, defer, defer, defer, and die strategy. The 1031 exchange is a phenomenal tool to build wealth and if you combine that with Multifamily business model and your clearly understand that apartment complexes are valued based on NOI and not comps, you can find high cash flowing properties that will give you 10%-20% cash flow and at the same time increase the NOI and at the same time increased the value approximately 10X the increased NOI.

My 3 rules now are 1. Never lose money 2. It must cash flow. 3. You CAN'T get rich slowly. 10 years from today, I own $50,000,000.00 in total value of all my real estate and $16,000,000.00 in net worth.  At the same time I will be cash flowing approximately $1,000,000.00 per year.  What happens if I don't reach my goals and only reach half.  $25,000,000.00 in total value of all real estate and 8 million in net worth and $500,000.00 in annual cash flow wouldn't be bad either.  Albert Einstein once said, " reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."  My ladder was leaning against the wrong wall and I have moved my ladder against a new and improved wall.  As I said earlier.  If a lowly paid Catholic School teacher can do this, anyone can.

Education and learning from successful people that have already been down the path you are traveling is a sound way to approach you financial future.  I never take advice from people that have less money etc... than me.  I mean financially that is.  Right now after 4 short years, I have 4.5 million in real estate and 2 million in equity or net worth.  I take financial advice from people that have a lot more than I do.

Take care,

Swanny

Post: Please Evaluate My Plan

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

Hi Erik,

I expect in ten years to have $50,000,000.00 in total real estate earning $1,000,000.00 in cash flow each year. I also expect to have a net worth of over $16,000,000.00. I will keep trading up, until I have two or three large apartment complexes and at least 1,000 front doors. I will defer, defer, defer, defer, and die. Hopefully, my kid will inherit the properties and do the same. The 1031 exchange is an amazing tool for financial freedom!! I will have to look into these NNN commercial with long term leases as you say. That might be another avenue to maintain my defer, defer, defer, defer, and die financial freedom plan. I just manage the property managers anyway. I too will not be rehabbing etc... in my twilight years. You can take that to the bank.

Have a great weekend my new friend,

Swanny

Post: Please Evaluate My Plan

Michael SwanPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Diego, CA
  • Posts 1,161
  • Votes 2,122

Hi Erik,

I have thought about commercial with NNN leases too. However, I don't have any experience in that area. What are some advantages and pitfalls in this sector?

Swanny