All Forum Posts by: Clifton Monte

@Lane Kawaoka we're doing a live-in flip for the next 3+ years precisely because there are no viable rental properties that would satisfy our cash flow criteria by the time we move.

@Abel Curiel based on your response it sounds like we're in good hands, thanks.

We are about to submit our very first offer on a home here in Hawaii (seller's market on steroids). Since we're using the VA Loan we want to part with as little cash out of pocket as possible, notwithstanding earnest money and closing costs. Today our realtor introduced some parameters of crafting a "competitive" offer to increase our likelihood of getting accepted which could expose us to more out of pocket cash than we'd like.

I trust my realtor, but I still need to ask - can anyone think of any offer stipulations that would be red flags that the realtor cares more about closing the deal more so than getting a good deal for us as buyers?

@Charles A. so you ignored local market conditions in favor of local market gurus?

@Michael Borger sounds like some creative ninja investing to me! I'll look into it, thanks.

@Paul Moore I agree. To your point, however, I'll contend that Hawaii satisfies the criteria for unusual market conditions, particularly it's resilience to the '08 recession.

I appreciate everybody's feedback - @Jaron Walling this is definitely like being thrust into a no man's land RPG facing level 5 opponents with no XP and no perks!  

@Isi Nau live in flip, eh? Sounds like a home we force appreciation out of by the time we move out - I can dig it!  Btw, PV = Property Value, but you still answered my question!

@Joshua McMillion and @David Pere thanks for the double referral!  I'll let you know if my realtor starts slacking in any way!

I'm in the Army and we've always been renters, so we decided that our next move would mark the beginning of our goal to collect properties to live in prior to renting out.  Well, leave it to Uncle Sam to start our real estate journey in the ever affordable State of Hawaii!  I'm well aware that cash flow in Hawaii is relatively negligible to equity so I wasn't too jaded when, after analyzing over 25 properties with the Rental Property calculator tool, I only found 2 that cash flowed within 5 years.  I've done enough research to know that although Cashflow Is King, equity builds wealth and can be worth an acceptable deficit in cashflow. 

Here are my questions:

1) What are some rules of thumb to follow when balancing the equity/cashflow dichotomy?

2) What is the difference between projecting PV increases, and speculation?

3) What is a minimum acceptable % of equity gain within a 3 year period in Hawaii?