All Forum Posts by: Nicole Jacobson

Thank you! I agree with you, it will give me a lot more opportunity if I sell. I appreciate your input.

Hello, I love this forum and find this community so helpful. So I figured it would be a good place to discuss my dilemma. So here it goes.. I own a property worth about $320k, with a mortgage of about $100k on it. I can rent it out and make about $500 a month or sell it and buy something smaller cash and make about $1000 a month. This seems like an easy answer but I have an emotional attachment to the house, and if I ever moved back to the state I would prefer to live in the house. So my question is.. To a rent and hold the house letting the tenant pay down the note and make $500 a month, or do I cash out and buy something cash in a few months when interest rates go up and prices drop? Any advice would be appreciated, I know this might sound like an easy decision, but it's harder when you have emotional attachment to something.

I have them all LLC'd individually with a very high umbrella. I actually work in insurance for a living so I am cautious with that risk. I am looking for a home to live in, in Denver. I work in the tech center so don't want to be that far, I will have roomates in the house because I don't like paying my mortgage when I don't have to! :)

Hey Robert,

So this is what I was considering doing. Refinancing the ones I own for now and using that money to buy another one or two. I know the HOA's kill me but they have benefits also.. And thoses houses are currently rented with me not able to handle selling them atm. My concern with this is risk, I am new in my career and not stable enough to take on huge amounts of risk. Do you think it would be a huge detriment for me to purchase this fourth house and wait a year and possibly dump the two I paid cash for or cash out refi them? I am just concerned that the interest rate will jump and make this challenging.

Hey Kevin, I work in the Denver Tech Center but I am all over for work because I am in sales. I am considering Lakewood, or Aurora but only in Cherry Creek School district. Everyone keeps saying these aren't the greatest areas, but I want something that has some ability to bring in some rental income.. Aka basement preferably. 

Simcha, ok thank you! I appreciate your help. I will take that advice and stick with what I have going on for now. I am going to start looking into the options you listed as my next move and hopefully get some money invested in the market over the next year or two. I want to make sure I am at least a little diversified, so EFTs might be a great option.Thank you for breaking down the returns on the market for me as well, I at one point had a fair amount of money vested with the promise of decent returns so I wasn't sure if this was common or not. I pulled it out because the market was overall performing poorly and since I didn't understand enough I didn't want to keep losing money.

I rented my properties in Arizona before I closed. Makes sure you add a clause that says its contingent on close of escrow Ect. because otherwise it's a breach of contract. Use the old pictures from the MLS on Zillow and talk to your agent to see if he/she can get the sellers agent to ok you showing the property, if your agent accompanies you. That's what I did, but I have a killer agent also!

Hey Matt, thank you I will check those sources out. I appreciate that, it's sometimes hard to find reliable sources for this kind of thing. 

Hey Bryce I was under the assumption that the cost of the properties is taken into consideration as well. I might be wrong though and that would be why I am potentially confused. I was under the impression because I have that sum of money tied up, it can be negatively factored into the cash flow because of opportunity cost? I could be totally off base here though. My mom made a killing in real estate but hasn't run a number a day in her life so I am trying to follow in her footsteps in a more calculated fashion.

Hey Simcha,

Thank you, I will take that advise. I am looking to diversify my assets a little bit after I purchase this next property. I am hoping to save a little nest egg and get it invested. So you are probably spot on with starting to understand the market better. I read in Money Magazine that one of the biggest mistakes investors make it paying the typical fees to investment brokers, so I am looking to get out of that but don't want to lose my tail either.

Hey Bill, so I purchased both properties for the long term gains. The $135k property is valued at about $150k and was purchased this year. The other at $180k, is in an area where new builds are selling for $300k plus, and are actually selling. And the house I paid $215k for is in a neighborhood where most properties go unrenovated for $270k. I know I am not making the cash flow I should, but without buying into low income areas I am unsure how to increase my cash flow? 

Thank you for your advice, I am hoping to stay on the low end of purchasing a home in Denver. Any area that might be better then others to consider from an investment standpoint? I would like to stay under $300k if possible. I really appreciate your time, I want to make sure I make the best decisions possible and given my limited experience it can be tough at times! :)