All Forum Posts by: Jason Rikard

Hi BP,

My family of four (two are pre-schoolers) is making strides to move to the Huntsville, Alabama area. Besides it being a beautiful area with lots to do, my wife has family in Gurley, Alabama and I am hoping to find full-time job prospects as well as real estate investment opportunities.

We currently own a paid off house valued roughly at $115,000 in a rural SC town (population 740/ closest big town is population 14,000) it is difficult to get comps and can take quite a while to sell.

We have considered putting our house on the market to sell with the intention of renting back from the buyer or elsewhere if it sells quickly and positioning ourselves to be able to make a cash offer on a property in the Huntsville area once one is located.

I would be looking for house hack opportunities (or duplexes although I hear they are almost non-existent) to where we could STR or LTR the basement or a "backyard house". Eventually we would move to another house to rent both portions of the first house.

We have driven several neighborhoods all around Huntsville and it seems that Madison may do better for STR but have read that there are lots of hotels going up in that area which may detract from that doing well. We also love the Hampton Cove and south Huntsville as well.

I'm open to plan suggestions on where to invest and meeting other investors/investor friendly real estate agents and other AirBnB/STR investors in the area.



Welcome to BP!

@Account Closed

@Account Closed Did you ever find a group in the Aiken, Columbia or Augusta areas that you would recommend? I'm looking to SFH or small MFH in those similar areas. I'm located north of I20.

Hi Nathan,

Welcome to BP!  I'm a FPU Coordinator that has followed Dave's principles for over a decade. My wife and I have paid off all of our consumer debt and even our personal residence last year. We even topped it off with our Debt Free Scream live in Nashville. So, to say the least, I'm a huge Dave Ramsey fan.

Like you, I struggle with the idea of "good debt" that you hear a lot about on BP. I've been very skeptical of the risk of leveraging but I'm trying to learn as much as I can about it. Heck, investing in mutual funds is risky too especially when you factor in all the fees and taxes associated with them. I've personally done pretty good with my mutual fund investing, but I recently heard Dave tell a millionaire on his show that he can't make his own mutual funds keep up with his real estate investments. 

Another concern I have like Steve Vaughan mentioned above is how long it will take to pay cash for rental properties. I believe Dave (after bankruptcy) built up his business side to be able to pay cash for all of his real estate investments.

Dave's teachings should have put you in a great place to start your investing.

If you haven't read it yet, I recommend reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki. It has really opened my eyes to the opportunities ahead in what I consider Baby Step 7.  

Jason Rikard

Hi James,

My wife and I are huge Dave Ramsey fans! He is a little to the extreme for normal (poor) thinking. I used his Total Money Makeover book and Financial Peace University to Hulk Smash all the bad debt (vehicle, student loans, credit cards etc.) then put my family on a solid foundation with an emergency fund of 6 months expenses and eventually pay off my home in 11 years. We made around $100k per year to do this while paying cash for vacations and used vehicles including a minivan too! 

Now close to $65k income my wife is able to stay at home with a few freelance jobs per year. We put back 15% of that income into retirement, put a few grand a back per year for our 2 kids college funds and now we are looking at building wealth with REI.

In my opinion. Get your family on solid ground financially and emotionally by being on the same page with your finances then rock out your investing.

Thank you guys for welcoming me in! The information is a little overwhelming. I’ve been aggressively listening to the BP podcasts and attended my first tax lien auction several weeks ago. @Bill Johnson thanks for the advice! I’ve got a few people in mind that I️ plan to buy a cup of coffee. I’m also trying to decide the best place to put my money and time. Being in a rural town makes it a little tough.

Hi, I’ve been a member of Bigger Pockets for a while but just now getting serious about REI. I’ve been a Graphic Designer and photographer for a few decades, but I’ve been soul searching for the next chapter in my life. I’ve been interested in Real Estate for a long time and I’m looking forward to finding the best way for my family to jump in to REI. I’ve spent the last several years finding Financial Peace by getting completely out of consumer debt including my personal home thanks to Dave Ramsey’s plan. Now I’m looking for Financial Freedom for my family. Being a huge Ramey fan, I’m interested to learn more about cash vs leveraged REI strategies. I’m also looking forward to meeting a lot of great, like minded people and being part of the community. Jason Rikard