All Forum Posts by: Andrew Jambor

All great comments, which can be applied at any age. Without knowing what you are starting with (liquid assets), it's harder to provide guidance. Someone starting with $0 will have to work harder than someone starting with something. Knowing your numbers (personal income, expenses, assets, and liabilities) will help direct you. Is your goal based on retirement planning, tax savings, generational wealth, or all of the above? Do you want an active or passive investment? Are you willing to get your hands dirty, or do you just want a decent return on your investment? What brought you into real estate? 

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to refinance a 6-family property in Connecticut. Not sure what the current rates are, but I wanted to get some ideas on what is out there. Does anyone have suggestions on where what's available?

Thanks!

When I first got into real estate, it was through books like Rich Dad Poor Dad. I started talking about Real Estate with others and then met my current business partner while he was fixing my sink and were talking about real estate. From there, we joined the local REIA, took classes there, and networked with others. We made some good connections there, which helped us tremendously. Word of caution with REIAs. Go more for the networking and information, but don't get sucked into the pitches. Many guest speakers brought into the one we are members of are looking to sell their "system" to you. You can listen to the talk because you will usually learn something, but you don't need the system they are pitching most of the time.

I'm all for attending local meetups, as most here have mentioned but also talking about your interests freely to others (you never know who is listening). If you don't have a local meetup, start one. There are many ways to do this. I'm more of a meet-in-person type, but virtual can also be great (especially if you are looking at other markets to invest in). Your mind is the main factor here. If you want to achieve something and believe it in your heart, you will make it happen. 

We've used Vivint Smart Homes in some of our rentals and a combination of Ring cameras, coded door locks, and  Google Nest in other rentals. We rent to students, so we include the wifi in the rent price and have some control over access. The Vivint system is okay. We have a lot of turnover (new students move in every year), so inviting new tenants to the Vivint app is fairly straightforward. They can then lock and unlock the doors on their own without a code. The biggest issues with Vivint is the maintenance of the batteries. Some of the batteries (doorbell camera) have proprietary batteries so you need to call a Vivint tech. The sensor and door lock batteries you have to keep an eye on. The app will let you know when they are low. The Ring cameras are better in my opinion because they have a better range. Having the smart thermostats are nice because you can keep the tenants from keeping the temps too high in the winter and too low in the summer (we pay the utilities). As with anything, any system you go with has trade-offs, so make sure you look into them closely and factor in your cost (equipment, monthly charges for services(security, Ring, etc.). Hope this helps!

 Hi Glenn,

I'm not a tax expert, but looking over the rules of the 1031 exchange, it doesn't look like you can buy these properties outright with cash to qualify unless you had no mortgage on this property. The purchase price of the new property also needs to match or exceed the price of what you are selling your rental for. The other challenge, given the current market, is finding a property that matches your criteria within 45 days of closing. With mortgage rates rising, you would also want to make sure the numbers work and your new property does indeed cashflow. Here is a good reference for the 1031 exchange: https://www.realized1031.com/1...

Make sure you work this out with your accountant as I don't want to see you get hit with capital gains. I've seen investors buying at negative cap rates because they had to do a 1031 exchange and in this market and that can spell trouble. 

Best of luck!

Hi Everyone,

A 94-year-old client recently sold her home in Rhode Island and moved into assisted living. My company helped move her in, and I just found out that she did not receive the proceeds from her closing after her property closed. She planned to use the proceeds from the closing to pay for her assisted living needs. She checked with her attorney, and they said that it was a wire fraud case, which sounds like it is popular in Rhode Island. I feel terrible for her as she is basically sitting in her room all day, not wanting to talk to anyone, and is not sure what will happen to her. Is there anything she can do? I don't have a lot of experience with wire fraud, so looking for any advice or help I can give to her. 

Thank you in advance!

I'm also interested in these areas for STR. Does anyone know where I could get an idea of the average days per year these are rented? $300-$350 per night is nice, but if you only rent 1/4 of the year, that could negatively impact your cash flow. I stayed recently in Indian Rocks Beach at an AirBNB and my understanding from talking to locals is that there are no restrictions here and it's a great area.

For Macro, check out George Gammon. The Rebel Capitalist is a great podcast. Macrovoices is another one. For real estate-specific podcasts, check out The Real Estate Guys and Ken McElroy. Also BP of course. 

Thanks everyone!

@Mat O'Grady Do you have Ted's contact info?

@Basit Siddiqi I will look more into this!

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some recommendations for an accountant in Connecticut. We are looking for someone that can help us build a wealth strategy, similar to what Tom Wheelright talks about. Looking for someone that can help us build a tax strategy as we have properties and businesses. Someone that can guide us on the impacts of bills being passed and how to take advantage of changes to tax laws (like solar panels for example) Any help is super appreciated!

Thank you