All Forum Posts by: Ricardo Lemus

@Nathan Gesner @Alecia Loveless @Bill B.@Joe Villeneuve @Theresa Harris, thanks a lot for taking the time and provide some info/ideas/suggestions

To give you some color for these properties, there is a 15 years-plan that my wife and I are planning to have arround 5 to 7 properties in the same $$$ range (-+ $200K) that we can rent them around $1600-$1800

I believe after 10 yrs, I am expecting to a better cash flow considering some loans will be paid in full, but maybe the next properties will have as you suggest 30 year-loan. 

Regarding increasing the rent, sure thing, every year there will be some increase. 

And finally regarding the interest, yes doing these 10 yrs-loan the biggest goal was save some money from the interest. So some ballpark numbers if everything remain the same, ($400ishx12)x10) would be $50Kish + the downpayment I see I got some positive numbers and after they are paid in full is when I believe the cash flow will be in better shape.

I am planning to have all properties for long time, so I am planning (fingers crossed) to keep my primary income (job) in order to keep buying more properties.

Once again, many thanks for all your comments. I hope with this extra info you can see more clear my current and future goals. 

Hi there,

You guys probably went thru some of my post already and even help me with some experiences - Thanks a lot :)

This time, after 6 months on this, I think part of my brain is saying that somehow I am in the right direction, and the other part is saying something is going on with the rent price I have set for my properties. After 6 months I have two properties and since day 1 they have been rented.

However, making some numbers and organizing the 2025 budget I am not sure what to think about my first step on this journey.

The rent covers the mortgages (10 year loan both) however I have to take out of my pocket some % to cover HOA and management fee. Roughly is $400 for both properties.

What do you think, was a good move to get these properties? should I adjust the rent, considering I know the same floor plan could be higher?

Thanks as always.

RL

 Hello @Connor Hibbs thanks for sharing this. I will try always to keep in the savings at least a 20% of a potential property investment! Thanks again! 

 @Rene Hosman thanks a lot for all the Information you shared! 100% agreed with you about the "money in your hand now is more valuable than the same money in the future" and that's why every time I see and option to invest I'll go for it! I will talk to my credit union and see the options! 

Thanks again! Enjoy the weekend! 

Hi there! 

For today’s episode, I'm planning to purchase another rental property and have been researching various down payment strategies.

Traditionally, I've adhered to the 20% or higher down payment rule to secure better mortgage terms and avoid Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). However, I've recently come across articles discussing the potential benefits of lower down payments in certain situations.

Given the current real estate market conditions, what are the critical factors to consider when deciding between a high or low down payment for an investment property? How might this decision impact the overall investment strategy and long-term profitability?

I'd appreciate your insights on balancing the trade-offs between initial capital outlay, monthly cash flow, and potential returns.

Thank you for your expertise,
Ricardo

@Alex Hunt thanks a lot for the info provided. All that makes sense and also as an action item I have to keep the dialogue open with our CPA for the 2024 filing considering the deductions. 

@Nathan Gesner thanks for that exercise you shared. I agreed with the idea of split the money, so we can get more earnings. I think we are going to start with the first one and understand more the environment and all the details. I will take a look to that book for sure! 

@Shervin Golgiri great advice! thanks a lot. I'm also learning about the deductions that we can file in 2024. That is a huge reason why it might be a great idea to have the loan and keep $$$ in case another opportunity comes soon. 

@Alecia Loveless Thanks a lot for sharing! I think we set on the idea of keep some $$$ in the pocket so eventually we can invest in a 2nd property. 

@Jason Wray thanks a lot for such a great info. We are learning by the minute. Every day is something  new and that's what I like about this adventure. Regarding the last point you mentioned, 60/40, that's exactly what we are doing this week in terms of getting a loan, so we keep some cash in the pocket in case we have another opportunity pretty soon. We just got the pre-approval letter from an institution and out of the blue we are getting so many offers - Incredible! 
Thanks again!