All Forum Posts by: Richard Cook

They're actually in KC, got the addresses and they don't seem to be in a part of town that I'm interested in owning in. If I were more experienced or if I lived in the area, I would totally find someone to split it up with and wholesale them out! 

I'm a REI novice but CC hacking master :-) I like getting the rewards and benefits. In fact, I plan on using CC as much as I can when buying things for real estate. However, I'm good and never carry a balance. Also I am active duty military so I take advantage of the tons of benefits companies offer (low interest from 0-4% and no annual fees, even on my Amex Platinum!)

The benefits they offer are great - from return protection, extended warranties, to car rental insurance. If I can, I always put it on a credit card. To answer your question, I probably have 10 or so credit cards. For your average REI, 2-3 are probably good. One each that gets you great points/cash back/miles at office supply, home improvement, and gas stations. If you find yourself traveling a lot, a good airline CC can get you some free trips to check in on your properties too!

Edit: I should add that types of credit matter a lot. Because I don't have a mortgage, it'd be "harder" to get a mortgage (non-revolving) even though I have 50K+ in credit available for credit cards (revolving type credit). So having good credit with cards will probably help but you need mortgage history to really bump your score. Also spreading debt over cards and not using more than 30% of any card shows good history as well. Credit card inquiries ding your report, but they're usually only on there for a quarter. 

 Also forgot to mention, do you have any kind of insurance that might cover the vandalism?

Will there be a November/December meet up? Just getting active!

Edit: Just found the website, sending Darrin an email now!

Came across a listing in a market I am looking to invest in where someone is selling two duplexes and one triplex. This would be our first purchase so we're wanting to start out small. I think we should only buy the triplex and maybe a duplex. Is it possible/easy/advisable to purchase the whole thing and sell one off, or should I find a partner that wants to split it with me - I think the seller is going for the "Sam's Club" sell in bulk strategy. I think it is a better deal than if he were to sell each individually. 

I haven't heard anything back from seller, just sent him an email, so will post details as I get them. Any advice from someone that has been here before? Thanks in advance!

Didn't read all the replies so this may have been mentioned. Kind of off topic, but I see a need for a tenant "Yelp" or something for local areas. Is there something like this that already exists? I think it would be tough to implement (how do you filter out the unreasonable and angry landlord) but if you see a pattern of short stays and low ratings from landlords, it would definitely help weed out the destructive tenants like this. 

Sorry to hear about your experience, I know I would really want to teach them a lesson by making their lives difficult but you have to remember they don't think like you - they have no sense of responsibility and sorrow for what they did. They felt wronged by you (even though you were just enforcing your contract to pay rent) and so they responded how they thought they could get back at you. They're the losers and will continue to be. I wouldn't waste more time other than screwing their credit and sharing information with any other local landlords/property management. Looks like you're kind of low income renting so these events unfortunately should be budgeted for in your rent as it is more likely to occur in your situation. 

Just don't let it affect your view of future tenants, there are some good ones out there and as having been one of them, it sucks when your landlord automatically assumes the worst just because you're a tenant - remember they're ultimately the customer. Doesn't mean they're always right, but they deserve to get what they pay for - when they pay for it. Sorry for the random tangent, best of luck! 

I second all the legal comments. I think it is within your right though to make sure you get additional references from current/previous landlords. Do you (or anyone you know) have any other properties they might be interested in that are getting close to needing new paint haha? Perhaps if they moved in there instead they wouldn't request new paint or other renovations and you could delay those for a bit. I would just take plenty of pictures to document the current condition and explain (in writing, perhaps an addendum to the lease) what you will consider beyond normal wear and tear, i.e. marks, gouges, broken door knobs due to excessive force, etc...

I know as a tenant it would be hard to have a landlord say you're worried about their little "angels" but hopefully they can emphasize once they realize that you have been burned before. Perhaps I'm too novice to be thinking like that though... 

Hi @Elizabeth Colegrove - I actually listened to your podcast because your situation seemed very similar to ours! It was very informative and useful, are you still finding a lot of short sale luck, I know you talked about the tax burden for the seller of the house so wondering how much that has impacted your purchasing in the time since. I've also looked a bit at your blog, really informative and well written! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! 

@John Powell - yeah, as much as I would love to live in a 2-4 Plex over the next year or so, don't think it is going to work for us. Think I am stuck going NOO route with a multifamily of some sort, we like having a SFH too much to go back to sharing walls haha! Thinking we'll do a blend of buying MF and then purchasing SFH where we live and renting out after we leave.

Wow amazing responses - thanks everyone for the encouragement! Lots of great ideas to sift through and evaluate, looking forward to implementing and investing! 

@Kyle Leinart - sent you a PM

@Michael Volek - that was something we were tossing around is if we should use our VA loan. Just started listening to podcast 103, not sure if the additional fee will work until I run the numbers but it would be a nice chance to take that down payment cash and put it into improvements!

@Bryan C. and @John Powell - that'd be the best, it doesn't look like there's many multifamilies around SAFB so if anything we'd have to go for a 2-4plex or condo. Do you know if those are considered owner occupied if I bought the whole set of them for a condo? There are some areas where the permanent party would probably live (I'm assuming Maj - Lt Col) that are close to base and very nice houses, problem is think they're  a little more than we should attempt right now ($225k +) 

Thanks to everyone else that commented and provided advice looking forward to networking!

-Dan

Hey all, my name is Richard (my friends call me Dan). I am 26 years old and my wife and I have been blessed with a modest inheritance. We currently have the money invested in mutual funds and are getting modest returns. I believe that we have an opportunity here with our situation to really generate some long term wealth if we are smart about where we put our money. 

I'm currently in the early stages of feeling out the real estate field as I think this provides us the best chance to generate some relatively passive income and wealth as the market rebounds. I am in the Air Force, currently stationed in Ohio but moving to Texas (Wichita Falls) in March. I am looking at buying our next home, even though we will only live there for a little over a year - if I can find a good fixer upper that we can improve while we live there and rent it out, we can start our rental trail that is popular with many military families. Many people retire from the military with houses in several locations where they lived and then rented out instead of selling when they moved. 

I am also contemplating getting into mobile home purchasing or even a multifamily unit. We have family in Kansas City, so if we purchased a property there, it would be a nice tax benefit for when we travel to visit. We would also love to retire in Colorado Springs, so any property around there may be nice as well!

Any networking or friendly discussion is welcome - looking forward to being part of the community!