All Forum Posts by: Rob Lane

Invest that 15K into more income producing assets.  Use your EI to feed your monster.  Keep your expenses low.  Read everything you can get your hands on. 

Congratulations, you will love it! 

Why would you buy and hold?  Those properties rent too.  In my opinion crime is up even in the nicest neighborhoods, especially in fast growing metro downtown areas like OKC.  I have monitored security on everyone of my houses.  I also have surveillance on a few which is certainly a deterrent.    

I would rather have 2 adult couples than a couple with 2 kids. 

Have you purchased a home as owner/occupant yet?  That is how I got started.  Purchased a duplex the other side paid most of the mortgage and I had a company car with my job which allowed me to save to get into my next project.  I had to put little down for my next project as I was able to get the owner to finance for me.  Im not into money market, stocks, or anything that I don't have complete control over.  I only invest in brick and mortar.  20 years later I now pay cash for all my homes using a line of credit against my current portfolio to purchase more.   Hope this helps. 

I have had terrible luck in rural areas in my 20 years of doing this.  I had three and am now down to one.  I never had a problem leasing them however the quality of tenant has been sub par compared to my city tenants.  Could be that I live in the city and don't check my rural houses like I should.  Every time one of my rural tenants have moved out I have had massive expenses to get the properties back into shape.  And they were all premium rentals just like my city homes.  If you live there and can inspect the properties regularly it might work for you.

You do not have to have broker license for your own property management but you do have to have if you manage other peoples property.

Congrats on your home purchase. If you put a substantial amount down on your first house which is not a bad idea to eliminate PMI, see if you can tap into that equity for a down payment on your first rental? I have used equity loan on my primary residence to do that when I first started and I retired at 40. Whatever it takes!

Bought my first house off MLS which was a duplex at 21. It was my first house and the other side paid most of the mortgage. That is what jump started my real estate career. Paid the house off when I was 32 when I cashed out my 401K. Now I am 43 and still have the house it has been an awesome investment. Certainly a lot better than if I would have kept the 401K

Yes you do have to have realtor license to property manage for other people in Oklahoma.  I am my own maintenance man hence the name of the book and I had to create the checklist just to stay organized.  Not just on the maintenance but alarm codes, gate codes, air filter sizes, etc.  Its not nearly as detailed as yours but does cover the basics.  Its on Excel spreadsheet so if you guys want it I can post it?  I personally take care of all lawn care on all my properties which number 1 keeps me in great shape and number 2 keeps my eye on all my properties all the time to be proactive if any issues may occur.  If there are any issues with the property my tenants know that we will take care of them within a 24 hour period.  Its part of my advertising in my listings.