All Forum Posts by: Russ Maynard

Thank you Erik. Sounds like you’ve had quite a journey. I hope to get in the game soon….

Thanks Nicholas…

Thanks John…I made a career out of flying planes but I did get to learn to jump out of them at Fort Benning a long time ago….it’s nice to have a reserve chute in case your main doesn’t work…appreciate the reserve chute options you presented. Now to just avoiding trees and power lines. 

Hi

I’m new to this sport and finally trying to get off the bench and into the game. Right now I’m reading and listening to as much as I can. As I’ve watched several videos and listened to podcasts here, I repeatedly watch the presenter put in numbers in a calculator to show how a particular deal is good or not based on a cash on cash return (cash flow property scenario). I can plug numbers in a calculator… I can build a spreadsheet that will likely mimic that calculator. But if I put in bad numbers….well that’s just garbage in, garbage out.  Obviously, gained knowledge of what things cost for real or knowing where to look is key.

I understand where we can look up tax rates and I can get quotes on insurance. What I am concerned with are things like estimating rehab costs, cleanup costs, other hard to define costs. A deal can look great on the calculator right up to the point you realize your $25k rehab is more like $50k. Suddenly your cash on cash evaporates and you need more than expected to get it on the market. How did you gain the corporate knowledge to put good numbers into your deal calculations. I’d love to hear from newer and more seasoned investors. Thank you

Hi

I am new to this site and intend to finally get into real estate investing. I’d like to start with a small Single family or duplex to get the first deal going, learn something and build from there.

I understand “He who will not risk, cannot win”-John Paul Jones 

I also dealt with risk in the military and now commercial aviation. In both arenas we mitigate risk through detailed planning and great training as well as putting “handcuffs” or limits on ourselves. A new guy won’t fly into the same weather as a seasoned aviator. What are some controls you have used early on to keep yourself out of trouble?  Leverage is great when it’s working for you…how about when it’s not?

In aviation, we never put ourselves in a box where there’s only one option like having an alternate destination if the weather at our intended destination is bad. How do you structure acquisitions so that you don’t end up with nowhere to land (in real estate I guess the closest analogy would be losing the property, your investment and lowering your credit worthiness).

Thanks in advance. Sorry for the aviation analogies…it’s what I know.  My other interest of music doesn’t seem like it has a good analogy 😂