All Forum Posts by: Ryan Randall

Looking at a long-term view, I'd cut your losses and take what you learned and apply it to a solid market. I'd stay away from Detroit. 

If you have something local within 20 miles from you that can cash flow and you understand the area well, I'd invest there. 

Good luck.

Ramsey is good for getting out of bad debt. Once you're past that, and you have the right mindset, your better off moving on from him if you're looking to build real lasting wealth.

The people that tried to save 20% (or more) for a down payment while I grabbed a 2.25% 30 year fixed interest rate at 3.5% down are kicking themselves for listening to Ramsey. Now that property has doubled in value, and they're still stuck on the sidelines waiting...

 After a certain point, accumulating more education/knowledge isn't really beneficial. You need to start taking action. 

My recommendation would be to find a few folks on here who are successful but not trying to sell you something. Listen to them. 

I've found it typically boils down to a few simple rules:
1. Buy in a good location. Think a location where you could see yourself/your family living.
2. Buy local. People will argue otherwise, but this will greatly simplify your life. I'd say a 20 mile radius.
3. Make sure it cash flows at least 10% COC. I typically shoot for 15%+ COC. Take all expenses into account, and don't under-estimate them to make a deal work.
4. Use leverage. When you're younger, the more the better. Use an FHA, VA, or conventional loan.

Do that, and the other pieces will start to fall into place. Eventually you'll start to branch off and learn more about the tenant vetting process, the legal process, how to find good contractors, etc. Don't become someone who has paralysis by analysis. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Follow some simple guidelines, and take action.

Good real estate investing should be boring. You're not constantly dealing with problem tenants, talking about high COC returns, doing stupidly risky and time consuming flips, etc.

Buy in a good area, make sure it cash flows, put solid tenants in there, then sit and wait for 10+ years. 

Sadly I think people overcomplicate or over glamorize real estate investing. Any time I see those or hear those folks, I assume they'll be one of the ones who fail.

I learned this lesson after chasing high COC returns in Akron OH. I got burnt, but I learned and pivoted at a young age. Now I buy locally in good areas, and I've seen my net worth go from 200k -> 1mil in a few years by the time I hit 30, w/ a portfolio of 8 solid cash flowing units. I just wish I listened to the successful real estate investors sooner, and didn't chase solely cash flow right out of the gate.

I bought in Akron a long time ago. I've since sold all those properties and bought local. Buying in Akron was a mistake, but I learned some important lessons along the way. For that tenant class, the headaches are not worth it.

Fyi in my short 2 years owning properties there, I dealt with 4 evictions, dogs ******** on walls, cat piss along the whole wall and even the ceiling, and a tenant throwing all their kids toys into the wall vents. 

Yeah, avoid this area.

 This dude's clearly a bot. I see him on every post. Why hasn't he been banned yet?

Try and get a conventional loan. They should be able to use 75% of your rental income to see if it covers PITI. If so, then your current mortgage counts as a "net-positive" to your overall income and you can qualify for even more on your next purchase.

Don't assume that you need to go the more expensive DSCR route. Good luck.

Nice work. Would love to know the numbers as well.

I'm a software engineer, used to work for HubSpot on their CMS. I work for myself now, through real estate investing and contracting work. I've been noodling on building something similar to what you're describing for myself, and selling as a product geared towards REI's.

While getting it to "beta" would likely take a few months, I'd be happy to chat with you more about it. Would love to see how you're using HS, and what you'd like to see from an all-in-one REI tool.

Feel free to dm me.

Just put in LifeProof, couldn't be happier. Had spills, stains, and what should have been scratches. The floor holds up great.