All Forum Posts by: Sasha Fukuda

Brandon Turner's two books: The Book on Rental Property Investing and The Book on Managing Rental Properties. 

I can definitely relate to this. I'm in the same boat. In a few years, after i've raised rents and finished fixing up my properties, i'll be making $70k from my rentals. I'll also be making money from stocks and paying down my houses. I don't necessarily feel like i have to be doing anything more. I don't want to work all my life, and have nothing to show for it other than dying with a bigger bank account than most people.

Having a modest level of financial independence provides, perhaps, the least amount of clarity compared to either having non at all or being super wealthy. 

If i was starting from scratch, i'd probably start by developing a job skill, probably in the trades like electrician or plumber. Then i'd house hack a 3- 4 unit. Then i'd build up some money and either try to buy a few 5- 10 unit buildings, or buy a few small multi family fixer uppers. All that would probably take 7 years or so. I'm not sure what i'd do afterwards, but by then i'd have a lot more financial freedom. 

Many others on here have said the same thing, but at your age i'd focus on career. Build up job skills, build up savings, and increase your W2 income. Once you've done that for a couple years, you should have an emergency fund and the money for a downpayment. Then you can house hack. This step by step process is all laid out in Scott Trench's book "Set for Life". There are other, more ambitious, risky, and difficult, ways you could achieve the same end goal. However, i've never really seen the logic in taking those paths when you can just take the safe and slow approach. 

So, it sounds like the first step is to figure out how to ensure that you get the house. Maybe there's a way to do this without buying it (parents write it into their will or the trust). If that's not possible or seems too risky to you, maybe you can buy the house with a seller financing agreement. My thinking is that if you had a legal agreement to make monthly payments to your parents, then you wouldn't need to get a bank loan. That eliminates the need for a good credit score, or a down payment, and the interest rate would be negotiable between you and your parents. Lastly, there's the option of getting a bank loan. If you make six figures, then i'm guessing the only stumbling block is your credit score. Watch a few youtube videos on increasing your credit score quickly. Meet with a few lenders. Find out where you stand (whether they'd give you the loan, how your credit score effects it, and what your mortgage payment would be). This would be my first step.

First, you want to buy Brandon Turner's book on rental property investing, and his book on managing rental properties. Read them. Once you're actually looking to buy, aim to get a property with only cosmetic issues, in a decent area that doesn't have bad tenants. That would be my advice. Ideally have a contractor friend who can vet properties for you. 

So, you want to invest where you live, and i'm guessing you want to manage it yourself. That's fine. I did the same thing. I happened to live in NH, so i bought properties in NH. If that's how you want to do it, my advice is to figure out where you and your family would enjoy living first. Then go there. 

My philosophy is that trying to find the optimal location, the optimal investment, and the optimal moment to enter the market is a giant waste of time and energy. If you save more than you spend, invest the difference, and do that over a long period of time, you'll probably come out ahead. Furthermore, there's an element of luck that simply cannot be eliminated or avoided. Unforeseen things will happen in the future and you have no way of knowing whether they'll be good or bad. Just make sure you can withstand bad luck in the short term, and then play the game with the long term in mind. 

When you look back decades from now, you'll probably care more about whether your family enjoyed their lives in their city than you will about whether you could have gotten slightly better investment returns in some other city. 

1. What real estate investment strategies do you think are a good start for absolute beginners with no handyman skills?

I had no handyman skills when i started, but honestly I wish i had. It's like buying cars without any knowledge of cars. At a bare minimum, you better have a mechanic you trust who can vet them for you. Otherwise, you'll probably buy cars with unexpected problems. When i started looking at houses, i didn't really have any idea what i was looking at. Now when i look at a house, i notice much more about the physical house itself. House hacking a good property, in a good area, with good tenants is probably a good place to start. 

2. What books, blogs, pages, channels, etc. would you suggest to learn any general beginner knowledge?

Brandon Turner's books- "Rental Property Investing" and "Managing Rental Properties". When it comes to stocks- "The Boglehead's Guide to Investing". Basic personal finance- "The Index Card". Advanced personal finance- "Set for Life". 

3. What are the biggest mistakes you made as a beginner real estate investor? How did you avoid these mistakes moving forward?

Where would i even start? As far as minimizing mistakes, read the books. Try to find people who can be trusted, care about doing good work, and aren't out to milk you out of every dollar. That's the best you can do, short of getting actual job experience as a contractor, property manager, or realtor. 

Hi. I have a 5 unit rental property where packages keep getting stolen. I was thinking of installing security cameras. I was wondering what other landlords would recommend? What brands do you recommend and what types do you prefer (battery operated vs hardwired, wifi or not, etc)? 

The big property manager for the area is Ann Connor at Unicron Property Management.