All Forum Posts by: Travis Beehler

 Thank you!  Your internal fire will get you VERY far here.  Don't be discouraged if you fail here and there in real estate.  Everyone gets discouraged from time to time, myself included.  Just pick yourself up and move forward, and you will definitely get ahead!

Some people you just can't reach.  They want things handed to them simply for being born here.  It doesn't work that way.  It has NEVER worked that way here.  I don't think people understand that.

Also, you'll get a lot of friends and family chalking your success to "luck".  It's not luck.  It's you doing your homework, and making sound business decisions.  But let them think it's luck. :)

Finally.  Welcome to America!  Glad to have you here!

In celebration of your arrival, here's a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger on the day he became an American citizen:

http://i.imgur.com/eIHq6.jpg?fb

Nice! What's the HML terms? How long before you could refinance it? I was debating on going with a HML for about 6 months, then refi into my existing lender (letting me buy more property for less out of pocket), but was curious about people who had actually done it. :)

I used Legal Zoom and never had an issue.   Fairly inexpensive as well.

"The American Dream is dead" notion going around these days are mainly from people who don't understand it.  The American Dream is that you can start here with nothing, and through hard work, determination, and sound business decisions, you can not only make a life for yourself, BUT you can become wealthy.  It's happening every single day, even during the mortgage bubble bursting.

Those that say it's dead either don't know about it, or more importantly, don't want to work for it.  They tend to see things as "Well, I'm in America, I should be wealthy" kind of thinking.

If we didn't put in the work we're putting in, and just got a job and worked, do any of you think you'd be as high up economically as you are right now?

The American Dream is alive and well, and I'm living it. :)

 I'm not in the mortgage industry, but I can tell you that a lot of banks don't like going below $50k for properties.  HOWEVER, I did find a bank that has no qualms about going below that amount.  My current lowest loan is for $21,300.  It took me talking to 8 banks before I found this one.  They are out there, but they are rare. :)

Personally, I do commercial loans for residential houses.  This allows me to go beyond the 10 loan limit (I'm currently in 4 loans covering 7 units), and I don't have to deal with the pesky debt to income ratios, just "is this property going to reasonably make money".

I ALWAYS look to use other people's money. :)  Leveraging is what allows you to make a LOT of money without having to have a LOT of money in the first place. :)

Besides, cash flow early on is crucial.  That extra $500 a month will give you the money for a down payment that much faster for your next property. :)

 Hi Greg,

I invest in lower income areas, so I think I can offer a bit of advice.  Buy the "crappiest" place in the "nicest" neighborhood.  That helped me out tremendously.  I currently invest in St. Louis, and my most expensive property was $60k.  I have a property management company weed out all the tenants I don't want, and allow tenants who are simply low income, not "Jerry Springer episode" types.

Now, that being said, I've found a lot of diamonds in the rough, BUT I'd say for every 10 houses I look at, maybe 1 or 2 are worth looking at further.  I want my tenants to feel safe, secure, and concentrating on raising a family, going to work, and paying the rent.  If they can't feel safe in the neighborhood, they will bolt the second they can.

Now, me personally, I originally funded my rentals by cashing out my 401k.  I paid a TON in taxes for that, and it was a financial risk, but it did pay off because I did my homework first.  After that, I simply rolled the profits into the down payment of the next house and the next one.  I also added a few bucks of my own to be able to buy properties faster.

I almost NEVER spend the profits on anything but repairs, down payments, and an emergency fund. (I took the wife to see UP and I took my cousin to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the profits).  To give you an idea, I've made maybe $120k in profits over the last 5 years, and I've spent a whopping $210 on "treats" for me with the profits.

That is the main reason I've been able to grow as fast as I have.  If you want to know more, please feel free to ask!

Welcome Miquel!  These are all great replies.  I would also suggest watching the webinar's that Brandon Turner puts on here.  Education is key here.  The more you know before your first rental, the better the outcome.  Having an idea of what your goals are as well is a good idea to have a grasp on.

Some people like having an asset that appreciates in value.  Some like cash flow.  Some like both.  It all depends on what you're trying to achieve.

Also, take a bit to think of some specific questions you might have.  I know that before I found BP, I had a TON of questions that even seasoned owners didn't have the answer to.  It took me 6 months before I was comfortable in buying my first rental.  You might want more time, or you might want less.  It's all about comfort level.

That being said, you will naturally feel hesitant, scared, discouraged, angry, happy, etc throughout your investing time.  That's perfectly normal.  When I bought my first rental and was in the title company's offices signing paperwork, I had a thought of "Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?  This is really real now".  Even though I had WAY more cash than the lender required of me, I had access to plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc, AND I had someone I could bounce ideas off of who was a rental owner as well.

My advice?  Keep focused on your goals, and push forward always to overcome obstacles.  You WILL run into obstacles during all this.  Banks will say no, repairs will need to be done, tenants may be late with rent, etc.  Just adapt, and overcome, and I have zero doubt you'll be successful!

I'd be curious about what your mortgage would be.  To me, if you don't include debt service and ALL expenses, saying "net profit" is meaningless.