All Forum Posts by: Scott Schultz

@Russell Brazil If investing in their own business means their agent business, that’s active income, so they may get a better ROI, but they have to work for it, as you know, for an agent “no working” “no pay”

@Phil G. I dont “deal” with my rental properties, I hire a property manager for that, I just manage my managers.

@DuBeaux Dingle as a Broker of 13 years the vast majority of agents anew not that bright, most are nice folks, just not so smart, and really not good with money, so big picture they are like most people, and they treat being an agent like a job to pay the bills instead of a means to freedom

Im not looking to make a Million dollars per year, I just want to be comfortable, if my passive can net 6 figures and a lots of equity, Im ok with that, I dont desire a big house (had the house wasnt worth the work for me)  or expensive cars (my previous life i was a mechanic I HATE CARS)  I enjoy being a miser that doesnt need to be a miser, my wife and i often giggle about the people living like they are rich, having to go to a big job everyday, while we go out to breakfast on a Tuesday after dropping our children off at school.  and @Aaron Stuiber its not a pipe dream if you are disciplined, and understand it takes many years to be an overnight success ridiculous hard work for over a decade for me, 14 hours a day 7 days a week to be most accurate. I like the saying "Do what others wont so later you can live like others cant"    

@Nate Moore If you are in a position of having a spare $5-20K/month to invest, I would recommend finding some value add properties, (under value needing rehab) and pay all cash, for properties, I know my opinion is not what is always taught, but in my 13 years, the people that have done the best have had little to no debt on their properties. it causes a couple things: Slower growth, this makes it easier to field problems instead of pushing them off because other things are front of mind. Additional cashflow, there is not debt payment, Ability to buy what many cannot Cash is King, I get way better deals buying with cash.  Accessibility to Equity, you can always open lines of credit or term out a property if the need arises.  Security in a downturn, by being in a cash position, you dont have a concern of notes renewing when values are lower and needing cash to give the bank enough equity to renew. 

Personally I have 23 Locations (26 doors) and have flipped 27 homes, I owe less than 35% on my entire portfolio with a goal of owing zero, I own my home and vehicles free and clear and pay my credit cards in full every month, this means Hakuna matata for me and my family. 

There are also Programs like USDA that is still zero Down if the location fits, the Department of Ag insures loans in rural areas in just about every state, and has a good program, with low credit score requirements https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/3555-1chapter10.pdf also if you served in the Military the VA offers a no down option. I would however be careful as you are just getting out of debt, to have an amount of savings set aside, as home ownership can get expensive in the short term some times. and I agree with @Marcus Auerbach to get a side hustle and just put money aside, weather that be delivering Pizza like Dave Ramsey talks about, shoveling snow and mowing lawns, or what ever just to save up extra cash, Real Estate does take a lot of money contrary to what the Guru's are selling.  Best of Luck!

yes the rules change with a lease longer than 12 mo. I dont know exactly, but with severe damage, there may be a loophole. 

I have a rural tenant with chickens and ducks, we require them to include the animals on their renters policy, and and do not allow roosters, (my insurance wont allow roosters) I love chickens, and that my tenants can teach their children about where food comes from, raising animals, and caring for animals.

Hey @Corbin Jones Congrats on your fist step to financial freedom. I highly recommend hiring a local Property Manager being that you are far away, their fee is well worth it. 

Regarding the lease, depends when you close. at this time of year I may have them float month to month till April or May and then do a 12 month lease, this puts you at lease renewal  in spring, a much better time to re rent vs winter. otherwise maybe give them a 3 month and then a 12 month again to get turn over in warmer weather. 

regarding payment if you self manage, there are tons of apps for this, just know as you scale you end up doing a lot of coaching. so by having a manager that has multiple ways to pay there is no reason a tenant doesnt pay unless they are flat out of money.  

as soon as you close you need to get them a welcome letter informing them of where they need to pay rent and to whom, as well as who to contact in case a repair is needed, or a problem arises. Im not sure about Milwaukee, but some communities require you to register rental properties with the city and have a local contact for emergency management, like police, fire dept, ect. 

other suggestions:  Consider local Management, Keep good records, have great insurance, and keep you property in good maintenance. if you are from Wausau, consider investing in the surrounding counties, I have a Great PM up there, most of my stuff is north of Wausau, you can get some nice Rent to values in the right areas, and have a great manager on your team.  Im watching Stevens Point up to Wausau as a point of interest for me to diversify. 

One other thing, Watch your Debt!  as you get long term fixed debt, that is fine, but as soon as you need to go the commercial route really watch the debt to value, its easy to get in trouble as you scale with shorter term loans especially when the market shifts and values drop, have a plan to insulate yourself from this and have adequate equity for the unexpected major repairs.  Good Luck! for reference I currently have 23 locations (26 doors) all over WI

EVICT, you have waited too long already