All Forum Posts by: Sean Lambert

I'm trying to grow, so cash flow goes into a reinvest bucket.

I use Excel to track income and expenses for rentala and just format it like the schedule E. I also use Excel to assess any potential purposes. It’s a great analysis tool. It’s probably not pretty, but it’s very flexible and I’m very comfy working in Excel.

Don't waste your time trying to get it reassessed by the county.

Put together a list of all of the improvements you made to the property and give it to your realtor, so the improvements can be included in the listing.  

@Aninze A. I 100% agree.

You can also work with a mortgage broker, who should be able to find a lender for you that will offer you a HELOC.

You would be responsible for taxes and insurance, just like if you bought the home from someone else and the bank carried the note.

Why not make the offer easier to understand?  Pay 20% down and then the remaining 80% is paid monthly at x% interest rate amortized over 30 years with a balloon payment in x number of years for the balance.  

You can negotiate over the % down, interest rate and the number of years for the balloon payment.

The annual payments you're describing make the deal sound too complicated.

I think a truck would be helpful, but I manage to haul quite a bit of stuff in my old 2007 Ford Focus.   

Like others suggested, get the rental and then see if you need one.  If you do need one, buy a cheap one.

@Victoria S. Look for cash flow. In my opinion, value and appreciation (and tax writeoffs) are the gravy.

@Terry Lao I disagree. People can succeed without others “failing”. I can purchase a house from someone that is tired of owning it. They make some money and get rid of the headache. I purchase the property, fix it up and sell/rent/live in it. It’s a win/win for both of us. I succeeded because I bought a property and added value to it to improve the value. The seller succeeded by getting rid of a headache.

Please don't spend $15k on a mentor.  

Read a lot, listen a lot, network, buy something and learn firsthand.  Start small and don't overextend.  

Good luck.