All Forum Posts by: Soh Tanaka

The way I look at this is that this is pretty much the same as just using your monthly left over money towards the principal. The math will be different depending on the size of the HELOC and the monthly cash flow.

The benefit of HELOC is you can apply large amount of money first, instead of putting small amount of money month after month, which is the way you have to do if you don't have HELOC. The downsize is that you have to pay interest. People talk about the benefit of HELOC, which is you can access it again after you paid it back, but you can just pay down the principal with your extra money every month, and if you need some cash, just set up a HELOC and use it only if you need it. This way, you are only paying the HELOC interest when you need it.

I know successful real estate investors who like to pay off mortgages or buy houses cash, but at the end of the day, strictly financially speaking, it makes sense to use the extra money to buy more properties than paying down the principal. 

I used Bear Metal Welding & Estrada Fence in Evanston (BP doesn't allow me to post the phone number, but you can google it) in the past. I can't say for sure they'll do business in Chicago, but I think it's worth a couple of calls. 

Soh

So I just came back from my short trip to Indianapolis yesterday. I ended up seeing 8 houses, some of them at the west side of the loop 465, middle of the loop, and finally the east side of the loop.

I know a lot of people buy houses without looking, but the more I do this kind of trips, the more I appreciate the importance of actually seeing the houses, even when I just drive by the target houses. 

One thing I like to do is to get out of the car, knock on the neighbor's door and ask about the area. I got a very good feel of the area by doing that. 

Now it's time for me to narrow down the list of the houses I saw. At that point, I'm sure I can use your help! Thanks in advance.

Soh

Thanks all. I'm planning to head over to Indianapolis today to see a few properties. I'll update once I come back. 

@Matthew Schroeder - That is what I was discussing with my wife. Thanks!

Hello,

I'm potentially looking to purchase a turn-key property a few miles East of Hwy 465 along Hwy 70. If you have any though on that area, I would really appreciated. This is the first time I'm considering purchasing one in Indianapolis, and my knowledge is limited. 

Thanks,

Soh

@Daniel Guas I don't paint, but the painter that I use buys ProMar mentioned above. I'm happy with the result. 

It's hard to get good information about series LLC. I run into this website, and it explains a lot of questions I had pretty well. The information is a few years old, but I think they still apply now. Obviously, use caution using the information in the website.

https://www.taxschool.illinois.edu/PDF/2012IllinoisLLCsQA.pdf 

I had good experience with these attorneys, Robert and Dean. http://www.gallaw.com/index.html

I am looking for a lender or a bank that offers 20% (instead of 25%) down for an investment property, even to those who already owns multiple investment properties (4 or more) with mortgages. Thank you.