All Forum Posts by: Stacey Agustin

Hey Marlo,

Did you end up finding a hard money lender in Hawaii? I'm currently searching for one now and would love to hear who you ended up going with!

Aloha John, thanks for sharing! Congratulations! Are you part of any real estate groups on oahu? I grew up there and currently live and invest in LA. I'm looking to move back home next month and would love to get involved with other like minded people.

Hey Tyler, I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Mobile homes can absolutely be a lucrative investment. Like you mentioned, there are lot fees that need to be paid monthly. This cost is going to be the bulk of your monthly payments for mobile homes in parks. Just like any other investment, if you take into account all your costs and buy at the right price, you can still make a decent profit. With mobile homes, purchasing at a price where the numbers make sense will get you a nice profit. There are multiple strategies that you can use on mobile homes to achieve your real estate investing goals. 

@Brit F. I appreciate your thorough response! I probably should have mentioned that the company I work for doesn't provide any sort of match. The retirement plan they provide isn't traditional. The way it works is the Board decides each year how much money they want to contribute to the "Plan," as they call it. From there, I'm not completely vested in that money until 6 years of being with the company. On the side, I can contribute pretax dollars, of which I would be completely vested. 

I would have to completely agree with you on the 401k's being too restrictive and returns not justifying the risk. I feel like 20-something y/o's are being dupped into it as well, and want to avoid that regret of throwing money in there just because every traditional W-2 employee thinks it's the holy grail for retirement.

The reason why I leaned towards not using their plan is:

- I plan on retiring by 40 and imagine there's a big penalty for taking money out before 60. Additionally, I want to continually grow my income after retirement, which would put me in a higher tax bracket.

- They don't match and the amount of money they contribute is completely out of my control.

- Whether I contribute or not, they contribute to the plan allowing that nest egg to grow. 

- Most importantly, I've opened up and maxed out a Roth IRA every year since 18 y/o, which has been open for about 5 years now and plan on doing that till 65. I figured that could be my dip in the stock market and diversifying my assets.

Thank you everyone for your responses! 

I am currently saving up money for a down payment on my first investment property. I plan to use real estate investing as my primary retirement nest egg and as cash flow to sustain me after retirement. I just graduated college and started full-time as an engineer, which allows me to save a good amount of money for a down payment. I have the opportunity to start investing in my 401(k) through my employer. Should I even consider putting money into my 401(k) or use that money to save up for my down payment? 

I'm currently leaning towards skipping the 401(k) all together. Any thoughts from people getting started and experienced investors would be appreciated!