All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Douglass

Hi Frankie, To be clear: you would buy and let it sit empty for a year, pay the mortgage while paying rent on something else? In my opinion, paying a mortgage on an empty house for a year doesn’t seem like a good investment. Not to mention that not occupying a primary residence purchase is technically mortgage fraud (definitely not mortgage fraud police, but that’s what a lender would tell you). I would try to house hack or at least occupy the property. If you’re going to not occupy it, you may as well rent it out right away, since they’re both technically mortgage fraud. [Not legal advice!!] Good luck!

Originally posted by @Lawrence Rutkowski:

@Stephanie Douglass

What would I do? Living and investing in San Antonio, I would focus on buying multiple 1000-1500 sqft, value-add SFR's in blue collar neighborhoods, preferably in close proximity to one another in the N/NE or N/NW parts of town that will rent between $1,100-$1,400/month. I would leverage hard (or private if you have access to it) money to complete acquisition and a light rehab, and refinance out as soon as allowable, leaving 25% equity in each, rinse and repeat. Never tie up too much of your own money.

What's more important is what is YOUR situation? Do you have a W-2 Job or do you have to get creative? Do you want tackle a rehab of any kind, or manage your own properties? 

Are you looking for cash flow or want to play the appreciation game ya'll do up in Austin?

SFR's with the criteria I mentioned typically provide better returns, in better areas than MFR's. Where is your duplex? What do your numbers look like?

If you need a licensed investor/partner or agent down here. Or just have some questions about the area, don't hesitate to reach out.

Hi Lawrence, 

This is all super valuable from someone living and investing in SA. I went part time at my w2 job once I got my real estate license about a year ago. I own my primary residence in Austin, a SFR rental in Austin, a duplex in Round Rock, and the duplex in San Antonio, which we are about to start rehabbing. ($80k purchase price in Dignowity Hill, 1 mile from the Alamo, $20k rehab, used private money and will refi out in 6 months, $1600 potential rent after rehab).

I'm looking for monthly cashflow so that I can completely quit my w2 job and focus on BRRRRing/investing. I've done a lot of the work myself on rehabs, but for this SA duplex, I'm looking to contract a lot of it out. Connections in San Antonio are pretty slim, so if you have any plumbers/electricians/handymen in the area, that would be greatly appreciated! 

That's very interesting that SFR yield better returns. It makes sense though, because the price point for SFRs in SA are so so low.

Thanks again for your response! I'm in San Antonio quite a bit these days, and would be happy to connect! 

Originally posted by @Ivan Barratt:

@Stephanie Douglass congrats on the payday. Keep your $$ in the bank and get more education/ideas from advanced real estate books, podcasts, mentors.  The best return will be investing in yourself first! :)

 This is a great reminder that I don't have to invest all the money I have right away! As a young and fairly new investor, I feel such urgency to get my money making money. 

I am ravenously consuming RE podcasts, books and advice from more savvy investors, but I can always learn more. What I'm gathering is that there is no real right answer, and that I'll need to find my own niche/strategy to be a successful investor. 

Originally posted by @Andrew Syrios:

It's really hard to answer such a question. I would probably focus on the BRRRR strategy and try to buy relatively close to home, but there are just so many variables and a lot depends on what you personally want.

I'm looking for monthly cashflow to completely exit my w2 (I'm part time at the moment). BRRRR is what I'm leaning toward, and I do think San Antonio is an emerging market. However, it's super tempting to find a large multifamily that yields lots of cash flow and put $100k down. My money is mostly tied up in that situation though.

Originally posted by @Alex Corral:

I'm in the same situation Stephanie Douglass . I'm using my cash for the BRRRR method on small MFR in the Midwest. Shooting for 13% cap rate +.

That's a great idea. When I think about BRRR I always think SFRs, but MFRs yield so much more cashflow. I could potentially do that in San Antonio.

I will have $150,000 cash this summer from the sale of a single family rental that I bought five years ago and lived in for two years. I’m curious: what would you do? What market would you invest in? Would you buy a couple different properties, use it to start BRRRing properties, or buy a multi family? 25% down on something? I live in Austin, but I’m open to investing in better markets. I just bought a duplex in San Antonio with partners. Midwest? Thanks for your input! Stephanie

@Shawn Q. Thank you!! Thank is so helpful. I've been doing research on IRAs and I think you're right. Since my IRA is pretty young, I won't have much earnings (as is apparent by my sad quarter)

TRA is definitely a crazy penalty, but rolling it over is a great idea. 

Thanks so much!! 

Hi Bigger Pockets! 

I have about $6k in a Roth IRA. I just looked at my quarterly statement and I made $43 this quarter..... can anyone shed some light on cashing out an IRA.

I also have about $20k in my teacher retirement account. I'm phasing out of teaching and have gone part time this year thanks to my real estate income. This cash out is a higher percentage, penalty, but I can ultimately get a higher return. 

Thoughts or insights? 

Thanks!

@Joe Scaparra I just use Craigslist to market. It’s a 2/1 and I’m getting $1590/month. Good to know I can cash out refinance on my rental! I might look more into that.

@Andrew oh! Who is your lender?