All Forum Posts by: Tchaka Owen

Quote from @Jay Warner:

Career moves are moving my family to Europe for a few years. We purchased our home in 2019 and have an estimate ~$150,000 in equity in the home today. Based upon current rent estimates from local PMs we could expect around $1k per month cash flow if we were to rent the home. 

No one can see into the future, my concern is whether or not I should risk losing the equity in the home ($475k single family home) if there is a recession or housing downturn during these years. 

Ideally I planned to utilize the equity to begin my investor journey, so cashing out now could secure this but we would obviously no longer own the asset. 

Any advice? 

Yes. Rent it and enjoy Europe.
1. There's a chance you will lose equity. So what if you do? No one can predict the future and if you move that to other properties, who is to say those don't drop. What's the chance of it dropping $150k of value? My guess is that it's quite unlikely.
2. There's a chance the home will appreciate during those few years. Is that a problem?
3. The tenants will be paying down your mortgage for several years. Nice!
4. You'll be getting cashflow. Whether it's $1000/mo or merely $500/mo, it's still nice.

Markets go up and down, that's the norm. As an FYI, my folks haven't lived in the US in 4 decades. Upon leaving one time they bought a TH and held it for a while, paid it off in 11 years and had cashflow for a long time (eventually sold). 

My input: get a HELOC on it (while still owner-occupied) and go enjoy Europe. 

Tchaka

Quote from @Jim K.:

Quote from @Eugene Weixel:

Is Morris presence in Portugal thwarting the New Jersey lawsuits?

That seems to be the main reason he left. It's really hard to enforce the outcomes of US civil lawsuits in the EU.

@James Wise, a long-term BiggerPockets user, was sued for $7.2M by Clayton Morris for reporting on Morris on his YouTube channel. He's the right guy to talk to about this.

The channel is called HoltonWiseTV.  You would want to start with searching on YouTube for: "Clayton Morris Loses $7 Million Lawsuit"

 He didn't realize that @James Wise had his ish together and got a big wake up call. The level of detail and info that James had was off the charts. The investing world was better because of James.

Quote from @Ronda Henderson:

Quote from @Bud Gaffney:

@Ronda Henderson rent it for top dollar and keep it rolling :)

That was our thought process when we purchased the house lol, the problem is I'm not seeing the leads to rent out the property. 

 Hire a good real estate agent and let him/her do the work for you.

Quote from @Ethan Kramer:

Does anyone have experience with STR in Cocoa Beach? It seems like a safe bet to me considering that it is the closest beach to Orlando and the largest cruise port in Cape Canaveral along with world-class attractions but would love to hear other people's experience and/or knowledge, so we can make a more informed decision

If we're being picky, Cape Canaveral is the closest to Orlando. :-)

Based on the research I've done so far, Cocoa Beach is the preferable place for STR (note: they refer to anything 30 days or less as "vacation rentals") because they have very few restrictions. That said, you will want to purchase a SFH because most condos have their own restrictions. You'll frequently see a 30- or 90-day minimum for rentals. Obviously, SFHs don't have those restrictions.

@Justin Knox - the numbers need a little adjusting; it's very important that the input is as accurate as possible and you make your decision based on what comes out. Too often newbies want a deal so badly, they massage the number to make the deal work. Here are a few changes:

1. As mentioned by @Nathan Grabau, 6% is low. I adjusted to 7%

2. Mgmt was adjusted from 7% to 8%. Either self-manage or pay a good company to do it. Don't try to skimp, the service you get will reflect that. 8%-10% is the going rate for good places.

3. Water/sewer & garbage will not be $65 for a duplex. It will either be $0 or $180ish - depending on who pays.

4. New construction means everything is new (awesome), however 2% and 4% for maintenance and CapEx seems low. 4%+4% is ok to start, but 6% total is skimping.

In the end, the numbers still work. They're just not as juicy as per your calculations. Good luck!

Tchaka

@Reagan Clo Good job finding this!! Most of Palm Bay (at least the newer portions) do not have duplexes. This is a great addition to your portfolio.

Tchaka

Quote from @Erin Estes:

My wife and I eloped 2 summers ago and stayed at an AirB&B in Kona (I'd passed through Kona a decade ago and always wanted to spend time on TBI). We were up on a hill and had an incredible view of the water - and amazing moonsets! Drove all over the island and enjoyed every part. A schoolmate lives in Hilo so we met her for lunch one day. The problem with buying is that prices have gone up significantly. It's tech money coming from Seattle and California that's been the cause of it. A home with a view will cost about $900k to start (in Kona). That makes it tough for most to enter. 

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Tchaka Owen:

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Ryan Rock:

I have been living in Eastern Europe for the last 3 years. I had a couple STRs in the Tahoe area a few years back. They did great. I'm not as young as I used to be and decided I don't want to shovel snow anymore. Tahoe area can get feet of snow in a day or two multiple times per season. 

When I return to the US, I plan to go full time in an RV, just me and my dog. I would like to buy a couple of STRs. Maybe one in Arizona and another in Oregon. About the only thing I dislike more than shoveling snow is heat and humidity. I never thought I would be interested in Arizona but now I'm seeing some appeal for the winter months. If I had an escape route for when it starts to get hot in late May, or early February or whatever, I could get out of town. I could use my STRs when I'm there, or not even very much. A bonus would be having a place to park my RV that would not disrupt guests. 

I've got 350 liquid and would plan to pay cash. I've looked at Lake Havasu and Brookings, among others. LHC has tome condos with long parking spaces for boats. Brookings is more rural so RV parking might be easier. I think I'll be avoiding California but wouldn't rule it out entirely. I was born in LA and lived all my life in the Sacramento area, so it's home.

Just kicking around ideas and looking for input.

 North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia are good areas.

 Except for the snow part.

 These are rarely get get snow. Even the mountains of TN don't get that much.

This Virginian moved to Florida 18 years ago because of cold and snow. Can't speak for TN, we get enough snow to this day in Virginia. 

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Ryan Rock:

I have been living in Eastern Europe for the last 3 years. I had a couple STRs in the Tahoe area a few years back. They did great. I'm not as young as I used to be and decided I don't want to shovel snow anymore. Tahoe area can get feet of snow in a day or two multiple times per season. 

When I return to the US, I plan to go full time in an RV, just me and my dog. I would like to buy a couple of STRs. Maybe one in Arizona and another in Oregon. About the only thing I dislike more than shoveling snow is heat and humidity. I never thought I would be interested in Arizona but now I'm seeing some appeal for the winter months. If I had an escape route for when it starts to get hot in late May, or early February or whatever, I could get out of town. I could use my STRs when I'm there, or not even very much. A bonus would be having a place to park my RV that would not disrupt guests. 

I've got 350 liquid and would plan to pay cash. I've looked at Lake Havasu and Brookings, among others. LHC has tome condos with long parking spaces for boats. Brookings is more rural so RV parking might be easier. I think I'll be avoiding California but wouldn't rule it out entirely. I was born in LA and lived all my life in the Sacramento area, so it's home.

Just kicking around ideas and looking for input.

 North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia are good areas.

 Except for the snow part.

@Greg Scott - thank you! Avg home price in Austin is over a half-mil and it's been near tops of articles discussing the most over-inflated markets in the US. Naptown had great deals until about 2 or 3 years ago, now you're lucky to get 'singles'. Can't speak for Birmingham, KC or Atlanta though.

@Gaurav Mehta - I'm going to buck the trend in this thread and NOT promote my home area. What @Frank Mongiello wrote is accurate about Brevard, I just don't want you here until I've sold to all my clients. :-)
Cleveland and Colombus are worth checking out, Oklahoma City too. I don't know the landlord-tenant laws of PA, if they're ok, you could consider Philly. For FL, possibly Jax. 

With $300k to spend, it may be worth spreading that over 2 or 3 properties. Good luck!

Tchaka Owen