All Forum Posts by: Thomas Mark

I live in Columbia, SC and have two rentals in Greensboro, NC. Looking to buy a primary residence within the next two years and make my current home a rental.

@Joe Fairless

For financing I used a investment loan with 20% down. I learned it is best to use other peoples money ;)

@John K. This is a buy and hold for me. During the inspection I had a contractor come along with me to see how much work needed to be done. I put away 15K just in case for some unforeseen issues, and worst case scenario I could cash out refinance the property. The appraisal in its current condition is 85K so I have some room wiggle if needed.

@George P.

 Thanks. My 3rd will be my primary residence. The family needs a little more room so I am looking for a primary residence and will rent out my current home.

This is a great feeling to close on my second property! It is a foreclosure and will cost 10K to fix up. The comps for the area are between 90-100k and bought the foreclosed townhome for 67K! After closing my first priority is fixing it up and putting it on the market! Thank you BP! You guys have been a big help and the Podcast have been so valuable!

@Ashley Jackson

Welcome! This a great site and I am a resident of Columbia. Use us (BP) for anything you need. This place is a repository of real estate knowledge.

Congrats! Welcome to BP. Stay active on the site, the more active you are the more deals you can find and help you will find! Good Luck!

@Devang Patel

In the past I have maxed out my 401k to the IRS limit. Once I got serious about real estate reduced my contribution company match so I don't leave free money on the table. With my recent SFH investment I withdrew money from an IRA to finance the deal. Now many people will frown at this and say it is stupid because of the tax penalty along with having to pay income taxes on the withdrawal amount. Wells Fargo has a early withdrawal calculater and will show you how much your money will be worth in 30 years if you left it in the market vs pulling the money out. Everytime I made more on real estate investments vs leaving my money in an IRA. Now, I do believe you should diversfy your retirement portfolio with real estate, stocks, mutual funds, and etc.

For me, I like the idea of cash flow from rentals and not relying on the 4% retirement experts say you should pull out of your 401k/IRA each year during retirement. Markets can change drastically, but people will always need a place to stay no matter how bad the stock market is.

Just my two cents. 

@Frederick Jackson

Welcome to BP. What type of properties are you looking for in Greensboro? I have a SFH in townhome in Whitsett and about to close on a townhome in Greensboro.

@Leonard L.

Greetings. As you already know BP is a huge repository of Real Estate knowledge, and use this knowledge to acheive your goals. Good Luck on your journey!

@Henri Meli

I have one property in Greensboro, and the other one in Whitsett which is just east of Greensboro. Whitsett is a town that many folks are moving to because it is half-way in between Greensboro and Burlington. Several sub-divisions are being built and more are planned. Whitsett & Greensboro are great areas from rentals!

Prosper.com & Lendingclub are great ways to raise capital for a down payment.  Ensure you have money to cover your payments and depending on your credit rating the interest rate can be quite high. Just like @Vida Novac stated do whatever it takes to get started  and make sure you do your due dligence.