All Forum Posts by: Tom Jones

Yes I found that I learned a lot more from the two bigger picket books I read as far as specifics are concerned. Although last night I read another chpt and I liked what he talked about as far as making mistakes and learning from them. Of courae everybody knows that already, but in this specific circumstance, Im wondering if Im getting analysis paralysis. Maybe I just need to jump in and try to swim.

I have been reading the Rich Dad Investing book, and although I agree with most of what he says, I've found that I'm 200 pages in and I haven't really learned anything new about investing, per se. I was hoping to find some concrete information about steps that I can take towards acquiring assets and investments, but after getting half way through the book, I wonder if the next 200 pages is going to be a waste of my time. 

I've saved 25k that I want to invest in an asset, but I just don't trust the stock market. I pulled out after making 20k after the crash, and I've been waiting for the next crash that never came.

I was thinking about saving another 25k so I had 50k to invest in a triple decker rental in Worc, but everyone I've spoken with has nightmare stories, so that's not looking too appealing. 

I want a passive income stream, but I'm not having much luck finding one. Any suggestions?

Thanks Ann! You're right. I do need to whittle down some options.

Hi Steve - Yes, I've been meaning to go to a Mass Landlords meeting. I think it would be very helpful to get an idea of what other people are doing in Mass.

I think I would need to self-manage at first, because I don't think I'd be able to afford help, and I also think self-managing would help me to learn the ins and outs of REI. There will probably be a pretty steep learning curve, and if I have someone else manage it, I'd be missing out on a lot RE lessons, I suppose. Also, if I don't do it myself, down the road I wouldn't be able to necessarily tell if a RE manager was doing a good job, unless I've done the same job that that person is doing.

How much net profit per month do you think a 3 decker could realistically bring in? Like 300 per month? I'm not sure how much rents generally are for those units.

Great. Thanks all! Maybe I can do this.

I was considering investing in a property around the Assumption area as well. I actually went to school there as well as UMass. I did a little research and it seemed like, although there are some students who live off campus, for the most part, Assumption students mainly seem to be on campus. 

I'm not intimately familiar with Worcester, and which areas are good vs bad. I'm sure if I researched it a bit more I could figure out good neighborhoods to rent from. I suppose the WPI area would be another thing to consider.

My friend who I used to work with said that he purchased tenement 3 decker houses and he did really well doing this. I know there's a landlording club in Worcester. I have been dragging my feet about attending, but I don't know why. I should probably just go and meet some people who landlord in reality and pick there brains a bit about how they manage their REI properties.

Hi Charlie, 

Yes, that was another possible avenue I was considering. I went to school at UMass Amherst, so I was thinking that perhaps purchasing a rental property for students might be a good way to go. I remember I rented in college and I went through this organization called Kamins, I believe. I never saw the owner of the property once. Kamins handled all the business side of things. It was in 2005 and each of my roomates (3 of them) were paying something like 350 a month. That's only 12,600 a year. Not a lot of passive income on that, when you consider what the mortgage would be.

Ideally, what I'd like is to be able to get something like 200 dollars passive income per week, so that I could quit my day job, and start my own woodworking company. I don't think I'd be able to make it without some passive income coming in. I would make money from the woodworking company eventually, but I'd need some passive income to sustain myself while I waited to make a profit from the company.

200 dollars per week is 9600 per year. I wonder how many single family homes or 3 deckers I'd need to achieve that level of passive income. Probably quite a few. 

If the house I was renting was 150k, and I had a 30 year mortgage on it, then I'd be looking at 705 per month. I'd need to put aside some amount for expenses, and insurance, and repairs, so say 200 per month, so I'd be receiving 1050 per month, so I'd be making 100 dollars passive income per month. Haha. I guess that isn't going to cut it. :-)

Well, I'd need 8 SFHs to pull in 200 per month. So that's why triple deckers seemed more attractive. More cash flow. If I could purchase a triple decker where frat row used to be, then I might be able to net some cash flow.

Craig, yes, I'd probably just buy and hold. I don't think I'd be interested in flipping.

Ya, I guess I'm just not sure which avenue is the best to take. Like, what did you do when you first started out? Did you just get like a single family? I guess that would be the safe way to go, but if I'm going to put in the energy and time to do this, I'd like to maximize the profit if possible. If I go through with this and loose money, I'll probably get discouraged and not be able to continue buying more and more properties, like I'd want to. So, maybe buying a 3 decker is the way to go. Maybe just not in Worcester. Somewhere a little safer. But safer probably means more $$.  Yes.. I guess this must be the squirrel effect. haha.

So turnkey is like purchasing a house that is brand new and doesn't need work? I'll look up Clayton and Jimmy. Thanks!

Hello, 

I am totally new to purchasing real estate. I would like to purchase an asset by August of 2018, but I have no idea what to purchase, and how to go about planning for the purchase.

I've read two bigger pocket books, and some Rich Dad, Poor Dad books, but after reading the Bigger Pocket books, I became overwhelmed, and I'm not sure I'll have the time and energy to do all of this, because I have a full time job.

My plan originally was to work for 2 years, save up 60k by August of 2018, and then after I got 2 years of employment under my belt I'd be eligible for an FHA loan, and then I could buy a 3 family tenement house in Worcester MA. Then I started wondering if Worcester was really the best place to invest because it's kind of a sketchy area. Then I started wondering if maybe there were better assets to purchase besides rentals. Maybe instead of renting to families, I could rent to businesses or something along those lines. Maybe renting a garage out to an autobody shop would be better? Or renting to elderly communities?

I think I'm kind of suffering from analysis paralysis. I'm not sure what the best thing to do is. My goal is to purchase an asset by August of 2018, and I'm on schedule to save 60k by then, but I'm just not sure what to purchase. Ideally, I'd like the something with the least hassle, and most financial benefit. I even started to wonder if maybe I should wait for the stock market to crash again, and then just put money into the stock market when there's "blood in the streets". But I don't know. If there's anyone else on the forum who has been in a similar situation, I'd love to hear some of your been there, done that wisdom. Thanks!

Also, I was wondering if Massachusetts is really the best place to invest in. I know renting laws in MA are not friendly to landlords, and they always favor the renter. But then I don't know if I'd be getting in over my head if I rented out of state.

I also don't know if 60k is enough capital to begin investing. Maybe I should save up more?

Hi Ryan, That's cool that you're a student at Assumption. I went to Assumption for my first year of college. Do you know where students generally choose to rent if they choose to live off campus?

So, I was thinking about buying a 3 decker tenament house. I would have to interview the people who would be interested in renting the unit. I guess during that first meeting you'd be able to set the tone of a business-type relationship. 

But once they move in, I guess it depends on the personality. So, like say they're interested in things that you're interested in. For instance, I'm interested in fly fishing. So, the guy who's renting the upstairs apartment is also interested in fly fishing. One thing leads to another, and you start going out fishing together. Then that guy sort of becomes your friend. However, he then starts having wild parties upstairs. The tenant on the third floor complains about the noise. Then all of a sudden you have to be the bad guy and tell them that he needs to break up the party. Well, actually I could deal with that scenario I guess.

I don't know. Life is more complicated then that type of scenario. Weird intricate social situations arise, and when you know people it's a bit more difficult to lay down the law, then if they're strictly a tenant.

Well, you guys are walking the walk. What's the most difficult social situations that have arisen? I'm sure there must have been things that were socially difficult to deal with, right?