All Forum Posts by: Trevor Lowe

No problem, I am right there with you! This is a part time gig for me as well. Its always good to speak to someone in LE who shares the same RE interests. Its tough to be in LE right now. I think of real-estate investing as my decompression time from all the nutjobs we have to deal with on a daily basis. Death investigations suck btw! I have worked many drownings and boat accident reconstructions. I had thought about getting my RE license but I just can't seem to find the time. I have to many irons in the fire I guess you could say. As for the BRRRR method. I'm about to close on a deal in 2 weeks that I plan on using the BRRRR method for.

@Sean Gibson

Sean, I'm also in LE and started the investing game not to long ago.  I would agree with a couple of the guys in the prior threads about buy and holds.  It seems if you can find a good deal right now, appreciation itself is the investment strategy.  I have been acquiring most of my deals off market by driving for dollars.  The market up here in KY is crazy right now, I can imagine its the same for you.  I talk real-estate investing with everyone I know and meet and that in itself has brought about new deals.  

As for your question about refinance.  I don't think you will ever have an issue as long as you stick by the 70% rule and know your rents.   All in at 70% or lower of what rental investment is currently worth is what I live by.  This way if the housing market does get hit, I don't get hit as bad with it.  It's all a gamble but I like my odds in real-estate and not with the casino. 

People will always need a place to live and there is a huge housing shortage here in KY.  I do agree, its a little to good to be true right now with housing prices.  I think the South Eastern part of the United States is trying to catch up to the Western half as far as housing goes.  

Have a good one, Stay safe. 

@Tracy Schultz

I've been there man. Investing in real estate with a spouse can be intimidating for them.  I have had the same issues in convincing my wife that it was a good idea.  I had to sit down with her and write out the numbers on a sheet of paper for her to understand its a good idea to invest in rentals.  It's different for me because I've been around the investing game for a long time but I just got started not to long ago.  She is finally on board with the investing FINALLY.  It takes time but I would advise you to make it fun for her and start figuring deals on the fly with her.  One day she might tell you to buy one. 

Have a good one man. 

Hey guys and girls,  Does anyone on here have any experience with this in your city or town.  I have done some research in regards to the car rental business and it seems it could be a good investment that could pay your vehicle off quickly.  The vehicle industry is very high right now as far as purchase price goes.  Your typical car payment being around 400-500 dollars a month for a nice truck or car.   Car rentals are hard to find as well.  I live in Bowling Green, Kentucky and it seems you can't find a truck to rent without it being very expensive.  I'm just looking at diversifying my income and wanted to see if any of you had taken a try at this and how it is going for you.

Thanks,  Have a great day

@Greg Loomis

Greg,  If your keeping the property for a rental then I would keep the unit until it causes problems enough to the extent of the cost to buy a new one.  If its working correctly,  it could save you thousands for the next couple years.  But if its having repetitive issues and your sinking money into it left in right then I would make the executive decision to buy a new unit.  The time and money you invest into fixing it month to month you could have saved in buying a new unit.  My advice,  Let it ride until it becomes a problem beyond repairs.  

@Sokhna Wade

Hey Sokhna,  I can relate very much to the apprehensive investing mindset.  It can be scary to buy your first deal.  I advise to run the numbers more than once, 2-3 times even for verification that the deal works.  Bigger pockets has calculators that can provide a estimate on what kind of cashflow you can potentially bring in off a deal.  Make sure you are accurate with your determinations after all you are the one providing the numbers.

You are doing all things correctly from what it sounds like.  Keep lengthen your knowledge on rental property investing and it can only benefit you in in the future for when you do find a deal that fits your criteria.  

To answer your question in regards to what steps did I take to start my investing career.  I currently work a job that requires me to drive a lot and on my lunch breaks, I use the time to actively observe for houses could possibly fit my criteria and I simply stop and ask or leave a letter if the owner would be willing to sale it.  From there , I go to the next one.  Its not a great approach but one that has worked for me (2- 300) times.  You might think that's  a little much but to me that's 800$ in cash flow for the rest of my life.  All I am saying is, this is not a get rich quick scheme and it takes time.  On those 300 houses, I ran the number every single time whether the owner was willing to sale or not.  Patience is key to this investing game but when you find something that fits your criteria and is up for sale.  Do yourself a favor and jump out of that comfort zone and invest. 

Great Resources- Family, friends, co-workers and neighbors.  You would be surprised the amount of deals that can come from those people. 
 

Have a great day. Best of luck to you

@ wade sikkink 

@Jim Marks

I second that.  Maybe start looking for deals in other nearby markets.  I was stuck in that same mindset for close to a year and I finally made the choice to expand my reach and start investing 30 miles away from the hot zone. The area I live in is hard to invest in at the moment because there is nothing out there and if something does hit the market its gone.  I understand where you are coming from and I'm sure majority of people on here are having the same issue.  Off market deals are hard to come by but they are out there. Talk to family, friends, neighbors about what it is your are trying to accomplish and you will be surprised at what you find out. #just now finding out that this post is from 8 Years ago. Hope you have done well for yourself.

Best of luck to you Jim.

@Wes Evans  It will not affect my ability to get the loan.  I've built a decent reputation with my loan officer and have equity built up in other property's that he has helped me with.  Those are other sources I could pull from but leave as last resort.  I guess I'm a little behind the credit card wagon.   I haven't checked into that area and appreciate the information.  That sounds like a great source for my rehab costs.  Do you know what credit card company's offer that? 

 @Andrew Kougl

Maybe I didn't explain this well enough, I have the money in my personal accounts to use as my DP. My question is do I use my line of credit for the DP or do I use my personal funds for DP and just use my HELOC on repair costs. It will be a conventional loan with 20% down. Also, very interest in the idea of syndication but is that used very often on smaller deals like this?

@Ronald Allen Barney

Thank you, As far as meat left on the bone. I think we are in good shape as the interest on the HELOC will not amount to very much. My initial plan was to use the HELOC as DP and use HELOC for rehab costs. I would have a Conventional loan close to 325$ and HELOC interest under 100$ to make total payment at around 425 w/o taxes and insurance. In 6 months time, I will have remodeled the house and should be able to pull back out my initial investment and restore my HELOC Line.

Hey guys and girls, Game warden from Kentucky seeking some advice for a rental property I have under contract. What do you think my best option is for coming up with the Down payment for this property? I have a HELOC on my primary residence for 4% at 51,000 and the purchase price for the rental I have under contract is 77,500 . I am trying my best to not reach in my checking or saving for the DP but I also know that if I pull from my HELOC for the DP I will be paying out interest. My plan is to put close to 10,000$ in the rental and refinance in 6 months to a year to pull out cash to pay myself back. I just want to know what your opinions are and what you would do in this situation.