All Forum Posts by: Wes Butler

Post dated checks are ill-advised. He could cash early and your bank has NO obligation to honor the date. Ask your bank if you don't believe me. if you do it and it bounces then you have just committed fraud.

I used to sell paper. Working on the buy-side sounds intriguing, but I am generally the lone wolf type, especially when venturing into something new. I need to wrap my brain around it before I consider OPM, and as I stated above, my globe trotting meandering has drained my savings. I'm starting at almost zero, so it will be a bit before I can consider something like buying distressed paper.

 @Jayme Jahns,

Good evening! I am reading this thread with rapt interest! Thank you for reaching out for advice. I find it very informative for myself. I am still reading, and haven't gotten to the more recent stuff (this post of yours is 3 days old), but I wanted to comment. 

I am a newbie to real estate investing, but not to financial matters. I have a master's degree in finance, several years of financial management, and I am working on my cpa license. 

This analogy might help you and others reading this thread. Cash flow real estate investing is like buying blue chip stocks that pay dividends. You want the dividend check, not necessarily the appreciation of the stock. If you leverage your investment (like getting a mortgage) then you are essentially using other people's money, paying them for the use of their money, and keeping the rest for yourself. This increases the return on your investment. Flipping is a different strategy. Instead of buying blue chip stocks, you go for the big play, and don't pay attention to dividends, since you won't hold the stocks for very long (think about Jim Cramer on Mad Money).

Of course, you can mix the 2 strategies together, but they are not the same thing. Your original post implies you are uncertain about which strategy to rely upon (cash flow or appreciation). The housing market has ups and downs, too -- just like the stock market. A lot of advice on here is centering on you choosing which strategy works for you. Remember 2008? Lehman Brothers -- a big hedge fund that used the big play strategy -- used other people's money (leverage) to bet on a big play. It went very badly for them. People on this thread are essentially pointing out that a big play (appreciation) could go very badly for you, especially given the fact that your leverage is tied to your home -- your HELOC.

Now, with that being said, my advice is not specific to the real estate market, since I'm a newbie to REI, but I hope it helps you understand your situation.

One final comment: it is my belief that you don't need to hire a financial advisor -- fiduciary or otherwise.  By saying this, I've probably already offended a bunch of people, and I just joined the forum a few days ago! lol. But my point is, if you rely on someone else to tell you how to run a business, then who is really running the business?

 The best thing for you to do is educate yourself, and I recommend you start with the small business development center in your area. here is a link to the Washington sbdc... http://wsbdc.org/training/

In my area, the sbdc has free training on cash flow analysis, tax, investing, financing, and tons of other stuff like this. 

Thanks for reading!

Wes

newbie here... I once flipped a house and, in an effort to build interest, I offered an additional $500 to the closing agent on top of the standard commission. My thinking was that it would encourage the inexperienced and hungry real estate agents to bring in traffic. I believe it worked for me. Not sure if this is allowed in all markets (this was in oklahoma). 

Again, I'm just a newbie.

Wes

Newbie here... I'm trying to get back into real estate after a loooong break. Well, my REI didn't actually launch. I flipped one house with a tidy profit right before the bubble burst in 2008. I got discouraged, then moved on to other things.

I had taken a job overseas and I just got back over a year ago. Due to circumstances that have a long explanation (too long for this post, lol), I had to lease. My lease is now up and I intend on buying an oo home.

I have a small amount of funds I can use toward an owner occupied home, which will free up more of my income for savings which will grow to a sizable amount in a year that I can then use to start REI again. I can sell or rent out the oo home at that time then find myself another one to live in, or, I can find a property I can rent out. I like the first idea better, because (and correct me if I'm wrong) I can get better financing terms if I intend to live in the home, and I have to live somewhere, right?

I have a very strong finance background and I used to dabble in aggressive options investing. I was pretty good at it, but the ROI in real estate is just as attractive, if not better. Besides, options investing requires a lot of active attention (at least my methods did), and I found myself spending a good chunk of my day monitoring my investments and making adjustments. This took time away from my day job, and I found it to be too time consuming to continue. I was successful, but my portfolio wasn't large enough to reach "critical mass" where I could quit my day job.

As all of you know, life has a way of living itself, and I found much enjoyment in carving out a meandering path in my life, rather than a straight line. Some of that meandering has taken me to exotic locales overseas where I lived and worked with my family for a time. 

No regrets -- none at all -- but I'm in my mid forties, and I have decided my meandering is over, and it is time to build a cash flow empire of my own. Of course, meandering hasn't been cheap, so I find myself starting at the bottom again. Oh well, life's a journey!

Wes

Newbie here... I'm trying to get back into real estate after a loooong break. Well, my REI didn't actually launch. I flipped one house with a tidy profit right before the bubble burst in 2008. I got discouraged, then moved on to other things.

I had taken a job overseas and I just got back over a year ago. Due to circumstances that have a long explanation (too long for this post, lol), I had to lease. My lease is now up and I intend on buying an oo home.

I have a small amount of funds I can use toward an owner occupied home, which will free up more of my income for savings which will grow to a sizable amount in a year that I can then use to start REI again. I might even rent out the oo home at that time and find myself another one to live in.

Anyway, my question for the forum is this: I can use my money for a down payment, but I stumbled across this website: http://housingnm.org/

They have grants (not to be paid back) for up to 3% down payment assistance, and I think I qualify. I know I will live in the home for at least a year. This would make my ROI nearly infinite ($500 required out of pocket) when I sell or rent it after my year living in it.

Has anyone taken advantage of this? Pros? Cons? I don't want to find myself in a situation where I say to myself, "I didn't think of that."

I did a forum search on here, but couldn't find anything. If I overlooked it, then please point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

Wes