All Forum Posts by: William Joel Idleman

Brandon - a 457 plan is a nice secret and not easy to access because you have to be working for the gov or a not for profit to qualify for one, last time I checked.  Things change quickly these days.  According to my research you can withdrawal from a 457 without the 10% penalty at any age.  However, be mindful that you will need to pay taxes on that money as earned income.  So if you made $50k and withdrew $20k, then you're income in $70k for the year and you'll be taxed appropriately.  I provided an investopedia link below.  I've found that they are generally pretty accurate.

Are 457 Plan Withdrawals Taxable? (investopedia.com)

The FAFSA will determine what, if any, financial aid your children will receive.  You should never make a decision to not invest in yourself or your future for fear of not receiving government help.  With one stroke of a pen, all that government aid is gone.  Most likely your rental property income will be classified as passive income.  Your property expenses and depreciation may offset your entire rental property income, showing a net loss even though you had positive cash flow.  I have several clients who have college savings/investment accounts for their kids.  I would also recommend looking at purchasing property where your kids are going to college and house hacking through them.  I had several of my friends' parents do that and it worked out pretty well for them.

Hey Justin, I'm finishing my EA exam now and combined tax preparing/planning with my financial planning business.  I think it depends on the level of service you need as to what type of advisor you're needing.  Before I went independent I went to work for a CPA that specialized in farms and real estate investing for two years.  After the first year, I realized that I also need to be investing in real estate not just the stock market.  So the first thing I would want out of a tax preparer or accountant is someone who also invests in real estate.  The second thing I would want, is someone who enjoys it.  I enjoy it.  That's why I listen to the podcasts.  That's why I'm on here answering you.  That's why I pick up every book I can find about real estate.  If a person enjoys real estate and taxes, then it's really easy to stay up to date on the changing tax laws.  Third, is experience.  This varies depending on the person.  People may say they want someone with 5 or 10 years of experience, or may go off of google reviews.  That's definitely one way to do it.  Experience matters but not solely in years.  Someone could be working at a CPA office for 5+ years and never have filed a schedule E.  It's important to find out their level of experience but not just the total time.  Last, I will do business with someone who has less experience if they pick up the phone, or call me back within a timely manner, every time I call.  I highly value that level of service.

I would start with these questions for yourself;
What all do you want your tax planner/accountant to do?
How hands on would you like to be?

I would as the tax pro these questions;
I need "X" services.  How many clients have you served for those specific services?
How many properties do you own?
What is your real estate strategy?
What is your tax strategy with real estate?
How long does it normally take you to respond to an email or a call?

 Sorry it didn't work out!  You're more educated than you were so that's still a win even if it's not the win you were looking for!

If you have a 401k at work you can borrow against it. If you have an IRA you can convert it to a 401k and borrow against it.

@Kaylee Walterbach 30 day stay is catchy but I don't believe it portrays the objective of the book very well.  Is it me staying somewhere for 30 days?  Is it a health and fitness book talking about staying on a diet for 30 days?  It's ambiguous.  The long-short rental lets the person outside of real estate know what the book is about.  It's also kind of a play on words from the movie the big-short which might attract more readers.

@Ryan Pallante You've got a lot of good advice on here, so I won't beat a dead horse. I have a friend that works in private money lending, and they usually need 90/10 LTV. If you need an introduction let me know.

You may need to look into other investment alternatives outside of real estate.  If you're an accredited investor you have more options available to you.  For example, oil and gas partnerships.

You made $110k on a mobile home flip?!  That's incredible!  Congrats!!!

Fear and self doubt:  I find myself questioning whether or not I'm smart enough or if I can make it.  I have to take a few seconds and reset my mind.  Everyone has felt that way at one point or another.  It's part of the process.  Pushing through fear, uncertainty, and doubt is necessary to be successful.

Listening to people who aren't in the game:  Plenty of people will have advice on how to invest in RE and they've never even bought a primary residence.  Don't compare yourself to others, but look at a few people who you consider successful and see if you're completing the same daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly actions to achieve that level of success.  If you want to be the best basketball player in the world are you going to listen to Michael Jordan and Lebron or are you going to listen to that guy from high school who sat the bench?