All Forum Posts by: Daniel C.

Thanks all for the thoughtful responses.  My properties are all leveraged - none are free and clear yet - but there is some equity in each.  Perhaps it makes sense to consider a blanket portfolio loan to efficiently extract what equity I can, then set up a separate line for emergencies.  

I am risk averse so I've always liked having cash in case it's needed - but putting the assets to work has clear advantages.  

Good food for thought.  I'll reach out to some bankers about a line of credit this week, and start to hunt for my next deal to get some of this cash to work.  

Hi BP community.  

I'm a buy-and-hold investor with a nice little portfolio (16 units) of cash-flowing properties.  Was chatting with a friend recently about how my return on equity is a little bit less than what I originally forecasted for the portfolio because I hold about $20k in cash reserves for emergency repairs.  Since I started investing about 3 years ago, I've always been able to pay for repairs from cash flow pretty easily.  I've had a few repairs in the $3k range, and it's been no sweat to cover them without looking to reserves.  So - my question:

Instead of holding $20k in cash reserves and losing out on potential return by not leverage/deploying that capital, does it make sense to instead just open a line of credit against a property so I have capital available in the event that I need it?  It would serve the purpose of having access to funds for an emergency, but would reduce the cash drag on the portfolio.

For what it's worth, I hold another $20k or so in personal cash reserves that are separate from my real estate accounts - in case I lose my job, etc.  I have some other other liquid accessible investments as well.  I'm not planning on moving those funds and could always tap them in a bind as well.    

It's a broad topic, but what do you think?  In general, I'm generally trying to wrap my head around a personal policy for reserves.  Appreciate your input.  Best,

Dan

Kenneth E. - thanks so much for the heads up on the CCAC course. I'll likely enroll in the course at Boyce.

For what it's worth, Kenneth E. - I'd be interested, and I'm assuming a good many others would be, if you can successfully spread word.

Jennifer Lee - haven't checked out ACRE yet - I'm considering it. I've looked at the website and it's less than flattering - would you recommend going to the meetings?

Joshua Dorkin - thanks for the welcome! So far so good in Pittsburgh - my early read is that different parts of the city present vastly different opportunities, so I'm picking my spots carefully. But, I do think that if I play my cards right, the Pittsburgh market could provide healthy cash flow.

Michael Galloway - perhaps I'll expand in another forum, but to be truthful, it was more of a general comment. i.e, I honestly don't know what questions I should have at this point - I'll soon learn what questions I should be asking!

Kenneth E. - great list. I've stumbled across many of those before, but will have to check the rest of them out. Thanks.

Hi all,

I've technically been a BP member for ~6 months, but am just now starting to take advantage of the forums here. I'm 27, married, live in Pittsburgh, and work in finance. I love my day job, so I'm not trying to escape the "rat race" per se, but am building a real estate portfolio on the side - because it's fun, and who doesn't want financial independence?

I currently own 2 units (both SFH, purchased within the last year), and am about to close on a deal that will bring 7 more (tri-plex and a quad-plex) into my portfolio - really excited about closing on a bigger deal, but of course I'm holding my breath, realizing that "I don't know what I don't know." It'll be an adventure and hopefully I'll make good money!

In terms of goals - haven't strictly defined them yet. I'm tip-toeing my way into this space - if I'm able to make this thing work, I plan to continue building my portfolio as resources allow. Anyway - happy to be here, great to "meet" you all, and I look forward to connecting on the forums.

Best,

Dan

Hi all,

This is my first post here in the BP forums. Within the past 12 months, I've started to build up a rental portfolio. I have a deal that will be closing this month (mid-February), but I'm not sure who keeps the rental income for the month in which the deal closes. Does the seller keep all of it, or is the seller required to pay me the pro-rated portion of rent for the month in which the deal closes? Just thinking things through - any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.

Dan