All Forum Posts by: Zachary Dosch

I think you really have to look at your market and see whats available to you. I don't think it has to be an either-or scenario.

Personally, Ive went away from Multi families for SFH simply because you attract a much better tenant and that is where the best deals are presenting themselves in my market.

If you ever want to liquidate a property to buy a retirement home, SFH are obviously much easier to sell - the flexibility might be something to consider. If you have a big apartment complex, you really don't have that option.

Bismarck, ND does. I know its very atypical but just throwing it out there.

... and how are they still in business? Bizzaro world!

How about "relatively slow at first"?

I love the idea that with every reinvestment of funds, Im basically giving myself a raise. Brick by brick, house by house, I really love and try to embrace the working at it every day and every now and then looking back to see all that I have accomplished. Im building something that should be able to withstand just about anything and its something that will out live me and hopefully afford my family all the opportunities they have dreamt of.

My father was a very successful and had a very prestegious job for many years. It eventually became who he was and it came at a very steep price (mainly family time). RE investing allows me to live the life I want to live and not have to lie awake at night wondering what will happen if I get canned at work.

Its like a big game for me. Its not really about the money for me (even though it sure is nice).

Living in a stable housing market will be a great fit for your goals of not wanting to invest a lot of time into this venture. Im in a similar situation and have found that good SFH are some of my favorite properties because they attract better renters, are generally higher quality, have better margins, and are very easy to liquidate if needed.

Again, this could be a regional thing but Ive found that they require the least amount of time while still yeilding adequate returns. Part of me wishes there were bargains and foreclosures for me to buy but Ive embraced this strategy and it seems to be working out.

Mentors and BP are the ways to go. Nothing beats real life experience because nothing in real life is by the book. Anybody that can share their experiences with him will hopefull allow him to not make the same mistakes twice.

Sounds like you will be volunteered to be the mentor Corey Dutton!

I just went through one too and it was a lot easier and faster than some of your situations, especially @DavidWedemeir !

I guess the one question I haven't seen asked is do you have it in the contract that the tenants are responsible for legal fees and what type of deposit do you have?

Right after I served them the three day notice, I was basically told that I had to retain a lawyer because he had to file the paperwork.

Unfortunately, there are no properties that would fit the 50% rule but there is plenty of money being made. Don't get me wrong, I keep the 50% rule in mind because there is a lot of validity to it but I do my best to find way to mitigate that 50% ie managing the property myself, negotiating deals with contractors, plumbers, and electricians, and perhaps purchasing property that has had the critical and expensive parts updated recently. I basically add what needs to be done in the next 5 years to the PITI to see where Im going to be.

I also have a combination of 15 and 30 year mortgages to balance the cash flow vs. principal pay down. In other words, if I have a property with plenty of equity and a very low 30 yr payment which has tremendous cash flow, I feel like it almost helps balance out the next property if the cash flow is a little tighter but its on a 15 year mortgage.

The catch is that there is literally 0 vacancy and no forclosures in my market so I don't know if anybody will be able to relate to my situation but I have actually found that this is a fairly good market to get started in because while Im not swimming in money, I know I have good renters every month which keeps things very consistent.

I realize Im cutting it a little close but the surplus of renters has enabled me to get into a number of different homes by releveraging the equity from the properties that are on a 15 year mortgages and it has actually worked out fairly well and could now bank roll just about any major occurance. Fingers crossed.

Aside from the deals, Im going through the eviction process for the first time! Hopefully this is a good one to cut my teeth on... I just hope they don't trash the place on their way out!