All Forum Posts by: Zachary Martin

@Elizabeth Colegrove Yes, I would love to do something like that.  The idea (currently at least) of being able to put in sweat equity by fixing things up myself and especially learning the how's to do those things is really appealing. (which I think would assist in many other areas such as assessing costs and potential problems)

However, the only place I've seen a duplex is in D.C.  While I've heard of the many problems associated with rentals in D.C. (both on the podcasts and in person) I'm afraid I would be priced out regardless of where they may be.  Thats not to say that they don't exist in my area, I just probably haven't seen them.  

Thanks @Elizabeth Colegrove @Richard C. 

Glad to know.  I'll keep this in mind when looking for properties!

After listening to the all the podcasts and how much of a pain it is to deal with, especially the costs, I was wondering can you put in somewhere in the lease agreement that "if you have to be evicted, you will be responsible for all costs associated, etc"?  If you can, it would probably result in involving a collection agency?

I have a feeling that the answer is probably "no, I wish" but I thought I would ask anyway.

To be more specific with an example, with the "bank rule" of only lending out 4 mortgages per person, if I had $300k cash in the bank and took out a loan on 4 $40k properties, would you be done at that point bank loan wise?  The fact that you could easily buy them outright at any point I wouldn't think would be an issue?  Is it more of a "4 loans or up to XXX amount"?

@Elizabeth Colegrove Wow, buying class A properties 3000+ away while self managing seems pretty crazy to me.  I'd like to get to that point some day but starting off seems like a little over my head type of scenario.  However, with the prices what they are for my area, I may have to consider it.

@Paul Timmins Thanks.  The podcasts took awhile (especially starting from scratch) but they were a lot of fun listening to!

Hey there,

I've been on the site for a bit absorbing as much information as I can but I thought it was time to dive in and make an intro.

I don't have much experience in real estate investing, unless you count my own home, but I'm very interested in mainly buy and hold properties (for the passive income) with an open mind to other aspects of REI if they make sense. I'm teaming up with my father to do this and I'm eager to get started.

I've listened to every podcast here, read the UBG, and am interested in finding some REI meetups or clubs in my area to learn more and pick peoples brains. As I'm in the Northern Virginia/DC area and prices are much more than the ~$40k that some areas get, its a little daunting and I'm pretty nervous on getting started.

I'm looking forward to engaging on the site with all of you!