Set SMART goals, make friends with other investors, talk to a money advisor, stay calm and steady, and break the money cycle.

I would be careful at this stage of the cycle touching anything that's syndicated.

And the cycle continues until you have spent thousands of dollars for information that you could get from the local library or Biggerpockets for free.

Enough reserves to manage 1 cycle of capex + 2 years of vacancies on day 0 of acquiring property.

People think if they can afford the down payment that they can afford the deal but even in deals where the purchase is 90k or less you will still need to be liquid 25k because you figure:15k to close5k to front contractor to get started5k (6 months holding costs)Insurance and Misc costs: 2kSo you see the life cycle can cost 25k+ even on a small deal. 

I think around the time of the next presidential election cycle, you will see a steep decline in interest rates to get back to the Fed's goal of 2% per year.

For the next billing cycle they increased my charges by $500 and did not notify me of the upcoming charge.

Turn key rehab: $8K (cosmetic stuff - carpet, paint, appliances, new fixtures and landscaping)Cash-flow property for 5 or 7 years:Rent rates in this neighborhood are $1,800+, or $2,200 for mid-term, and $2,600 Co-livingExit strategy: Due to the 5 or 7 year appreciation cycle, your property is now worth $400K+ *calculators can do this now!

But, as we enter into a down cycle (we just don’t know how bad it will be yet) “experienced” and inexperienced people who have done Creative Finance Deals can find themselves underwater and missing payments and in deep trouble with the law.

As a lender using cards is fine just make sure you have the funds seasoned (2+ billing cycles) in your account prior to engaging into a loan transaction because funds sourced from an unsecured source cannot be used as down payment or closing costs.