In Jan 2016, I wrote a goal to own 10 REI homes by end of 2018 but I fell a little short of my goal. Currently have 8 cash flowing properties (4-Cleveland,1 Houston, 2 Tampa, 1 Albuquerque). One of these properties in Tampa is owned outright through Traditional SDIRA and all the others are via traditional financing. I am pre approved for a total of 10 traditional SFH homes so I have 3 more available.

I have 3 months Mortgage payment in reserve for all 7 properties for CapX, Vacancy, etc. for a total of $16,553 and each property has its own separate account. I considered upping this up to 6 months for each but thought that the chance of all of them going vacant or having CAP X issues at the same time was slim and I have my investment cash account as backup.

Excluding the Traditional SDIRA property, Seven Properties are cash flowing for a total of $2,008 per month. SDIRA monthly Cash flow: $920 which include PM fees and have sufficient reserves for CAP X, and etc.

I also have a Roth SDIRA which has $50,000 invested in a syndication effort.

Emergency fund: $20,000

Investment Cash: $75,000

I put $500 every 2 weeks into Investment cash and also have my cash flow from the rentals of $2,008 auto transferred to Investment Cash account.

I have 5% of pay going to TSP (retirement) account as my employer matches up to this amount. Other than that all of my residual cash goes to my investment account for REI or other opportunities.

Car Payment: 2.99% @$270 a month Owe $8,000

Live overseas in Germany and have no mortgage or other debt except for car and my REI.

As I first stated my initial goal was to have 10 homes by the end of 2018 and I was close but had a duplex fall through in December.

I am 54, W-2 employee (sole income family), and part of a great family of 4, my youngest is a Senior in HS and my oldest is going to University here in Germany. With that said, I am now considering adjusting my goals for 2019 to below to shore up my cash more instead of continuing with the leverage of 3 more properties (with traditional Loan, 10 is the max) to make my 10 property goal. I would appreciate some thoughts if I am going in the right direction OR if I am missing an opportunity/momentum.

2019 Plan:

• 1.STOP purchasing homes for 1 year.
• 2.Possibly Pay off car
• 3.Setup up systems so that another family member (my 21 y.o. daughter) can manage the Properties Managers and have a clearer idea of what is going on should something happen to me. My wife supports my efforts but wants nothing to do with managing them. All properties are through 4 different PM’s. I have the same ones for each state so 1 for OH, 1 for FL, etc.
• 4.Keep piling cash up so that I have reserves and as a backstop should/when the economy tanks.
• 5.Focus on developing a side gig/business in 2019 to increase my income snowball.
• 6.Research ways in which I can re capture my down payments and closing costs which total $170,000.
• 7.Go out hunting again in 2020 but keep analyzing deals between now and then and if a REAL good opportunity comes up. Pull the trigger, re adjust and keep trucking. All of these with exception of the Albuquerque property where purchased through TK providers and have had substantial rehab and also have good roofing. None of them are in an LLC but are insured and also covered under a umbrella insurance plan.

Am I missing something?

Thanks and cheers to a Great and Prosperous 2019!