My wife and I have had plans to buy a large farmhouse on acreage, but after finding out that we're expecting our first child, we've decided to stay put in our starter home with $100k equity right next door to an elementary school that we were planning on renting out and cash flowing $400/mo. But we'll stay here for now. Therefore, instead of making plans to buy land and build, I'm looking to finally start investing in real estate after 1 year of sitting on the sidelines! My goal: Purchase my first investment before I become a father in late April/early May.

I'm very committed to my job as a mortgage loan officer, and have a reputation of availability. It's my competitive advantage, and I love what I do with no intention of quitting any time soon. But I'm commission-only, and love the idea of creating a passive stream of income "just in case" and eventually paying off all debt and retiring at a ripe old age with $20,000/month of pure cash flow and 0 mortgages.

Currently, I could probably use a HELOC to take out $50k, have $20k in cash, and a $23k credit card that I can use for rehabbing, for a grand total of around $93,000. I have more of course, but I'm pretty sure this is the most my wife will let me get away with. Everything will have to go through her - the deal, the partner, the tenants - for final approval. Especially the partner, so I want to be prepared with how to present this idea to her.

Anyway, I can't commit to spending a ton of time analyzing deals and doing rehab work, so I'm thinking the best way to go about this is to find someone who needs someone with money, and is willing to do a majority (90%?) of the analyzing, 99% of the rehab, and property management. I'm thinking 50% equity position, 50% cash flow, and 100% property management (5% of gross rents, if self-managed). That's fair, right?

Problem is, I have no idea how to find people who know what they're doing - Those with experience probably don't need the funding, and those without the funding probably don't have experience. Obviously, there are exceptions, and I want to find them. But how?

I'd like to do my first deal in my market (SE Washington, specifically the Tri Cities) to gain the trust of my wife, but otherwise I'm totally open to investing anywhere after that.

0 Votes