Late 40’s, high income earner beginning strategy

[Brenda Reems]

Hello all! I was listening to a podcast regarding strategies for starting real estate investing “later” in life such as cash flow vs equity.  But, I haven’t found one that takes into account a high income earner or one that puts the 2 together. What would your suggestions be for me? These are the reasons I wanted to start this journey. 
1. I’ve always been interested in real estate. I am the person that would go to open houses…just because

2. I am a 1099 contract worker. I don’t get paid unless I am physically present. I have to have 6 months reserve at all times. I thought real estate could help in the case where this may happen and it could extend my reserve longer. 
3. I like the tax benefits real estate gives. 
4. I thought I could teach my kids there are other options beyond a W2 traditional job. 
5. diversification of my retirement and maybe help me retire a little earlier or decrease the amount of time that I work in 10 years or so

I know I will not replace my current income with real estate as I am a higher income earner. I like my job but I want to have more flexibility as well. I am closing on my first 4 plex at the end of the month. It's a 5 year arm, amortized over 25 years. I was going to just put 20% down but if you were me, would you consider putting more down for a higher cash flow? Or keep 20% for a higher ROI? As it sits, it is a slightly more than a break even but I plan on converting some units to MTR after tenants move out

I want to learn the ropes of property management before I buy another property but at the same time still looking for my next deal. What type of deals would you look for?

Any good articles…podcasts that addresses strategies in my situation? 
thanks in advance!

[Drew Sygit]

Real estate is NOT a get-rich-quick industry.

It's usually more about accumulating & building wealth than it is cashflow.

Recommend you learn as much as you can with your 4-unit, especially the part about converting to MTR. 

It's an exampl eof "repositioning an asset" for a use that leads to higher ROI.

If you can successfully execute this strategy, you will have a niche that you should be able to repeat.

Most investors put as little down as makes sense for their level of risk-tolerence. 
- If you are keeping 6 months of income in reserve already, you may just want to add 6 months of housing payment (PITI) to that.

It's always a good idea to keep looking for deals, but you should always be looking for one that is BETTER than the last one! 
- This will hopefully keep you from over-extending and experiencing a crash & burn.