If you were me . . . choose your own adventure!

If you were me . . . choose your own adventure!

San Luis Obispo, CA · Member since 2014 · 27 posts · 6 votes

Hi guys, I'm in the midst of creating a plan for my investments and I'd like to see what you think - you guys have been EXCEEDINGLY helpful in making me think bigger than I imagined so far, so wanted to put this out there.

Things to know before I launch into the plan:

  • My husband and I are both bringing home entry level salaries for our area thanks to being executive directors for a non-profit we started. We have no other outside employer.
  • We own another business that in 2012 showed too much of a loss to qualify us for conventional loans. This year we show a profit, but our loan officer told us we needed to wait until 2014 returns were in to try again using conventional routes. 2014 numbers are looking to be more than double what we take home from our salaries.
  • We are currently renting way below market. We could not remotely secure a mortgage for even twice what we pay in rent right now.
  • I have a fantastic spreadsheet and have been doing market research, everything I say below is pretty much what the picture looks like for me unless I get lucky and find something way undervalued. You'll have to trust me there.
  • My long term goal is cashflow and the purchase of ag land as a primary residence in town (about $1,000,000 price tag on that baby) while not being land-poor.
Okay, so . . . I stand to have a lot of cash at the end of this year to invest and based on my particular interests, here are the different options I've found.

  • Buy a USDA-0% down eligible property, preferably with enough land to stop having to pay for rental space for our business' equipment and take the write off. The mortgage would cost at least twice what we pay now, but I guess we're not renting. Sell in a few years when the market is right and hopefully end up with enough cash to both buy a new place and invest for cash flow (my primary objective).
  • Buy a multi-family FHA 3.5% down property in town and live in it. The mortgage would be closer to 3x what we pay in rent now (aka, our debt-to-income would be pretty ridiculous and not sure how that works with multifamily - does the lender look at the rent income as something they count when working that out?), and pretty much no chance at a positive cashflow there. Same as above, we'd have to move out after a couple years and hope it made enough money to invest again.
  • Keep renting and buy in a lower-value area where we can afford 25% down and get positive cashflow in the first year. Keep investing money in more homes and wait until cashflow is high enough to secure a loan above (are we even eligible for loans like that if we have conventional loans to start?) to invest in town (likely as a primary residence).

    I am thinking the last one makes the most sense, but as I said, you guys tend to open my eyes to the possibilities and I would love your input.
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Investor · Cranford, NJ · Member since 2012 · 303 posts · 153 votes
12y

Full disclosure I dont know abput usda loans as they are not available in my area. That said option #1 is not a good option for real estate iinvestment unless the mortgage is less then your current apartment rent and busoness rents combined because it will not give you any cashflow or pandlord experience. Also you are basically speculating that the area will appreciate- this is never certain in our changing market especiallyif interest rates jump.

Option 2 depends on the ratio of your mortgage vs projected rent roll of the non owner units. You might be able to live for free or less than you pay now and you eill get experience as a landlord. after 2 years of land Lord exPerience convmtional lendwrs will count the rents yu make as your own income for debt to income purposes.

Option 3 is solid as well. Not sure what a loan above means. Make sure when you calculate cash floe you really know all your expenses and you account for some level of vacancy.

Ps. Your primary residence is not an investment its a liability.

Finally- what is yout other business and how much do you expect to net from it? If its alot focus there and use the profits to invest in re

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  • Investor · Cranford, NJ · Member since 2012 · 303 posts · 153 votes
    12y

    Full disclosure I dont know abput usda loans as they are not available in my area. That said option #1 is not a good option for real estate iinvestment unless the mortgage is less then your current apartment rent and busoness rents combined because it will not give you any cashflow or pandlord experience. Also you are basically speculating that the area will appreciate- this is never certain in our changing market especiallyif interest rates jump.

    Option 2 depends on the ratio of your mortgage vs projected rent roll of the non owner units. You might be able to live for free or less than you pay now and you eill get experience as a landlord. after 2 years of land Lord exPerience convmtional lendwrs will count the rents yu make as your own income for debt to income purposes.

    Option 3 is solid as well. Not sure what a loan above means. Make sure when you calculate cash floe you really know all your expenses and you account for some level of vacancy.

    Ps. Your primary residence is not an investment its a liability.

    Finally- what is yout other business and how much do you expect to net from it? If its alot focus there and use the profits to invest in re

  • Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 354 posts · 149 votes
    12y

    Have you tried to work with local banks or credit unions? They are usually more likely to work with their customers, and have a little more leeway on what they can and can't to. Most of the time you can also sit down with the head of the mortgage department versus talking to a rep who follows the rules in the book.

  • Longview, TX · Member since 2012 · 368 posts · 131 votes
    12y
    I would step back and, if you haven't already, convince yourself that your business's banner year is sustainable before going forward. If I read you right, it appears your salaries at the NP aren't much and the business showed a loss last year. At any time (typically the worst) your residence, rental property, or life circumstances will require a large injection of cash. Don't get spread too thin and risk a foreclosure if a couple unfortunate items stack up at the same time. Mike
  • San Luis Obispo, CA · Member since 2014 · 27 posts · 6 votes
    12y

    Good thoughts, guys. What you guys are saying is exactly what I'm thinking. I'll talk to a local bank about it rather than the loan officer to set myself up.

    My business was volatile in 2012 thanks to a very bad partnership and decision that has us seeking collections, hence the loss. It's already doing great and we're just ramping up, so, like I said, expecting the cash to be enough to push it over the edge. All profits this year are supposed to go to investment (we make enough with the other job to maintain a lifestyle I'm happy with).

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