New investor from Canton Michigan (outside of Detroit)

[Brandon Boase]

My name is Brandon and I am new to all this. My wife and I are in our mid to late thirties. We are wanting to create a new income stream. I am in a physically demanding career and if I was able to work, I would like to replace my income. I think in the long term we are thinking rental properties. I don't know if it will be single family homes, or something else. We are trying to absorb what we can now so we can act when the wife is more comfortable with all of this. At the moment we are renting our old house to a friend. It is not cash flowing at all at the moment, but we can't do much because we are upside down in it because we bought in 2008. We hope to one day have a portfolio of properties that could cash flow enough to allow for FI and be relatively passive. Thanks for all the knowledge.

[Cory Mccarthy]

Brandon Boase how sure are you that you are still underwater? With as hot as the market has been recently, many folks who bought in 08 are realizing that they are no longer under water. I don't know canton specifically, but many parts of Michigan have fully recovered. You may wish to do some research on Redfin or realtor.com or else have an appraisal done. You may be surprised if you haven't done this in the last year or two. If you have and are sure you are still underwater, continue to monitor and pay down debt so when the day comes that you can get out from under it, you are ready to take advantage of the opportunity. The market is appreciating pretty well in many parts of Michigan so that day may come sooner than you think.