Hi everyone,

I'm in the analysis paralysis stage of purchasing my first SFH rental property. I'm looking at a $150,00 2/2 townhome, that I think we can get for around $138,000. After all is said and done, it should cash flow around 300-400 a month. But I'll have to put around $27,000 down, to generate 300-400 a month, or about $4500/year. What I'm struggling with is that 300-400 is peanuts. My question is how do you become wealthy doing this?

I appreciate that once the house is paid off, that 300-400 a month becomes almost a thousand a month in my pocket. I also appreciate that if I had 3-4 houses, and they are generating an extra 300-400 a month, then all of a sudden I'm making $1500-$1600 extra a month, and then you can snowball payments to one house, and get to that $1000/month extra quicker, then pay off the rest quicker too, then you have 3-4 houses each generating $1000/month, etc.

Is that how you get wealthy? One house won't do it, but a handful, or even ten houses, will?

Please enlighten me. Thank you.

Cash flow is only part of the equation.  You also need to consider appreciation, and mortgage pay down, plus the tax deduction you get.

Hey @Roger Poindexter , when you are budgeting for that townhome, are you setting aside $$ for mortgage, tax, insurance, HOA, vacancy, repairs/capex, management?

Say the cashflow is $4500/yr, that is a 16% return on your money, which is a GREAT return. BUT we have to also consider this to be just a part of your return.

You also earn a return on potential appreciation. So with appreciation, say the market goes up 3%. Well 3% on a $150k townhome = $4500. You only put down $27k (maybe more after closing costs) but that is another 16% return.

We are now at a 32% return.

You then have to factor in your return on the tenant paying the loan down, the tax benefits and the inflation hedging.

Cash flow is the name of the game, but you cannot rule out the other returns.

It might start out slow at first, but set solid goals with actionable steps and things will happen faster than you think!

you get wealthy by two means..   One scale  and moving up in asset class whence you started

and appreciation.. either organic or forced.

@Jake Stuttgen nailed the basics. The snake oil salesmen have it wrong.  While you can grow wealth, you do so relatively slowly and with a great deal of effort and patience.  

To echo Jake: how else are you going to beat a 16% cash on cash return?  

$27,000 in a bank at 1% will yield $270 per year.  In a 4% bond $1,080 per year.  In short, think in terms of alternative uses for your money rather than the absolute value of the cash you will be receiving in order to evaluate an investment.       

@Roger Poindexter  Sort of depends on your definition of wealthy.  Take out your calculator...multiply 27K by 1.16 over and over (to represent  your 16% annual cash return compounded)...and see how many years it takes to "get wealthy" by whatever your definition is.  Starts out slow, but accelerates.  It won't make you wealthy in a year, but it will eventually snowball, especially when you add the appreciation, mortgage paydown, and tax advantages mentioned by others.

Is there a way to take advantage of mortgage paydown before the mortgage is completely paid off?

I think my first property we projected $200 a month in free cash flow. Thats just after paying PITI and before expenses. My friends thought I was crazy for going through such a headache for an extra $200 a month. 10 years in, with rent raises, and a refinance to bring the payment down, now that property cash flows $1600 per month, and has gone up in value about $170k.

Now of course part of that equation is having bought it as prices were plummetting during the worst housing crisis of our lives, and living in a great market like DC, so the numbers look better than most can realistically get.  But the point is that time is the greatest ally of the buy and hold investor.

There is a difference between wealth and income.  You can have a high income, and not be wealthy.  

That $200/month generated from that property adds to your income.  The property you are buying is an appreciating asset that adds to your wealth.  

Real estate is a long game.  You are relying on the pay down of your loan and the value of your asset to appreciate.  

Good assets generate both wealth and income. 

Originally posted by @Roger Poindexter :

Is there a way to take advantage of mortgage paydown before the mortgage is completely paid off?

There are three which quickly come to mind:

1) HELOC - You can take a Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) out based on the equity between what you owe and for what it appraise. This equity can increase with appreciation and through mortgage paydown.

2) Refinance - You can refinance the the loan with the lower amount based on the mortgage paydown up to then. You have to consider rates and closing costs, but this can help in two ways: 1) it can lower your monthly payment, increasing your cashflow on a property, 2) you may be able to do a cash-out refinance where you actually recapture some of the equity you've built through appreciation and mortgage paydown. Research many of the BRRRR resources on this website to learn more about this.

3) Sell - It may not be on your radar if you want to buy & hold for a long time, but you can tap into some of the equity you've built up through mortgage paydown by selling. You'll lose your cashflow from the property, but you can absorb some of the mortgage paydown your tenants have been paying for you, in addition to the cashflow you've been collecting, and any appreciation which has occured.

Not sure if others have additional ideas.

Cheers!

ASV

Define Wealth

Wealth = Total assets owned - Total debt owed 

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.  Thanks Colin Powell