All Forum Posts by: Aaron Zimmerman

There really is no one size fits all approach. However, one thing to highlight with buying 4 units and less is that you have access to the best financing around with the 30 year fixed mortgage. Not only does this reduce interest rate risk, it also Reduces the maturity risk. 

If you purchase a property that's 5 units or more, you'll need to likely refinance in 5-10 years (more likely 5). That brings a lot more risk to the table. In addition, you have to be very focused on NOI (and cap rate) as that drives the property value. If you're interested in this option, you could always put some money in a syndication.

Couldn't agree more. Great book and very practical! 

Yes. Having the loan in your personal name will still get you the same benefits as an LLC.

One of the biggest myths is that LLCs get you more tax benefits than owning in your personal name. LLCs get you liability protection. 

For question 2, you should at least have a lender and realtor in place. You need to know how much you're getting preapproved for. 

For #3, talk with a few lenders on this. 

#4 - local meetups and attorneys are a great way to get an understanding of the law.

#5 - Facebook groups, meetup.com, biggerpockets, etc 

@Victor So would be a great resource to answer this question. 

On the personal finance side, I would continue building up your reserves for this property and personally. If you can't withstand 2 months without renters, you're putting yourself in a tough spot to withstand any weakness. Congrats on the property purchase and hope you find great renters

@Joshua D. - I'll speak to the real estate cpa side and what you'll want done ASAP. 

1. you'll want to get the basis right for all the properties. 
2. figure out if this is going into an LLC or not and what the tax ramifications could be.
3. determine if you'll be a real estate professional or not. 
4. Determine if cost seg is worth it (100% bonus depreciation certainly helps for sure) 

This seems fairly inexpensive to me. I would definitely be charging more than that for seven properties. Are you getting any strategy with this or just the prep? 

In today's market, you need to work for cash flow and deals a little harder. It's absolutely true that it's harder to make deals pencil when interest rates are in the 6-7% range. You have to be more creative. The way to get better deals in todays market are by buying deeper and expanding opportunities for cash flow such as STR and MTR.

@Gabe Arnaud - you're asking the right questions. I would first figure out what your overarching long term goals with real estate. How many properties do you want to have? What is your freedom number? Why real estate? 

then, identify what a good deal for you is. What kind of returns are you looking for? What kind of commitment are you trying to put into the property? 

@Henry Lazerow thanks for bringing this to our attention. Is there a call to action on this? Another ridiculous policy. Just ask them how the preservation ordinance went. Well intended policy but not well executed