All Forum Posts by: Bob Norton

@Zander Ayton You want to shoot for an ROI higher than you can earn in other investments. Most REIs shoot for double digits.

@Sharon Diehl What type of real estate investing are you interested in pursuing?  That will determine what your entity structure should look like.  Also, what state do you live in?

@David Kellogg The listing agent works for the landlord.  You want an agent that is looking out for your interest, so having your own agent will put you in a better position to negotiate.  You should interview several commercial agents and as other business owners that you know for referrals to agents they have used in the past.  

@Kevin Reinell You don't have to keep an FHA loan for any specific period of time. So, you can refinance out of it at any time. I think the only provision for an FHA loan is that the borrower live in the property for at least a year. There are costs to refinance a loan, plus to get rid of PMI, you will have to borrow less than 80% of the value. If your rehab of the property increases the value to allow you to refi out of the FHA and remove PMI, then this is possible. You may have to wait 6-12 months for seasoning, depending upon your bank.

@Charles Thompson I don't think you can combine them into a single fund.  You could setup your own 401k plan with a company you setup and rollover the funds into that 401k, provided you both are employees of that company, but the funds would still be separate accounts within the 401k.  Plus, this would be a lot of paperwork with annual reporting.  I would recommend that you roll over your 401ks to self-directed IRAs.  You could both invest in the same projects from your separate IRAs.

@Ben Hidalgo  Welcome to BP!

@Account Closed has to say about your options.

@Andrew Schmidt That's because very few people factor in income taxes as part of their cost of doing business.  You will pay Federal income tax wherever you decide to live in the US, but 9 states have little or no income tax.  You can Google them.  If any of your target cities are located in these 9 states, then I would give them a closer look, especially if you plan to find a job to fund your real estate investing.  The good news is that rental real estate is a tax shelter and you will probably owe little income tax on your rental properties in the beginning.

@Tommy Clune Closing costs include legal fees, prepaid expenses, financing costs, title insurance and anything else that is paid at closing.  Some of these costs, such as prepaid insurances and interest, are expenses, whereas the remainder is included in your cost of the property.  

@Ryan Bray Personally, I don't think $3k in tax savings is worth staking your decision to purchase in the winter.  You could easily spend more than that in holding costs before finding a tenant.  Since @Chris S. and @Connor Dunham know the market, I'd listen to their advice.  As for your agent, sounds like you need an investor-friendly one.  He should be able to provide you average days on market for properties in the winter for both houses for sale and for rent.  That may help you determine how long the property will sit on the market without a tenant.