All Forum Posts by: Chad Leton

I would search @Ben Anderson in the search bar up above. I believe he's an Alderman for the Dells area and manages at least 2 STR properties in the area. If you're worried about the seasonality of the Dells area and filling vacancies during "off times" aka winter. Sometimes the outskirt areas such as Portage are an area to look at. They get summer traffic from the Dells overflow and in the winter the Cascade Mountain ski/sled hills are there.

Good luck!

You've called it like you see it @Jeff Cichocki , however this is a gentlemen who is "set" on doing things his way. One of the reasons you don't see me or my family taking over these properties :) I've talked to him as much as he will tolerate in regards to tax efficiency and potential options in regards to accomplishing his overall goal of getting out of the "landlord game". The horse has chosen his path and his blinders are securely fastened. Thank you for your offer of further education!

@Merle Brubacker

Welcome to BP! I’m from Central WI originally and love to fish as well! My grandfather will be looking to unload one of his duplexes Stevens Point after the New Year. He currently has one of his single family properties listed and is looking to unload his portfolio at a rate of 1 per year. I’ll keep you in mind when his duplex comes available if you’re interested in properties a bit South if Medford, as he prefers to deal off-market if he can.

P.S. which body of water do you fish most often?!

@Timothy W Hanson Congratulations! Not only does it sound like you got a great deal, but there appears to be upside in market appreciation and rent increases. 5k of your money for each door is great as well. Do you mind sharing what the terms of your FHA product are?

Congratulations Bill! This is motivating! I bet you're already looking at your next deal aren't you?!

“Tax Escrow” is liquid in the Goldman Sachs High Interest Savings NOT in the Solo 401k. Hope there was no confusion.

From a Solo401k participant I use the Fidelity Brokerage Accounts for long term investing and I keep liquid cash in Goldman & Sachs Savings (1.7%APY). 

I use the G&S accounts (as I have opened several that are viewable on one dashboard) in conjunction with my local bank to move funds about with ease. 

G&S accounts are:

 Our Emergency Fund: 3-6 months of expenses

"Tax Escrow": Set aside our current self-employment tax rate anytime we bring in income and pile it up in here. Earns interest between quarterly estimates.

"General Expense Account": Set aside 4 months minimum of budgeted monthly expenses. As the month rolls over we roll over one month increments to our local checking account.

"Goal Savings": Squirrel extra money here after setting aside taxes and investing in Brokerage Account, and anything beyond the 4 month general expense account to save for "dream purchases"

Basic philosophy is pay yourself/Solo401K tax advantages accounts first (401k Roth IRA and HSA), then self employment taxes. Get the 4 month general expenses where they need to be. After that can allocated money toward whatever else we feel we'd like EVEN investing in a brokerage account outside the 401k.

EXTRA NOTE: We do keep some money "liquid" inside the brokerage account in a Money Market (SPAXX) until we have minimum amount needed to buy shares in our selected funds. We also keep money liquid here so that if the right Real Estate opportunity comes up we can write a check.

Sorry for the overkill on detail but just wanted to share how my family and I use our Solo401k and our High Interest Savings Account to move towards our life goals.

Hi John,

My wife and I recently completed a Solo 401K setup with a Non-Prototype Retirement account.

1) The Solo401k company I worked with provided me with the paperwork after asking a few questions on what our goals were to determine the best means for setting things up. They highlighted which areas we were to fill in with our personal information and we faxed the final papers to Fidelity and our Core Account "default" is a Fidelity Money Market Account (SPAXX). This is where our direct rollovers were positioned and our 2018 annual contributions have gone into thus far. From the core account you can then use the online dashboard to trade/invest your funds from the core as you see fit OR you can use the checkbook towards allowable investments.

2) If you are doing the brokerage account you don't need a 2nd bank account. When you fill out your deposit slips you can indicate in the memo line that you're deposit is towards your contribution for 2018. As a note, Fidelity does not keep track or "police" your contributions so I suggest that you keep track of that for tax reporting purposes. 

3) The checks have both our names at participants and the Trust name is also listed (you will set this up under a dedicated 2nd EIN number separate from your existing business's EIN)

4) If my wife decides to invest in a permissible investment she simply writes the check. There are guidelines on how paperwork that corresponds to the specific investment should be filled out.

I hope I didn't muddy your thinking with my answers but I will tell you the Solo 401k provider AND Fidelity have been extremely helpful and prompt in clarifying and of our questions throughout the entire process.

Hi @Paul Boyett,

I just finished setting one up through Mark Nolan and his team at MySolo401k.net. Part of our set up was processing a direct rollover of funds. It was very easy, quick, and the team is always available to help set it up in a fashion that will work well with your goals

Clear all debt while living below your means now. Build up your emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses after that. THEN start to look at your investment strategy. Without the student loan debt, you will have many more options to invest and build wealth WITHOUT the high risk of simple “what-if” scenarios. This is ultimately what the majority of wealthy people do to become wealthy in the shortest amount of time.