All Forum Posts by: Charles Perkins

Both are important but appreciation was my main goal.  A property had to have positive cash flow and be able to appreciate and have value add potential.

Investors have different strategies that can work for them.  My strategy has always been LTRs in good areas that I know well.  Knowledge of your market, good resources and skill development are all important to success in the long run.

Personally I have met plenty of those who want to sell a course often starting with a free seminar.  Many will say almost anything to get you buy into their course and/ or service.

It can work and I personally have done it.  Like any investment it's important to determine if it pencils, the market potential, legality in your area, and consider your long term goals for a property.  You have a number of things to consider in your due diligence.

What makes financial sense to you may be different than anyone else.  You alone know the sandbox you play in.  If it's outside that box you really must determine if you really want to expand your box or leave it alone.

I've always been an active investor for many reasons.  In my market it would be more difficult to be a passive investor.  I'm able to minimize the risks.  The hands on approach is more appealing to me.  I like the control and often better results of actively investing.  I've also found it important to understand the neighborhoods first hand so as to make better buying decisions.

There are several things to consider.  What makes you the best choice for investors?  What life experiences and education can you bring to real estate?  You will want to know very well the neighborhoods you will work in.  How are your marketing skills?  Essentially how would you add value to those coming to you?

Like @Evan Polaski said there are questions to ask first.  I would be looking at your skillet, what strategies could work for you, how to mitigate risk - I do this by maintaining control and knowing my neighborhoods, determining how actively involved you intend to be.

At my stage in investing I would look at adding value to what I have in my portfolio of LTRs.  I'm looking at my retirement strategies.

I'm in retirement as well and contemplating all my alternatives. The taxes I'm able to mitigate in large part but looking at best alternatives for reinvesting for income.

Regardless of how you get into RE it's very important to know your state and local laws regarding rental properties.  Also your due diligence shouldn't be neglected.  Understanding what you are buying is far more important than say buying a car and sometimes it seems people spend less time knowing RE than other less costly goods.

Part of due diligence is determining expected cash flow and future appreciation.  Your two scenarios most likely will not have similar total cash flows due to varying expenses making a true  evaluation impossible due to insufficient information.

A seemingly abandoned property is much like any other property at least for me.  First, I want to know if the property makes sense to spend time on.  If so, I do my preliminary due diligence.  In my due diligence, I'm seeking where and to whom to send any offer, trying to determine any amounts owed by the legal owner especially any fines or taxes, I want to get a sense of the house condition, determine if any critical areas exist, and if possible I would want to know why the property is seemingly abandoned this can be useful in many ways.

When you know what information you seek it's easier to determine where to find that information and who to speak to.  Never underestimate what you can learn by walking the neighborhood and talking to neighbors.

Quote from @Austin Fowler:

Quote from @Charles Perkins:

For me financial freedom is financially being able to do the things my wife and I want to do.  This may be in retirement or not.  Currently I'm semi-retired, I am an active LTR investor but no longer work 9-5.  I' consider us to be financially free though there are up periodic demands of my time.  Eventually we will sell off property to fully retire.  Still considering exit strategies and timing.  

 If you sold off property to create a pile of cash, what kinds of options are you considering to turn that cash into truly passive income so you can fully retire?

I've looked at several possibilities.  I've considered becoming a private lender,  annuities, other insurance products, CDs or money market accounts.  There are also a number of less traditional alternatives we are exploring.  Most likely My wife and will employ a combination of these things.  

The last thing I would feel comfortable with is the stock market.  The risk is to great for my comfort unless it was a small investment.