All Forum Posts by: Craig Curelop

@Pauline Jones - Different cities have different laws with regards to AirBnb so be sure to check those out. Last weekend, I went to the Bay Area Real Estate summit where I met a few people doing these "master lease" ideas. 

A "master lease" is when you reach out to landlords and ask them if it is okay if you rent their place, but instead of living there you do a short-term rental. In many cities that do not allow short term rentals outside of a primary residence (i.e. Denver), "short term" will be 30+ days. Traveling nurses and corporate rentals are a great market for the 30-90 day period. 

This is a new idea and most property owners do not love the idea at first. However, there is a great advantage in doing this that you need to let them know: 

1. They will get steady rent from you with little to no hassle (i.e. free property management)

2. You will be monitoring their property making sure that it stays maintained every time the property flips. 

3. Offer to fix the little things for the property manager so it's extremely passive for them. 

Advantages for you:

1. You get the landlording and property management experience without the huge investment. 

2. AirBnb and other furnished rental sites are said to pay up to 2x-3x more than market rentals. You'll be cash flowing the property so long as you rent in a good location.

@Scott Lohmeyer - I've talked to and am friends with quite a few agents here in Denver. Shoot me a private message telling me a little more of what you're looking for and I'd be happy to help! 

@Andrew Reich - Congratulations on your business sale! 

As for your questions re a "crash." The market definitely feels like it is at it's peak. However, in terms of a buy & hold strategy, if you buy a deal that cash flows you, you don't really need to worry. 

A cash flowing deal will allow you to service your debt and withstand any prospective "crash." Typically, rents do not got down as much as home values so a cash flowing property with a little bit of cushion should be okay. 

It also helps to have some reserves in the event of a vacancy or if there are a few months where you aren't cash flowing.

@Grant Shipman - I don't see a problem with this at all. In fact, I am doing something similar. I have an FHA loan out on a duplex where I live in one unit and rent the other. In order to make hefty cash flow, I decided to AirBnb a bedroom in my apartment. There shouldn't be anything wrong with this.

You will not be able to count projected AirBnb income towards your income in helping you qualify for the purchase, but I don't see a reason why you wouldn't be able to AirBnb.

As the guys above said, if your making your payments in a timely manner, the lender isn't going to care. If your lender is sketched out by the idea, I'd be happy to introduce you to my lender. 

@Account Closed - I'd recommend putting this number in "Other Expenses." 

To figure this out, I'd also suggest reaching out to investors in Georgia individually (through biggerpockets.com/meet). Also, you could call some pest control companies to see what they typically experience. 

@Matthew Keeney - I am in the process of transferring over my 401k to a self directed IRA as well. I am using a company called Equity Trust. They seem to have reasonable fees and will allow me to invest my 401k in whatever I'd like.

@Account Closed - Location ist he most important thing when considering real estate. 

It's a lot easier to fix up a property than it is a neighborhood. 

Keep on looking :)

@Bo A Vanecko - Welcome to Denver and to BiggerPockets! 

If you want to meet a lot of people on BiggerPockets, I would suggest going to the Badass Real Estate Investor meetups put on by Anson Young and Dan Mackin. 

If you find yourself in Denver at all, let me know. I'd be happy to grab coffee and chat real estate! 

@Aaron Barrett - Why do you want to buy a property all cash? Leverage is one of the best parts of real estate. You can buy a property with 3.5%-20% down and then use your rental income to pay off your mortgage. If you continue to save, you should be able to buy a property each year and expedite your retirement to ~10 years rather than 30. 

Personally, I think a 401k is silly to contribute you to UNLESS you get a match. Take the free money with the match and invest the rest in index funds or a roboadvisor (I like Betterment) until you have enough for a downpayment on a property. 

With only $3k in your 401k, know that you will like have to give ~50% of that back after the penalty and taxes. I doubt that $1,500 will move the needle too much for you. If you really need it to get into a property, I would say take it out. In 40 years, when you have access to that 401k, if you're really missing $3k, I think you'll have much bigger problems. 

@Jennifer Rysdam - I am not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure the signature of a 17-year old is not a binding one.  He would need the signature of a legal parent or guardian. 

However, I thought I saw somewhere that if the 17-year old is married or is going to be enlisted in the military, it is valid. If this applies to this 17-year old, maybe that's something you look into? 

I would say, keep it easy on yourself and stick to your criteria!