All Forum Posts by: Eric Sender

I am a CA resident looking to start REI, most likely as a sole-proprietor at first. I am expecting that all my expenses concerning the investment, such as interest, will be a write off from my REI income. In fact I have a few questions.

Under the new tax plan, can I:

• Write off interest from my profits?
• Takes profits as a pass-through at the new 20% tax rate?
• Fund my real-estate directly through my personal funds?
  • Assuming I run the REI as a sole proprietor
• If I run the REI through an LLC, can I still fund the LLC directly through my personal checking account?

I believe with the $24,000 standard deduction as well as ending the state tax deduction, I most likely will not be about to write off a personal mortgage, however I am wondering what changes for mortgages for my REI?

I'd appreciate any explanations or clarifications. I am under the assumption Trump's tax plan will actually help REI, I'm just not sure about the nuances.

Hi Everyone,

In extension to the thread I made here Finding my first Deal, I am realizing that Turnkey may be the best way for me to start off. As of now --

• I want to keep my down/up-front payment in the $20-25k range
• I pretty much need to be out of state because I live in CA and it seems there is nothing profitable at the lower end. 
  • I hear Kansas City is a great option
• Looking to build a team
• I did read this article The Dirty Truth About Turn-Key Real Estate Investments so I acknowledge there is more profit to be made by manually following something like the BRRRR method, however my first go it could be too much. I do work full time after-all.

I got a few college requests in my last couple posts from (I believe) Real Estate firms, but It'd be great to chat with someone a bit about how the details of would work. In essence, I am hoping to form a team with a property manager, lender, etc. 

As an aside, does anyone recommend I actually start off with BRRRR from the get-go? I'm feel I understand the theory behind it and it sounds like an excellent way to make money while revamping homes and adding value to a neighborhood, however I really don't have a network to make the process fluid to any degree.

Hi Everyone,

I am a San Diego CA, white-collar worker (not in the real estate industry) and have not bought any property yet. The San Diego market is so expensive, I pretty much terrifies me. This could be due to me having no experience in real estate at all.

That said, I do have a bit of savings -- I have been working professionally for 8 years. A friend of mine has gotten into buying REI multi-family rentals in Kansas City and I like the idea of doing the same. I figure, the process of getting into REI's will have me learn the ropes in working with agents, brokers, lenders, etc.

That said, I am looking for advise on what markets to start in? I know there is a marketplace forum here on bigger pockets, but I there is also Zillow and RedFin, etc.

My goals are:

• Find properties that will cost me about $20-25k each in terms of down payment and any fees
  • No rehab properties and no expectation of appreciation, just something that can be rented out
• Creation a positive $200/mo cash-flow (more the better obviously)
• Most likely out of state from California
• Managed remotely (ideally, I never need to even visit the property)
• Develop a great relationship with a lender who will help in future deals as well as my eventual home for myself/family!
• Start the momentum to eventually buy more properties
  • Then eventually get into bigger and bigger deals
  • (I did read the 7 Years eBook - 7 years sounds good to me!)
• I believe REI Rentals are the easiest ways to start out, but also the slowest
  • I think I'd eventually like to find rehabs - however as my first REI, I think flipping a rehab may be too much coordination and too much of a time crunch
  • (Let me know if you disagree)

Anyway, obviously I am a newbie, so I could have misinterpreted things and be setting myself up for trouble. Any advice would be great! 

I hear you guys, and yeah parts of San Diego can be less than $500k, true. However, I noticed those "good" deals tend to be in areas I am not interested in. Obviously if there is no wiggle room in these negotiations, then I guess I'll have to suck it up and live in bad areas, but I was thinking maybe there are negotiation techniques that could help. 

@GregScott - this is why I'd probably re-finance as soon as able, however in Southern California, I don't see any other way to buy property unless I win the lotto or get family to help, somehow... The numbers just won't be there till much later in life.

I'm sure a question like this has been answered but I wanted to formulate the question on my own.

I have been working since I graduated college and work for a defense contractor and I feel its a job that could take me all the way to retirement (who knows though!). I make a descent middle class wage, fund a 401k, a ROTH IRA, as well as expect social security to come in.

All in all, after doing some finical calculations based on projected earnings and average retirement account/401k growth over the next 30 years, I should actually have a healthy retirement. However, for now, I am 32 years old and all the projections assume I am continually employed, etc.

Now all that said, I do live in San Diego where homes can be $500k at their cheapest, if not $1+M. However, when you look at my projected income through retirement, I should have that money made in my lifetime. 

Is there a way I can negotiate a loan that uses the fact that:

• I make a consistent wage every 2 weeks
• I expect to have a IRA + 401k + Social Security that will pay $X/month in retirement
• I have a Roth IRA which can act as a down payment
• I am also an FHA candidate.

To create a loan that is:

• Not tied to exactly 30 years, but could be (maybe) 45 years or a loose end
• The goal would by that my monthly payments would be about 25% of my income
• Also, I am interested in quadp-lexes where I could rent out 3 of the units. These can cost $1-2+M I think... so I would definitely need a loan which is creative and accommodating.

Basically, I have been looking into homes and seeing the need for either an outrageously large down-payment or extremely high monthly payments, all while trying to fit in that 30 year window. Can I negotiate beyond 30 years and have the lender take into account my projected retirement income.

(I know this may sound very risky - in all honesty, my goal is to keep my monthly payments reasonable. If I can, I would most likely refinance the loan as soon as I am able to ensure I don't have any payments while I am actually retired)