All Forum Posts by: Mike McKinzie

I have an unusual goal, to own a rental house in all 50 states. I have been told that North Carolina, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania are hot areas. I was hoping to get more input.

Currently, I have rental property in California, Colorado, Texas and Virginia. I am looking to buy another SFR or possibly duplex, and the main issue is monthly cash flow. What state or states seem to be the best for cash flow investing in 2009?

My partner just called and we are suppose to close next week on our units in Texas. I want to do a 1031 on a 1-4 unit for 150,000 to 200,000. I will come out with 150-160K in cash, so may need to get a small loan or will just use my line of credit. Looking to NET 1,000 to 1,500 per month AFTER all expenses. Please email me, [EMAIL REMOVED]

Actually, it is "give me a break", not "give me a brake", unless you are stopping a vehicle.

Actually, I am considering purchasing some GE stock. But not until they get rid of Jeffrey Immelt. What a joke. Who put him in charge of GE? Instead of running GE for the Stockholders, he is running GE for the Democrats, which is why Obama appointed him as a member of President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. GE stock was around 33 when Immelt took over, and dove down to 5. Yep, a real winner!

Nationwide, if you are going to use the argument, "he loses nothing unless he sells" then you also have to say "he has not gained anything unless he sells" as well. Last time I checked, Forbes assesses a person's VALUE by the value of what they hold.

Also, I am not sure I agree with your assessment of GE. There was a time that folks said the same thing about GM and AIG and Bear Stearns and Enron, etc....

Although not directly correlated, my experience has shown that when property values drop, my vacancy rate goes up. Two years ago, the 10 properties in the Fresno area were fully rented, but today, six are vacant. So we are trying to rent them, and quite a bit less than just two years ago. Therefore, when property values drop, so does rental income.

There is the theoretical side and then there is the reality side. CASH FLOW IS KING. Every formula, every 'abbreviated' investment term, EVERYTHING, hinges on the CASH FLOW. When cash flow is zero, none of the formula's work.

But to get back to the original question, diversity is a good thing.

As a side note, I took over my parent's properties because dad is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. That is one WICKED disease.

Someone mentioned Warren Buffet. He lost around Twenty BILLION dollars last year. Maybe now he wishes he had diversified a little more. He invested nearly a Billion in GE at 32 and it dropped to 5, and is now around 12. He invested in Wells Fargo at 40 and it dropped to 7, now around 25.

Diversification is a GOOD thing, and sometimes, it only needs to be 10 miles. Look at Orange County, CA and compare Newport Beach to Garden Grove.

Twenty years ago, my father bought 15 properties in the Fresno, CA area. UGGG. What a mistake! He would have been better off buying 3 in Fresno, 3 in Modesto, 3 in the Inland Empire, 3 in Orange County and 3 in San Diego! I am still cleaning that mess up today, down to 10 in the Fresno area.

By 680, are you meaning a Credit Score?

I came upon Biggerpockets through a Google Search for Real Estate Investing Forums. It is hard to keep up on the market since I quit being a Realtor back in the mid 90s, so I needed a resource to stay informed.

My father helped start the firm, Century 21, and was a Realtor for 36 years. I was a Realtor for 16 years. So I was basically raised in a Real Estate Home.

Currently, vacancies are hurting our returns, but hopefully, that will turn around soon.

I took over total bookkeeping and investing for mom and dad last year. I am selling a couple of their "losers" and trying to find some "winners." So any and all ideas are welcome.

Actually, you can't get 2.5% on a one year CD from a reputable firm. The best I can get so far on $100,000 is 1.5%. But to make it simple, if I invest $200,000, I want at least $1,000 a month after all costs, ie, taxes, insurance, management, etc... That would be a 6% return on capital invested. For instance, I bought a house in Fort Worth for 103,000 and get 1,071 rent. The return is about 700 a month or 8400 a year on a 103,000 investment.

Hello
I have been real estate investing for 30 years now. Never anything big, but always had a couple of rental houses. I joined this forum to see where the best places to invest if I were to pay all cash. I am NOT interested in Appreciation, JUST CASH FLOW! I am going to come into between $200,000 and $1,500,000 cash and need to reinvest it so I am open to any and all possibilities. Currently, I own in California, Texas, Colorado and Virginia.

My rules are that I NEVER want to see the house. I never want to hear from the tenants. I want to make at least 4 times the average one year CD rate by years end. Not asking that much, right?