All Forum Posts by: Josh Calcanis

BP,

I've been searching and there are number of LLC posts. What I haven't found is a way to get similar protection of my assets without putting the properties into an LLC.

Here is my issue. I bought the two properties outside of the LLC because I didn't feel it was going to be benef

@Ryland Taniguchi Thanks. It sounds like I'd have to go outside of Seattle thought to find what I'm looking for. At least for now.

@Max T. never even thought of that. I'll definitely check that out on my next deal! Thanks.

@Micah Dickson Thanks for the help. I sent you over a few questions on a pm

@Christine Sykes who do you use out in Seattle?

thanks @Micah Dickson  that sounds great. 

Is there a fee for Xero?

@Christine Sykes congrats on getting started, especially in Seattle! The market is ridiculous IMHO in the downtown Seattle area. I chose Orlando for a few reasons...

1) I was familiar with the area ( I was born and raised there) and had some contacts that connected me with a few good property managers and realtors. 

2) immediate cash flow. Although I could pull off a FHA loan out here in Seattle and live in one of the units, not many of the units matched what I was looking for in terms of cash flow. A lot were negative at the end of the month (in the greater Seattle area). Many members on here say if money is an issue you can look elsewhere/analyze more deals/etc. I just accepted the fact that I was going to not live in the units and invest elsewhere where I could break into the market.

Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to learn from everyone here on BP while beginning to invest in properties out of state. I live in Seattle right now and have a Triplex and SFH in Orlando FL. Both have positive cash flows and were essentially turnkey properties.

My question as a new investor, is what tools do some of you use to track Capitol expenditures, taxes, etc?

I have a management company doing a great job sending monthly statements of my cash flow less any expenses and provide me with a year end review for tax purposes. I keep most receipts and leases in a filing cabinet, but that is it.

My goal is to purchase one more multi family, hold it, and use the equity and cash to break into a 30 unit complex so any suggestions on tools that can scale with me would be great. 

@Jack Wiggins thanks 

@John D. good point on the age! Very true. Same thing here in medical sales. If you show the tenacity and knowledge of other veterans it doesn't matter how old you are. Impressive work with the website. 

@Jack Wiggins There is a lot to look at there, but in theory sounds like a good plan. I personally would want to know what market rent is there, where is it now, how long would it take to get to a livable condition, and HOW MUCH it'll cost to make the conversions you'll want. Take a look a zoning too... if it's in a neighborhood a big multi like that might not work out. Keep in mind just run the numbers as conservative as possible. always plan for the unexpected.

If you feel that it will bring you an ROI that your comfortable with and that it will cash flow (those are what I look for, could be different for you) go for it! Good luck!

@Jack Wiggins I did miss that post. It doesn't have much to do with age. It's more about credit score, length of employment, etc. @Jeff Lezark is a lender and explained it perfectly. I've had my job for some time now and throughout the closing process I've had to supply bank statements and proof of income. 

I went conventional for both of my properties because I had the cash to put the down payment on them. I don't know how it works over there, but seller financing might be something you could look into. You want to make sure the seller actually has the place paid off because the bank could call the loan due correct me if i'm wrong @Jeff Lezark

@Jack Wiggins He is on BP. Search for him and reach out. He's a great speaker and offers some great advice.

A lot of the creative ways involve living in the property to put a lower amount down and do that once a year, but since you're not planning on moving that might not be the best option. This is a plug for BP, but the book on here The Book on investing in real estate with no and low money down, is a great guide for MULTIPLE ways of this kind of financing. Also long-term property is pretty vague... what are you looking for? SFH?Triplex? 12-unit complex? That's going to drive financing as well...

For me I use the my job to pay down current loans and use the income to go towards the purchase of other deals. If you're looking for something over 5 units you can find a sweet deal where the rent is under market value and just requires a little bit of work. In that case you could purchase the property using something like hard money (or a private lender) then refi after the seasoning period is over. If you ran the numbers with a conservative cap rate you should be able to refi with a normal lender, pay back your HML, and have equity you can use (or leave in the complex). 4 unit properties and under aren't valued like commercial properties so the above situation wouldn't work too well.

You could also use equity in you're home if you're comfortable with that. I'm a fan of paying down your loans, but I also own investment properties and no primary residence, so I'm in a different situation.