All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Fernéz

@Jennifer Fernéz

can you share more about the deals you haven't been able to close?  if that's because you're making offers on terms that work for you and not getting them, then good for you.  anyone can buy a bad deal - just go on Zillow and pick the first property you see and buy it.  but that's not investing.

I've been making offers on potential BRRRRs this year and getting turned down.  which is good.  i'm bidding the max i can to make the deal work, and if it doesn't work, i move on to the next one.  i offered on one i really, really wanted last month in a neighborhood i own a rental in.  the max i could offer and make the numbers work for me was 60K.  they wanted 65.  i moved on.

i'm also glad you're thinking 10-15 years out.  as i stated in a previous post, if you want immediate growth, you're best off in a savings account.

A lot of the answer depends on your income, how long it took you to save up that money, and what your risk tolerance is. 

For my answer, I'll assume it took years to save up the $80k, income is "normal" (meaning you are not making $500k+/yr), and you are moderately risk adverse.

If those are correct, then first off I would not spend all the money. Keep some as reserves. I'd spend maybe ~$60k of that money. I would buy a turnkey 2-4 unit property in a well known mid to large city. The property would be in a C+ to B- type location, with cash flow as the main objective and appreciation second (75/25 split). Purchase price up to $300k.

That way you will have a property that produces passive cash flow every month and appreciates slowly and steadily over time. Risk is minimized due to the amount of rents, property condition, property price, and location. Also you spread out your risk over multiple units, so if you get a vacancy, you still have money coming in (vs a SFR - no tenant = no money).

Let that cash flow build up (don't spend it - put it all into a separate savings acct), keep saving (do whatever you did to get the $80k) and when you have enough money saved up again, buy another one. This time, I would consider increasing your risk a bit now that you have the first one out of the way. I would buy a similar property, but buy one that needs a bit of work. That way you can renovate it after closing and gain some additional equity. Stabilize the property, wait a year or two for some appreciation, and then refinance - pull that equity out, and then do it again. And again, and again. Fast forward 20 years when you are 60 and you have a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio that should be generating a solid amount of passive income.

@Jennifer Fernéz I’d do a low down payment house hack and try to repeat every 12-15 months.

I’ve been house hacking for 30 years and am now in a duplex. The tenant side is a 3/1 and my side is a 3/3. My side also has a small bonus room that could be an additional bedroom if needed.

So it’s possible to find a 2-4 unit building that has a big enough unit for a family.

This way your cost of entry would likely be under $20,000 and you’d have 1-3 rents to offset your expenses and mortgage.

I’ve got my tenant side under market rent because we hand select the tenant for that side. We have not had to advertise it so there’s no discrimination issue there.

Our previous tenant just moved out after 7 years and the new one likely will stay for years. But it sure is nice having that rent money coming in every month to help offset costs. You won’t know that feeling until you’ve experienced it.

If you think of your $80K like a game of chess, your money is your king—it’s valuable and needs to be protected. You don’t win by moving your king around recklessly. Instead, you leverage your queen: your credit. The queen is your most powerful piece, but it needs to be used wisely to win the game.

Here’s how to play the game:

1. Protect Your Cash: Instead of using your hard-earned $80K for large investments outright, leverage it strategically. Open a corporation and start building business credit.

2. Leverage Credit to Multiply Capital: With strong business credit, you can secure $50K to $250K in funding through business credit cards and lines of credit. The best part? Business credit doesn’t affect your personal credit score dramatically, and you’ll have significantly more capital to work with.

3. Use Portfolio Lenders: Portfolio lenders often require just a 20% down payment and will provide the remaining 80% for your property investment. With credit and cash combined, you can scale your investments much faster.

4. Invest Strategically: Use a small portion of your credit to invest in marketing to find deals, or partner with wholesalers and real estate agents to bring deals to you.

5. Organize for Success: Set up multiple business bank accounts and give your money a purpose. This organization will help you manage cash flow, plan investments, and operate like a true CEO.

6. Build Your Network: Real estate success is a team sport. Partner with investors, wholesalers, and real estate agents who align with your vision and values. Identifying the right people will set you up for long-term wins.

Remember, credit is a tool—it’s not about getting rich quick but about building wealth responsibly. This approach will allow you to grow beyond your $80K and truly make strategic moves in the game of real estate.

I’m Xavien Rafael, CEO of Intelligent Credit, an international credit agency helping clients in Canada and America with credit repair and funding. If you want to learn more about leveraging credit or making your money work harder for you, check out my content on Createdinero and my YouTube channel. Let’s connect and help you win this game!

I would spend 3-6 months educating yourself and networking with other investors. Build your network. 

From there, I would probably look to house hack, if that's in the cards with your family. If not, you should be able to get one rental property with that assuming it's 25% down. 

Another option would be to use the Section 121 exclusion for your personal residence. You can buy a house, improve it, and sell it after living in the property 2 of the last 5 years. You can exclude gains up to $500k if you're married, $250k if single. You would want to buy a fixer upper of course. 

@Jennifer Fernéz I am tempted to tell you my preference, but it would be just another in a long list you have heard already.  You probably already know in your heart which direction you want to go and may be looking for some justification.  My advice would be to pick the one you want and go for it.  You really can't go wrong with too much in real estate.   

Most real estate is not a short term gain, it is long term by letting your tenant pay off your mortgage. The short term real estate is flipping which is high risk. If I wanted to get into real estate and had $80K, I'd find a place under $400K (because you need 20% down payment) ideally a duplex or a home with a legal suite in a good area. No HOA, no condo.

Edited to add: I'm not sure I want to buy any more rentals, so I'd stick it in the bank and probably make more off interest than I would a rental...and with a lot less work and risk.

@Jennifer Fernéz

Did you buy the property? If so, how did you handle the tenant?