All Forum Posts by: Jody Sperling

I empathize with your 12hr. workday. The question you should ask to help gain clarity for what you want to do is this: Where do I make the most money? If your daily twelve produces more income than stepping back and giving some of that time to a BRRRR, there's nothing wrong with buying houses at market value and allowing the portfolio to grow slowly.

If you have a strong source of income, enjoy the work, and don't need to quit right away, BRRRR might not be your best road. If a BRRRR falls in my lap, I figure out how to make it work, like the house we finished renovating back in March 2021. Otherwise, I'm hunting for a home in my target zip code to buy at retail price to use as a rental right now.

BRRRRing speeds the acquisition of property, which is great for someone who wants out of a tough job or has the time to mail and call and hustle in real estate. Traditional buy-and-hold works much slower, but it works, and that's the main takeaway. Hope this helps at least a little, and best of luck! 

When we bought our first property, I had no idea it would double in value in five years. I had no idea my second property would increase in value by 20% in six months. Appreciation, in general has been a huge surprise I didn't expect (because everyone in the REI community tells you not to, and I still think that's wise advice!)

I have had responsible tenants who pay rent on time, even through the pandemic, and I'll be honest, I did expect that. I've also spent thousands on expected repairs, improvements and Capital Expenses. All in all, REI is somewhat predictable (knocking on wood) and the returns are even better than I'd hoped.

Now talk to someone who started pre 2008 and perhaps they won't be all sunshine and daisies. Good luck as you begin your journey!

It wasn't my intent to provoke you, and I am sorry for any assumptions I made. You know your situation best, and you came to the community for insight, so I gave it my best, no ill intent.

With that in mind, I wonder what you have against generational legacies. You mentioned that you hope your kids are street-smart enough not to need your financial help almost as if its more honorable to be self-made. That view of wealth would seem to suggest you believe the struggle to obtain money is among the most important struggles in life.

For my children, I want them to benefit from my abundance. I'd rather they struggle to find the money to build a museum than struggle to find the money to buy a single-family home, like I am today. I'd rather they have a chance to found a bank rather than grovel to a bank like I am today. I would prefer the challenge of teaching my children financial wisdom with much over financial wisdom with little.

I would find it an honor to know that my children and grandchildren could pursue any dream because they had the support of wealth behind them.

You're losing a forever income stream and a tax write off if you sell a property and use the money to pay off debt. And with your current though process, the debt will come back. 

If you choose to sell one, it's a sneaky way of conceding to yourself that you want to take the money and run, and I'd like to highlight a theme in you post to the community: You have debt not tied to assets and are making choices to live up to and perhaps beyond your means.

As a husband, and as a father of three, I can relate to your time crunch. I work full time in a W-2, and I'm actively building my portfolio. The stress and the busyness can overwhelm. All your feelings are real, but if you sell now, you risk abandoning what could be a beautiful legacy for your and your children's future.

I'm guessing you don't like the idea of a property manager because PMs restrict cash flow, but given your stress, now is the time to find that property manager, use them well, and find areas in your current budget to cut spending slightly so you can buy another rental. Build the portfolio.

Choose the challenging path. You won't regret it.

Invest where the numbers make sense. Live where you want.

If you can afford to rent in NYC, that's great. Enjoy it. You don't have to live in a place you buy. Owner occupied homes are considered a liability by most anyway, so do what's affordable and be where you want to be.

You can build wealth faster by finding off-market deals in other places instead of buying turnkey, but turnkey would work fine as well, if that's your comfort level. Best of luck!

Move somewhere ugly and boring that has stable real estate. I hate to knock my own market, but Omaha would be a good fit. If you go to Austin or Boise, the temptation to party and explore the city will be too great.

I don't recall who said it, but if you want to live like no one else one day, you have to be willing to live like no one will today.

When you arrive in Boringtown, USA find a property management company that will hire you on and offer to do everything they need. Don't worry about pay, just be sure to network with everyone you meet. Ask questions until people turn the other direction when they see you coming.

Best of luck this summer, wherever you go!

I picked up a massive rehab project back in December. My business partner and I tackled a good bit of the rehab ourselves, contracting out tiling, cabinetry and exterior doors, but building walls, ceilings and floors stayed with us. The only bit I lack experience in is foundation work, but that wouldn't stop me from taking a project like you're describing.

Truthfully, I miss the rehab work. I enjoy the adrenaline rush of thinking I'm in over my head and the problem solving. I love the before-and-afters, and I enjoy collaborating with contractors. Plus, I can't think of a faster way to grow wealth than to execute a perfect BRRRR. Best of luck to you! I say go for it.

You're on a real estate platform, so that seems like a leading question. Listen to the BP podcast and learn about House Hacking. That's most likely where you want to start. A successful house hack is not only the foundations of a good business, but it immediately wipes out your largest single expense in terms of making the place you live an asset instead of a liability.

Best of luck to you!

There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. I carry about 139k in debt between two rental properties. Only 30k of the debt is amortized, the rest is through lines of credit. As I pay off the line of credit I'll push money into another rental and my amortized debt will grow. It has just so happened that my deals have been off-market and cash.

Because of my position, I cashflow extremely well, but I also have less cash to accumulate new assets. If the market crashed, I'd be absolutely safe, but my percentage return is poorer than others who have less of their own money in deals.

It seems the best answer for your question is to do what gives you confidence and to continue building your portfolio. As long as you continue to collect assets, you'll eventually have a great deal of wealth, and legacy wealth. Best of luck!

In your situation, I can't think of one beneficial reason to refinance the current primary. You can rent it with the current loan, no problem. That's a strategy my wife and I use every year so we can get property at 5% down. Then we rent the home we lived in the prior year.

In your situation, after you've held the loan for a year, send an official change of address notice to the bank and you're set to go. If you're hoping to pull money out of the property to invest, ask your bank about a HELOC instead, it's a line of credit backed by the equity in the house and you only pay what you spend, just like a credit card but with great, simple interest rates.

If you refinance, you'll end up paying thousands in closing costs and fees that will only make your situation less profitable. Best of luck!