All Forum Posts by: Joseph Tjader

Ahh..the ever elusive passive income. If it were me I'd be buying low cost Vanguard index funds

Welcome Jolu, once you're here and settled feel free to reach out to me.  I'd love to get lunch sometime.   I'm former military here.  You ever been flyfishing?

Joe Tjader, Keller Williams

@Frank Chin and @Bill Exeter, thank you for your input.  As you already know, every market is different.  I think I'll look into a smaller 2/1 as a long term buy and hold live in with some work needing to be done.  @Joshua D., would you have any input here?

Thanks again, Joe

Hello BP Community

This is a very newbie post which will be long so please bear with me.

I am 29 and recently (last year) bought a 3/2 near a military base,. It was a turn key and I figured I would rent it out to military families down the road. I knew very little about how to run numbers and to use a property as its best intended use. I used the VA loan but also put down 14% of the purchase price. I bought into a 3% interest rate, 30 yr fixed. The house has a large garage, fenced yard, AC and so on. My current payment is $859 and would rent for $1200-$1250. Would make a great rental for a family. I am not married, no kids, no pets, 800 credit score. I am currently the only person living in the house. I had a renter (for a month) and he managed to piss on my carpet???, clog both of my sinks, and took paint off of a wall in his bedroom. I "evicted" him the next day. Personally, I hate to live with other people.

I am looking currently for a duplex to buy, live in one side, rent the other. My current financial situation is 10k between savings and checking, 40k in stocks/bonds, and 20k in a Roth IRA. I have no debt other than the current mortgage, vehicle paid off. I am wondering if there's a way to buy a duplex without having to put down 20%. Reason is, I don't want to pull my investments. I came across a property I was interested in and was suggested a FHA 203(k) loan. I learned that all the work has to be done by licensed contractors (is that correct)? If I were to do this on the property I am interested in, I don't want to get into a cash crunch as there are numerous repairs to make. I am also concerned that since I would prefer to do the work myself, that down the road I might get sued if something went wrong. This leads me to my next question.

If I understand it right, to qualify for a 1031 exchange, the property must have been held in the same vehicle as the new property, i.e. The house I currently live in was purchased by myself, not in an LLC. My banker said that I would have to live in it for at least a year before I could move it over to an LLC. Given that the house was not purchased in an LLC it would not me able to use a 1031 to fund the new property. Also, I heard that banks require a 30% down payment and the LLC must have been in operation for at least 3 years and show a history of performance for a new property to have to be bought through the bank (is that correct)?

Here in lies the dilemma, not sure if you guys would call it that though. I want to get out of my current house (just doesn't make much sense) and buy another property, duplex, triplex etc. I am not sure if I should set up the LLC, get an attorney, an accountant, etc only to be turned down by every bank. I like my house, I am happy with the 3% rate, and can afford the payments no problem by myself.

Also, on a side note, I plan on becoming a real estate agent with Keller Williams in the next few months.  Should I wait until that is already the case and go from there? Thank you so much for reading this post in its entirety. 

I love BP and find myself learning so much the I stay up this late in the day to learn about RE investing.  Is there any advice more seasoned investors would be able to give to a VERY NEWBIE INVESTOR?

Thanks again, Joe

Hello Devonta, I am not in the same position you are but have decided to become an agent.  Not sure what company you plan to hang it on but I have researched it and am convinced that I will be going with Keller Williams.  They have one of the best commission splits (30% to the broker, 70% the agent keeps) as most are structured 50/50.  They also have a profit sharing program which you become vested after 3 years (think pension).  Hope this helps, Joe

I appreciate the advice. I'm not relying on it yet, but more than likely I'd have a private investor lined up for a line of no interest credit if I were to go that route 

Awesome, thanks

Here in Great Falls MT. Just wondering to all the investors out there, how do you find the who owners of current multi family buildings are? There are very few for sale in every site that I check..realtor.com, google searches etc. Is there a place through the public records one could check into this without having to ask current renters? Ask property management companies? Thanks, Joe

@Brian Lacey, thanks.  Never heard of that

Hello Everyone, 

I, like a lot of others grew up somewhere else and the military brought me here.  I am in love with the Montana lifestyle.  I do quality control testing for commercial construction around central Montana

I currently own a SFR on the est end of Great Falls, closed on it this June. I am planning on having a couple roomates to generate equity and also save for the next downpayment. I am currently looking for a less desirable SFR to live in and rent mine out.

I am interested in flipping and buy and hold properties, and leaning so much on BP

Thanks, Joe