All Forum Posts by: Justin Winn

I really think it depends on if you can cover the mortgage if one or both of your new properties has a vacancy, major repair, etc. If you have the cash reserves for that, with a ~$100/mo retained earnings (what most call cash flow) then I think buying the two is a good idea for the long term. 

But if you’re going to lose sleep over it, then I would say you probably need to save a bit more until you have the cash for reserves. I’m OK with being uncomfortable, but not with being scared (aka losing sleep over a deal).

I’ve had tenants in the past who have asked to make cosmetic changes to my property, they covered the cost. If your tenants are concerned about their electric bill then maybe you can negotiate some kind of deal where they cover either a portion or all of the cost for the installation.

To @Leo R.’s point you’ll want to talk with the solar panel installation team to understand what is the impact to your existing roof, electrical, etc.

Best of luck, and let me know if I can further assist you in anyway.

There are likely many ways you could approach this. But as I understand it, and I'm not a lawyer, unless the business is going to hold the property you don't need the LLC. If the property is going to hold the property and financing is involved it could be difficult to get financing until the business has income and a track record.

What I'm doing with my properties is I am getting the financing in my name, using an umbrella policy until I have paid off a property and will then transfer them into an LLC. I understand I could transfer them prior to paying them off but would risk triggering a due on sales clause with the lender… slight risk though it may be, my wife and I have decided to transfer when the property is paid off.

I hope this is helpful.

I bought my first house in 2004. Lived in it, house hacked, and eventually started renting it. Rents initially were $600/mo. I eventually sold it because I stopped paying attention to my personal finances and needed the money. I checked rents on that house earlier this week. It now rents for $1400/mo and is valued at 130k over what I paid for it… so I agree with everyone else, if you’re ready with your personal finances, then it’s always a good time to get started.

Best of luck to you.

I invest in rural areas currently so we aren’t using any of these tools at the moment. However, my cousin shared a fascinating tip that works for them in their rural market. That is to meet the person and when you meet make it a point to stroll past their car where you can see inside and if their car is clean and neat and you have a good feeling after talking with them and any references then they give them the green light.

One thing I haven’t seen anyone mention is what are your cash reserves, risk tolerance, and goals. If you have the cash reserves and your goal is long term appreciation then maybe it’s worth considering. Or maybe you make a larger down payment in order to increase the cash flow. Of course that impacts your Cash on Cash return. But if your strategy is cash flow with a low down payment, I think you may have a long hard road ahead, for the foreseeable future. Not an impossible journey though. Best of luck, and I hope this helped.

@Andre Crabb good to see you on this thread. I agree with the majority of those blue areas. I would have expected the southern portion of this map near broken arrow to be darker blue. I’m not sure what your algorithms look at though. Keep up the great work.

I manage the financials for our properties in OK, and my parents deal with the day to day tenant interactions, maintenance scheduling, etc. If it weren’t my parents helping with that aspect I think it would still be manageable, but I would want someone on the ground who I trust that can occasionally drive by and make sure they haven’t set the place on fire. If someone is going to take time out of their day to check on my investment I feel like I should respect their time with some form of reimbursement.

@Andre Crabb just FYI, most of the area from the center dot to the upper right corner is Ft Bliss. (No real estate for sale there) However, the left hand side of this is pretty accurate, the areas in what is known as “the west side” are generally considered to be the nicer, safer, neighborhoods. But the blue areas around downtown I would question. Those areas are hit or miss block by block. I hope this is useful feedback.

@Steven Moore makes a great point. Getting clear about what your goal is will help you remove some of the barriers to taking that first step. It sounds like you’re ready to jump in the pool, you’re just not sure where to swim once you’re in. Good luck, I’m excited for you.