All Forum Posts by: Justin Woodard

Not to steal the thunder from David Greene's book about Long-Distance Real Estate Investing but building out your core 4 and then expanding your network from there is really key. With your core 4 and systems in place to manage your core 4, you should be able to invest at any interest rate once you find a good deal. 

I think it will also depend on what your goals are. Some rental markets are better for for appreciation and some are better for cash flow. I'm not familiar with the markets in Michigan, but if they are like other areas in the Midwest, you'll likely get lower appreciation with stronger cash flow. If this fits in with your long term goals I would say you can start investing local and eventually move out of state once you have a larger network. 

I'm a new investor looking to get started in Indy, also from out of state. Would love to connect and talk about goals, journey, etc. to see if there is anything we can learn from each other. 

Welcome to BiggerPockets. I'm also looking to invest in Indy albeit from out of state. Send me a PM if you would like to connect. 

Hi David. First welcome to Bigger Pockets! If you're looking to leverage the value of your home the best method I know is a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit). The simple explanation is that you can kind of use the equity in your home as a credit card and this credit could be used for the down payment on an investment property. The only downside being that lenders typically want to see some kind of income to make sure you can make payments, so I'm not sure how your situation would work with as you said "a lack of income." It's certainly possible as long as your income isn't absolutely zero, but something you'll need to talk with various lenders in your area about.

Hope this helps a bit.

Not real estate related, but I have been thinking about making my own YouTube channel for a while now, and this year I finally started. It's been a lot of fun learning how to edit videos, while also progressively seeing myself get more comfortable in front of the camera. I live in Japan, so it's about my experiences and any cool places I go.

@Ibrahim Yamini

David Green talks about it a lot in his book, but building systems for everything. This way you don't have to be involved in every decision while you're living OOS. The book definitely does a good job of giving you an idea of what kind of systems you should have in place, so I would recommend giving it a read.  

Hi @John-Patrick D. Bailey

I think the first step is to start saving up money to strengthen your financial position. I think there will be a lot less anxiety if you're investing from a comfortable position. 

You can also start contacting agents, in the areas you are interested in if you are interested in learning about the markets. Of course tell them you're time frame so they know you may not be purchasing right away but intend to once you have more saved up. 

Hi Kristina,

Is there are any particular areas of real estate investing you are interested in? Why not focus on that and make that your niche to start? If you find something it isn't working you can always switch to a new area of real estate and see how that works. 

Another thing to consider is your closing costs of doing a cash out refi and making sure that you would receive enough cash for the down payment on another property. 

I'm assuming you will but just something to keep in mind.