All Forum Posts by: Johnny Wolff

For sure man!  Glad it landed right.  If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out.  Do think starting with your first investment as soon as possible is the right move.  You'll only really learn after you start owning.  

@Patrick Bunn - really liked this approach and your reasoning for working towards passive income is really cool.  Makes me want to help!

Few things that stood out to me in your post:

1)  You don't have time to do your own property management (3-4 hours a month type thing) - means that flipping (a >20 hours a week type thing) might be a bit too ambitious right now

2)  I like that you have a plan - keep making them.  I think it's a great step to measuring your growth and progress.  I do think initial plans (especially in new realms) do tend to get adjusted substantially with added expertise and experience.  I think starting with a turnkey (locally or elsewhere) would really be a good first step based on your description of your life.  Get a real understanding of owning RE (Step 1), then pick which path you want to go down to achieve your wealth / passive income dreams.  Generating $ from flips, BRRRs, etc is all possible - but it takes knowledge, time, expertise that I'm not quite sure you have at this stage.  Or perhaps you could partner with someone on those?

3)  Patience is key.  We hear all these stories on BP of rapid, earth-shattering, cash-flow success.  But in reality that is a tiny minority of folks who invest in RE.  The typical results are still really, really good - but cashflow that is enough to allow a career change?  That will take years (maybe 10+), in most cases.  Taking a year or two upfront to really learn - so you pursue the right strategy makes sense.  Start fast (today!), but be patient and realistic about the time frame.

Anyways - hope this isn't too much of a debbie downer response.  Always happy to hop onto a DM to discuss things further.

@Carlos H DeOliveira - to @Joseph Firmin's point literally anything can work if you run the numbers and its sound.

Personally love that SFRs can attract tenants that will stay for half a decade fairly often.  Condos or multi-families are more work on the churn/occupancy side - at least from what I've seen

Hi @Joaquin M Dugan Jr,

I invested OOS for my first few properties.  It went well.  I think as long as the turnkey company also manages the property you should be in pretty good shape.  I personally think you can get a pretty good understanding of an area by pursuing Google maps (check out the cars) vs taking a trip in person - but understanding the area a bit is helpful.

Hey @Andrew Threet - really good questions.

I think my recommendation for most folks starting out is:

1)  House hack locally if at all possible.  Downpayment assistance is available in some counties/cities in California.  That's going to be BY FAR the biggest bang for your buck in terms of wealth gain.  You might have to live in a part of town you don't love as much, but it will be worth it long term, I promise.

2)  If a house hack really isn't feasible - I do think a turnkey is a great option for your first property.  That's what I did for my first two properties, and I learned a lot just owning them over the course of a few years.  Great first-hand experience with some training wheels - especially if you have a demanding 9-5.  Most other strategies take a lot of time, effort, knowledge (which you can acquire by owning a turnkey), and grit.  And even turnkey properties are more hands-on, than stocks or bonds (but with a WAY higher upside).  I do think I'd recommend saving up just a little more.  Even in the middle of America (I'm in KC) I'd be targeting homes above $150K.  Homes less than that are lower priced for a reason (high crime, rural, POS, etc.).  Lastly - be sure that the turnkey company also manages the property.  That ensures they don't sell you garbage and run. 

Good luck man - and nice job saving $25K.  That's not easy to do.

Hi @Jamie Blum,

DFW price appreciation was hot, hot, hot for a number of years, but it appears to have slowed quite a bit right now.  We do really love the long term appreciation potential over the next 5-10 years though.  Does make it pretty tough to find good options, in good neighborhoods at prices below $225K today.

Happy to chat about DFW RE anytime...but you should really talk to @harrison sharp

Love the rent by the room strategy Harrison.  Think you're really onto something.

Think this is why the 1% rule (and nearly all "rules") generally falls short.

What is the rent to value ration after subtracting the Condo HOA fees? Is it still 1%? The detailed proforma analysis is very important in all types of RE. Condos are fine, but cashflow is typically very difficult to find in such properties all things considered.

A few I've tried:

Buildium

Hemlane

Cozy

A few I've heard good things about:

Appfolio

OneRent

Tenant Cloud

Hi Kana!

1)  Look for companies that help you buy, that also manage the properties

2)  We're in KC & DFW and here's what we're seeing - is low supply, higher prices

3)  At our company, we haven't seen payment issues - but nationally I believe most landlords got hit pretty hard (delinquencies were >15%).  One of the advantages to our coliving model is that payments are dramatically more consistent than other types of real estate strategy