All Forum Posts by: Kourtney Post

@David Faulkner  Thank you!!  You addressed a lot of my concerns about our situation.  It's not fun to hear it may be better to wait, but we definitely want to be smart about what we do!  I appreciate your honesty and feedback.  We only live on one income right now so we definitely have options for the future to get us into investing.  We just want to make a solid plan on how to get there. 

@Christopher Goldie Thanks for your suggestions. You bring up my exact concerns about doing a HELOC. Will definitely be doing more research before we make a move on anything!

@Chris Bork Thanks for your 2 cents! :) My husband has a stable job right now (and I work part time) so we aren't desperate to jump into anything, but definitely want to make a plan for the next 3-5 years.  It is hard to be patient though sometimes!  Our goal is eventually to live off passive income so neither of us HAVE to work.  Who likes working for someone else??

@Ken P. Thanks for your input!  That really helped me understand the 401K loan better.  It's something I've had suggested to me before but wasn't totally sure how it worked.  So does your employer set the terms of the 401K loan?  

@Larry Watson , your idea is what makes the most financial sense to me, at least what I'm most comfortable with.  I don't love the idea of moving our family again, but it if we have to sacrifice now for a better future, I think it'd be more than worth it!  We only have one child starting school in the fall, the rest are too little, so at least we wouldn't have to worry too much about changing schools at this point in our lives.   @Jay Hinrichs We do not have an FHA loan, and I worry about being under capitalized too - I don't want to stretch ourselves too much just to do it for the sake of jumping into something. You bring up some good points! A house hack is definitely the most attractive option to me right now.

@Grace Porritt Thanks for your input! We have about $35,000 equity right now. From what I understand, the selling market is going up in our area. There's a fairly low inventory and most are selling fast - a comp across the street from us recently sold in 5 days. But we are pretty new to this area so I'm still learning (new to everything, really!) I don't like the idea of a HELOC but if we could find the right property with strong returns, I wonder if it might be worth it.

I'm new to investing and looking into getting some rental properties. I've talked with my mortgage broker and they're willing to finance a rental property but I will need 20-25% down. My husband and I currently have only about $12,000 in cash on hand (but no debts, aside from our current mortgage). From what we can see our only options to getting into a rental is 1. Save until we have enough cash - could take several years 2. Finance a down payment. 3. Partner with someone who can front the rest of the down payment. Or 4. Sell or rent our current home and move into a multi family - renting the other unit(s). (We have 3 small kids so this wouldn't be ideal... But still possible). I guess what I'm wondering is, is it ever a good idea to borrow money for a down payment? That makes me nervous. We could borrow against our 401Ks, or a HELOC but I don't know enough about either to know if they would be good options. Anyone have advice on this? I'd rather not wait years to get started but I want to go about it the right way.

@Lee G. @Jonna Weber  I'd love to meet up sometime and pick your brains if you're up for it.  We could really use some insider insight and input on our situation.  My dad has been investing for 10+ years and has offered help here and there but I'll be honest, I'm not sure he's made a lot of good decisions and even though I love him, I don't necessarily trust his business advice 😉

@Jack Butala thanks for the welcome! I've already learned so much from BP. Such a great resource!

@Jonna Weber I'd love to attend the meet up in June! I feel like the best way to learn is from others who actually know what they're doing 😉 Thanks for the heads up - I'll be watching for it!