All Forum Posts by: Chris L.

Kristin,
I wanted to add another dimension to your thread.
A key component of financial independence is proper stewardship of your resources. I know that you are looking for those exciting real estate stories of success.
As we have already heard from Brandon, his living expenses were only 3K per month. Minimizing your living expenses by containing unnecessary spending is equally important as creating massive income if you want to be a full time investor.
My passion in life is to help others improve their lives financially. I have had the privilege to help about a dozen families start investing in real estate. However, I have taught thousands over the years (mostly in church) to better their lives by eliminating bad debt.
My becoming a full time real estate investor was based more upon financial stewardship than finding a lot of real estate deals.
Chris

Pat,
Thank you for your service to the young veterans!
Chris

I will answer even though I probably do not fit the exact model that you were looking for. I did not achieve financial independence through real estate but will answer the questions about what I do and where I am going.

I spent a career in the Air Force and invested in stocks. I came "back" to real estate 10 yrs ago.

So, it was relatively easy for me because I had assets to invest but here are the answers to your questions.

1. Single Family Rentals
2. Ft Wayne IN
3. Cash
4. We owned 30 SFR's when I retired. We now own 62.
5. Not really a fair question for me since I could have retired prior to starting in Real Estate.
6. Help others to achieve financial independence by teaching and mentoring.

Chris

Hi Seth,
I have a lot of experience with rentals and would be glad to help you.
I have helped some guys your age get started in rental property investing. There is a REI group that meets in Ft Wayne every 3rd Saturday of the month.
I look forward to your success.
Chris

Lisa,
I am the registered agent for my LLC.
As Tracey has already indicated, setting up your LLC is inexpensive and easy in Indiana.
What are you planning to do within your LLC? Rentals, flips, etc?
Chris

Congratulations Lindsay.

I am proud of you for taking action and being willing to move your financial future forward by living in a triplex and renting two of your units.

I just ran through that scenario here in Ft Wayne and no one could figure out how to get an FHA loan for an LLC. I am not sure that we asked the right questions or the right people so I would not rule out the fact that it is possible.

With the assumption that you are not going to be able to title the home in an LLC, you will need to have a commercial landlord policy.

My insurance agent explained it to me this way: If someone sues for damage, the insurance company is going to represent their interest but they have to go through the insurance company and their attorney's before they get to your assets.

You will want to get quotes from several insurance companies to determine what insurance will be right for you.

You may want to consider using a property manager for your two units even though you live right next door. Living with your tenants is definitely a double edged sword.

Once again, I want to commend you on your decision to make a wise financial decision where you have the opportunity to live virtually for free when your other two units are rented.

Chris

Welcome to BP Mark.

I have had my best returns on cash flowing rental properties. You are fortunate to live in an area where there are plenty of cash flow properties available. You should be able to find solid rentals that will provide a good return for you over time.

I have made my best cash on cash returns when I have leveraged a down payment with a portfolio mortgage.

I do not know what lenders in the Indy area will do portfolio loans. The lender I work with in Ft Wayne only operates in the NE region of Indiana.

It will be up to you to decide what works for you based upon: Experience, time available, interests, risk tolerance, long term goals.

Good luck to you.
Chris

I have enjoyed all of Og Mandino's books.
My favorite is Mission Success.
Great books, easy reads, with success principles built into the stories.

Hi Eric,
Welcome to BP.
Becoming financially independent by age 40 is easily achievable.
I would be happy to give you some help.
Chris

Hi Brianne,
I live in Ft Wayne but I believe that the towns are probably very similar.
When we flip houses, our number one criteria is to achieve a quick sale on the back end.
We target homes that are going to meet the needs of first time home buyers generally in the 80K-120K sales price range.

We are particular about what school districts that we flip houses in. Although we hold rentals everywhere, we do not flip in the lower rated school systems.

We have purchased REO's, estate sales, HUD's, and craigslist homes. The buy price is critical to achieve a successful flip. Obviously, accurate ARV's are important as well but you cannot undo overpaying for a property. Better to walk away than to overpay and lose money on a flip.

As a general rule of thumb, rehab's always cost more and take longer than you estimate.

Two things that are hard to change when you purchase a home: the neighborhood and the layout of the house. Although you can change a layout, you will not have enough rehab budget to make those kind of changes on the lower end flips.

Those are a few of the items that come to mind. Feel free to ask more questions. I would be happy to help.

Sincerely,
Chris