All Forum Posts by: Lindsay Brake

My husband and I put down large down payments on Class A single family homes in an area that petroleum engineers are on a 2 year transfer cycle and don't want to buy. This is our low fuss/high cash flow strategy, we have high rents and generally very good renters. We use 30 year mortgages, but snowball the payoffs. We don't use any of the rental income for personal expenses at this time. Our current retirement plan is 18 years away because there are a lot of benefits that come from being retirement eligible from my husbands job so we are doing this in the background of our regular income in the meantime. This could of course change between now and then! 

Thanks @Robert Kirkley I like that quote! I'm glad we have this space where we can celebrate our victories because I feel like its tacky to celebrate with my local circle because so many experienced great loss. 

I have a sales job in Beaumont, TX. I have an engineering degree and work in specialty chemical sales. I agree that working in sales works great as a foundation for real estate investing. Even if you aren't working the real estate space if you work for a company that will train you, the skills of selling value and working with people translate everywhere. Also, sales can be very lucrative and help you lower your expenses. For example, I have a lot of travel rewards from company travel that I can use for personal use, I have an entertainment budget for customers, I have a company car/gas, I get comped meals during the week. So this is a great career if you are trying to have a lot of fun while also able to save a lot towards your real estate goals.

@Paul Sandhu I was going to suggest places in Texas with lots of refineries until she mentioned wanting to also live there. You don't want to live here. I don't want to live here. But there is a steady stream of contract labor trying to spend per diem.

Start doing corporate rentals for minimum 30+ days to get back in compliance and then get on the board. 

@Moshe H.

Wow I bet you write "not responsible for lost pets" into your next lease.

Any update on the whereabouts of AWOL cat?

In my lease the tenant is responsible for lawn maintenance and we do not provide a mower. I do provide a business card of a local lawn company if they would rather do that at their expense. 

This exact topic was discussed in the most recent BiggerPockets Money podcast by @Mindy Jensen and @Dawn Brenengen.  They highly recommend joining another team to learn from more experienced people before starting your own business. 

Absolutely! The military has many great perks that are conducive to building up a rental portfolio. One of the most recent guests on the BP Money podcast is "retired" at 30 and gets healthcare through being a reservist. Healthcare is one of the major hurdles for people leaving their traditional employment to be a full time investor. 

Hi John, great that you are starting to think about this. I have a bachelor's degree in engineering from a state school. I specifically chose engineering because it is very versatile as far as the work you are doing or where you can live to do it. Also you can make a great starting salary with a bachelor's degree and no further higher education. Now I am in engineering sales and I would encourage you to look at positions with a pay structure that includes tips or commission. Then you are unlimited in your earning potential and can receive more compensation for being effective at your job independent-ish of the amount of hours you put in. There are lots of perks for sales positions, for example I have a company car with a gas card and an expense account to use for food etc during the week so these are huge expenses for most people that I don't have to worry about.