All Forum Posts by: Douglas Larson

@Roc P.

Flexiblity can be a huge key to getting things done! I hope the reward was worth the effort and risk! Can you share what the actual numbers looked like?

@Dave Grosse

Your story is a great example of the traits that all successful RE investors share:

1. courage to just try!

2. persistence and a willingness to try something different when plan A doesn't get the results you need.

Hope to hear about more deals in the near future!

Have Fun and Make Your Own Luck!

Kudos for pulling the trigger on something! I hope it works out great for you. It may take some vigilance penny-pinching but you will L-E-A-R-N a lot! ... and you'll be a pro next time around. I only made a true net of 15K on my first deal and it took a year. They got much better from there.

Have fun and Make Your Own Luck!

@Nicholas, You are not the first "accidental investor." I'm so glad it's worked out for you! The sweet credit score is not likely by accident though, so that deserves a big congrats!

It's really hard to sell a good rental with a low interest rate, but I might be tempted to sell the Phoenix place before the move next spring and use the 100K cash for some down-payments on a few more cashflowing rentals where you are going. Your taxes should be nothing because you have lived in the place for over 2 years. Also, you might hang on to a little of that cash. A cash cushion is always nice when you have a family, no insurance and a couple out of state rentals.

Hope that helps...

Have Fun and Make your own Luck!

@Derron Taqee

I think the concept of paying yourself first is from an old business book, "The Richest Man in Babylon." - at least I think that's where I read it first. The concept is more about making sure that a good chunk of your income actually goes to the things that really matter. If you don't put that money aside first, it's too easy for the trivial and unnecessary expenses of life suck away your earnings.

I also love Robert Kiyosaki's stuff. I know his earlier books are more about concepts and less about details but there are great ways to "pay yourself first" especially where taxes are concerned. A good accountant and financial adviser can help you find ways to pay little to zero taxes when you are an RE investor. I've used 1031 exchanges to defer taxes indefinitely. Also, If you've lived in a home for 2 of the last five years you may not owe any taxes on the gain when you sell. Another common strategy for reducing or eliminating taxes is to re-finance an investment property soon after purchase and pull out the equity, which you then use to invest in the next property. As long as the properties cash-flow you can do this several times. Finally, right now I'm using a self-directed ROTH IRA to invest in properties. All of the gains are TAX FREE! Of course I won't have access to that money until retirement (unless I want to pay some penalties) but I'm paying my (future) self first.

As you also mentioned, there are certainly ways to expense and depreciate all kinds of stuff when you own a business, unlike when you work for a paycheck.

If you search these terms on BP you will find a lot of info from investors much more experienced than I am.

Have Fun and Make Your Own Luck!

@Luke W.

So, I'm sure I'm not the only BP Member wondering if you attended an event in the last few months with the real estate guys. If so what was your experience? The syndication course and the cruises seem like a good investment.

I have been listening to their podcasts for a couple years now. Their guests are top shelf! - some really big names with huge success stories. My only issue with their podcasts is that sometimes the info is too broad or generalized for real world application. Even their Q&A podcasts, with questions from ordinary people have a lot of CYA disclaimers about hiring attorneys and professional advisers before doing anything. I honestly thought about creating a podcast for ordinary people and beginners when along came bigger pockets and totally filled that niche!

@Mike Nelson , @Shane Johnson , @Joshua Dorkin

Yes, I love technology. It can be a distraction and a curse or a very effective tool. I love apps like Trulia, Houzz and Type on PDF. I try not to get distracted with too much tech and not enough actual work. Angry Birds is work, right?

I saw Brandon and Joshua's call for success stories and thought I would share this one:

Last year I sold an investment property in San Diego County and was looking for a place to put some funds. I had been dabbling in bank owned residential building lots for a bout a year in the Salt Lake City, UT area.
While looking at some MLS-listed lots in a very upscale neighborhood in Park City, UT I identified some lots on-line that fit my "good value" criteria. One lot, priced at $95k had open space at the rear and million-dollar-plus homes on either side. While those attributes were compelling, I really didn't want to tie up that much cash for who knew how long. I decided to visit the neighborhood and of course used Google Maps on my iPhone to keep me from getting lost. As I pulled up the satellite view of my favorite lot I was confused. The satellite image showed the little red pin stuck in what looked like a huge, excavated hole in the ground. If this was correct, my favorite lot had been prepped for construction.

I navigated to the lot but there was no sign of any excavation or construction. The bank's sales agent also knew nothing about it - very common for REO agents. After a bit of research at the county planning office, I found a full set of approved architectural plans, (worth at least $25,000) and receipts for over $20,000 in paid impact fees! I made an offer that day and purchased the property for $86k. I had the plans bid out for construction but just simply didn't have the resources to build that kind of luxury home on speculation. I engaged a local realtor who marketed the lot with emphasis on the time and money-savings of approved plans and paid fees. The lot sold for $146,000 in January of this year and I made a little over $46,000 after all fees and commissions. Thank you Google Maps and iphone!

@Jessica Russell

Like you, I like to save where I can on commissions. It makes a big difference when margins are thin and sale prices are 250K and up. I like taking calls, screening lookers and showing properties. I have used flat fee brokers for about $3k, payable at closing and there are other discount brokers like Redfin.com that are really great in the markets they are in. I used Redfin to sell 3 homes in San Diego because I was in another state. There are local websites like this one in my area that look like a great value. I found them on Google under "flat fee mls listing" and some other investors I met at a local REIA say good things about them.

http://www.intermountainproperties.com/

The one thing to avoid is a flat fee broker that will not put your name and number as the contact. If they are taking all the calls they are simply using your property to find buyer-clients for themselves. They will not likely promote your property like you will.

Have Fun and Make your own Luck!

@Page Huyette

Thanks for the update. I hope you will keep us all posted on what you eventually put together. In the mean-time, I will check out uDirect IRA services as we have not been 100% thrilled with Equity Trust. We have been able to accomplish everything we hoped to do but the red tape and delays have been a little annoying. Do you personally know anyone who has used uDirect?