All Forum Posts by: Luke Casamassa
Luke Casamassa has started 1 posts and replied 4 times.
Post: New Member from Reading, Pennsylvania
- Charlotte, NC
- Posts 4
- Votes 1
Post: New Member from Reading, Pennsylvania
- Charlotte, NC
- Posts 4
- Votes 1
Originally posted by @Garrett Sowle:
Hi @Luke Casamassa, Welcome to BP and your journey to financial independence through real estate investing! I know just how you feel. I'm an engineer by day but my passion is real estate. I think your mindset is right on track. Start by getting as involved in real estate as you can by either switching professions to something like working for a property management company, home inspections company, mortgage broker, or becoming a real estate agent, etc. or do one of these on the side in addition to your current job while starting to invest in real estate.
In my opinion starting with a house hack is the most efficient path forward. It allows for you to live for free, near free or even get paid to live and save the money you would have normally spent on rent or a mortgage on future investments. The barrier to entry for a first time home buyer owner occupant is incredibly low and efficient with the number of low down payment loan options and excellent interest rates and terms. The benefits are compounding when you have almost no money into the deal (sometimes a little as 3% of the purchase price and can even negotiate for the seller to pay some or all of the closing costs). This money can eventually be pulled out and recycled but I'll leave that for another discussion. Anyway, it's low initial investment, you get to live for free, your tenants are literally buying you a duplex/ triplex/ quadplex by paying down your loan, you are able to write off the deprecation of the property from your income+ other tax advantages, you can potentially be cash-flowing on top of living free from day one (if not you will down the line if you move out and rent your unit) and you will potentially see appreciation based solely on inflation or market trends depending on the specific location of the property or you can force appreciation by fixing up the property. You get all of these advantages while training to become an awesome landlord to your tenants right next door.
Based on what I've read about you it seems to me that you are in a great position of strength at this point in your life and now is a great time to begin your journey. Speaking from personal experience I would recommend becoming a licensed salesperson to anyone interested in learning more about real estate. It can be done in addition to your current job so there is less financial risk involved and the knowledge that is gained form the coursework and the tools that agents have access to is worth the small financial and time investment involved in my opinion and allows for continuing education opportunities related to real estate moving forward.
I'm always interested in talking real estate with like minded people so feel free to reach out and let's connect!
Hi Garrett, thank you very much for the advice and the list of other options for professions. It has not crossed my mind to look into the field of housing inspections and mortgage brokers. I will definitely look into those fields to learn more about them and see where I would best fit in. Thank you again, your help is much appreciated!
Post: New Member from Reading, Pennsylvania
- Charlotte, NC
- Posts 4
- Votes 1
Originally posted by @Jose Vazquez:
Hey Luke.. My name is Jose and I also live in Reading PA. My story is similar to yours. Although I can't directly tell you what you should do, or shouldn't do, I can definitely tell you what I did: Before real estate I was working in manufacturing and I didn't like it at all. It was very depressing and monotonous. My first move was to house-hack a duplex. I only wanted a duplex so i can test the waters with 1 unit; as opposed to 3 or 4. Looking back I should've done 4 lmaooo Anyway, I currently live on one side and rent the other. After house-hacking my living expenses went way down. I could finally afford to leave manufacturing and go all in with real estate. As of this week I'm officially an agent with Keller Williams and I couldn't be happier. If you ever need anything don't hesitate to contact me. I'd be more than happy to help you find your first house-hack. Much blessings and good luck :)
Jose, thank you for your input. Much appreciated. You are now the second person who I have talked to that started with a duplex that has recommended for me to try and go for a 4 unit. I was a little hesitant to do so at first, but after hearing this, I am definitely going to aim for that. Thank you again!
Post: New Member from Reading, Pennsylvania
- Charlotte, NC
- Posts 4
- Votes 1
Good evening fellow BPers!
My name is Luke, and I currently reside outside of Reading, PA in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere. I made it here through a friend when I learned that he was, in my eyes, magically living for free. I was mind-blown, and knew I had to learn how he did it. After a few months of listening to the BP podcast and learning about house hacking on my own, I have finally decided to introduce myself.
I am currently working in the medical office field, and I find myself having to work everyday instead of wanting to work. What I do is just not a passion of mine. While studying on how I can house hack a small multi family house, I noticed that I have a lot of interest in this area of work. Not only do I have interest in multi family real estate, but this overwhelming topic actually makes sense to me. It is a tremendous feeling because my whole life I could never find what I wanted to do professionally, and it brought many of draining emotions along with it. I have worked several different jobs trying to find this feeling of passion, and each one was a swing and a miss. I have worked as a patrol officer, infantryman in the Army Guard, online business developer, and currently a Health Info Manager. Although I have done exceptionally well in each of these professions, it just never felt like home. Coincidentally, I have only ever felt that homey feeling while learning about real estate and searching for a new home.
Luckily, I have no wife or children, and my responsibilities only include myself. Thus, I am able to drop everything in my professional life and move into a real estate profession. Before I do so, I was hoping to hear some feedback from those with experience. My short term goal is to owner occupy a 2-4 unit in the Greater Philadelphia Area, and my long term goal is to buy and hold larger multi family properties.
The way I learn best is from actually doing. I can read all day, but hands on experience is the best way for me to learn and it has always been. With that in mind, would you wise members of BP suggest that I find a job in property management and gain real estate experience that way while learning how to invest on the side? Or is there another option for a job that my inexperienced mind can not come up with at this point in time. Any direction would be greatly appreciated.
Also, a few of my interests are mountain biking/hiking, fishing, and skydiving. So if you have similar interests, I would love to connect!
Thank you for your time in getting to know me, it is greatly appreciated, and no advice will go unheeded.