All Forum Posts by: Abhilash Joseph

Good probing post Davey,

My RE goals are tied down and limited because its a 2nd job, my regular week is taken up by a 40 hour job that brings in the bacon. I want to jump start my rental portfolio beyond the single home turned rental property. SO here goes my top five problems.

1. Not sure how much is enough money to act on a deal if it comes thru, since I dont have enough for an outright cash purchase; 2. Not able to find/locate deals on my own (local website hunting); 3. Lack of knowledge on RE financials and numbers, to estimate good or bad deal; 4. Overwhelming data; 5. Usual cold feet to go thru with a deal with the fear of losing big time   

Thanks guys for the sharing of thoughts..

@Mark Nolan - Yes, it is a 401K loan from my workplace. Do you see that an issue?

@Anthony G. and Jordan T. - Not rush i suppose, but the thought of having the first rental paid off and clear was a psychological hurdle imho. Thus the question to the group, as I am looking to do the wisest deal so as not to pay mortgage interest at the same time not be stretched to have not enough funds to act swiftly if a deal shows up. BTW, I have no deals on the radar, I was trying to make sure the financing part was strong before i pursued the deal. My only searches are Craigslist, Zillow & HAR websites so far as I do not have an agent yet; so MLS leads are zero. I am not sure how to go about looking for deals on my own with a hectic work week and family/church commitments.

Thanks to all for the comments

I have about 45 K left (@ 5.25%) on my "only" 3/2/2 rental property. I am hoping to pay it off by taking out a 401k loan and then pay the same 5.25% mortg. interest into my 401K loan thru paycheck deductions. The property will be then worth 140-160 K worth which may qualify for a HELOC/Equity loan to buy another property. Welcoming your thoughts BP members. Is this the right step for my next move?e

My current home is valued at around 240-260 k or so, with 160K in primary mortgage. So maybe another 50K or so equity here. Is HELOC/Equity loan the best path to my next rental property.

Bigger goal: I want to get to a 10+ unit ownership in the next 5 years. Suggestions, advise welcome.

Thanks Amy for raising the question, myself a newbie from Houston, Tx. And thanks to Mike & Doug for chiming in with wisdom...Thanks to BP. I would lean on HELOC Amy, that is the way I would approach rather than hard money lending since we are green at this...my 0.5 cents :-)

My situation is slightly different..I have about 45 K left on my "only" 3/2/2 rental property. I am hoping to pay it off by taking out a 401k loan and then pay the same 5.25% mortg. interest into my 401K loan thru paycheck deductions. The property will be worth 140-160 K worth which may qualify for a HELOC to buy another property. Thoughts?

My current home is values at around 240-260 k or so, with 160K in primary mortgage. So maybe another 50K available for HELOC here. But ? is how many HELOC's can one take out. And do we go with large banks or smaller banks?

I want to get to a 10+ unit ownership in the next 5 years. Suggestions, advise welcome.

Thanks all for the recommendations...i was debating getting my PE or getting my RE for my portfolio growth...SO I should put my P.E licensing aside for a while...:-) Again, thanks for the affirmation

I am new investor on the block with a desire to generate passive income to support family using RE investing to pursue other goals outside of RE. I have one rental unit 3/2/2 (45 k still owed to bank) which is bringing in some +ve cash flow. I have a decent 40 hour job which brings in the bacon and the finances for RE investment. My kids are 3.5 & 1.5, so I dont have huge school bills yet. I intend to rack up 10-15 rentals in the next 3-5 years to generate the needed cash flow. My credit is good and I hope to capitalize on that.

Here is the ? Does the BP forum recommend me getting my RE license to advance my goals or is it not worth saving? The MLS access is necessary to find good deals I hear and besides my CPA/broker recommended to go for it and offered to list me under his RE brokerage...Thoughts, advice?

Thanks all for your wise and helpful comments, especially helpful was not to let the tenants problems become the landlords problems and the need to be firm.

What are the options and advice for a landlord who has a tenant who states that she has had a heart attack, and she is already late on 2 month's rent. Assuming she's stating the truth, and giving her the benefit of being honest with me, what can BP forum advice?

Late payment of 15/day is tacked on. Deposit is practically evaporated already...Help

Thanks to all for the welcome and advice...

Hello BP group,

I am a newbie to these forums, in fact just signed up few days ago. Having thumbed through a lot of stories now I am looking forward to growing deeper through the community's help. I currently have a house on rent in which I lived in for 10+ years and so being emotionally attached let it stay as a rental unit. I liked the part where the house is taking care of its payments on its own thru rent and thus freeing up my finances for only my primary residential mortgage payments. I am looking to pay it off in the next 2 years. I have saved up to about 100K and am hoping to invest that in 2 -3 other 3-2-2 units for cash flow and similar outcomes. Hope is to have the acquired units/properties pay for themselves and become an asset for my kids in the future. I have a FT job which I would like to not depend on for my sustenance and thus allow me to dream bigger. Looking to grow a portfolio of about 10-15 units in the next 5 years, if that is not too far a stretch.

I am in the Missouri city/Houston/Sugarland area, so any and all advise and caution are welcome. Tips, pointers, are all welcome. Successful investing,