All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

In general I'm highly in favor of getting a college education so as not to close off options in the future. Especially if you're getting help to do it.

That said if you don't plan to use your degree in the relevant field going into debt to do so seems like an unnecessary gamble. 

In any case, I think you need to focus on the path you want to follow, and if it includes no college and thus no financial support how you could manage that. There's always a way to do it (or multiple ways) you just need to decide if you can live with that for as long as you'll need to.

Nobody can tell you the best path for yourself. Sounds like you're trying to learn from those who've walked these paths before you so that's a great step. Keep that up, don't be in a hurry, and don't be quick to close doors that can't be reopened without several contingency plans.

Good luck!

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. Is this a house you are looking to purchase and rent out? In either case the rent will be your income and the mortgage an expense. There will be other expenses like insurance, taxes, etc so that if you have extra left you could put it toward the mortgage if you chose. I apologize if that's a basic answer, but if I didn't answer your question perhaps you could clarify the situation?

You'll want team members that frequently work with REIs, so I would recommend attending as many REI clubs as possible to start networking. I just google searched to find ones in my area. Good luck!

While preparing to orchestrate our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow, it occurred to me that in many ways (while the analogy is not perfect) this week has been much like my last year (on a much smaller scale).  As per my recent post, my husband and I purchased, rehabbed, rented, and refinanced a 4-plex this past year.  I've had several e-mails asking me for advice (weird!  I'm still new at this!) and I think the cooking analogy is a great way to express that.  

My mother-in-law (who has admitted herself that she is not a great cook) once looked at me in bewilderment and asked how I made all of the dishes in a meal come out at the same time.  I kind of laughed and told her "It's not magic, it's just preparation."  And in this respect, real estate investing and meal preparation are similar - to someone who doesn't know how to do it, it looks daunting, bewildering, and magical.

I'm a lists kind of person.  I have lists for everything (even for my lists!).  And as I made my Thanksgiving meal list the process felt very familiar to all the planning over the last year to make our first deal come together, keep the rehab going, and get in and manage tenants. 

Phase one: research.  What kind of dishes will you serve?  What are the dietary needs of your guests?  What is your budget?  Boy are these all directly relatable!  What kind of properties are you looking for?  What are your goals?  What is your budget (hey didn't even have to change this one!)?  Identify what you know, what you need to know, and what you may never know (and who to hire that knows it!).

Phase two: pre-planning.  Where will you get your groceries?  How will you send invitations?  What dishes can be made ahead?  Pre-planning helps you figure out how to set up things so you can put your next step (tactical planning) into action.  It identifies any areas you need to define further, tools you need to prepare, etc.

Phase three: tactical planning.  What time does the turkey go in?  What time do I need to start the mashed potatoes?  I could go on.  But you get the idea.  Tactical planning is taking everything you've learned and prepared and listing step-by-step how you're going to do everything (note: something I don't really do for meal planning that I did here was also list backup plans for any areas where things may go awry, though maybe that's not a bad idea for meal planning too!)

Phase four: go!  Prepare your meal, enjoy your meal!  Or....go buy that property, do your rehab, etc.

Phase five: cleanup.  A great time was had by all and now it's time to....do the dishes.  Scrape the cranberries off the wall that my toddler decided he didn't like.  Deal with any family spat aftermath.  Or in terms of our deal....manage tenants.  Haha.  :)  Point being that even when you're done, you're not done.  So be prepared for that phase too and don't blow all of your resources (time, money, energy) before this step.  Save some, because you're going to need it!

Okay, that's enough of the analogy, but you get the picture.  A great Thanksgiving meal starts with a lot of planning.  And the more you do, the smoother they go.  Though there's always something that throws a wrench in there somewhere, but hopefully its a successful experience just the same.  And if it's not, well, there's always next time!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thanks for the advice @Michele Fischer! And good point that people don't usually verbalized their preferences. I definitely think selling the unique features of each unit is a good plan, and that's probably what we'll do. I imagine after a couple cycles of renters we'll get a feel for the demand level of different features (since we also plan to do exit surveys to get that kind of input).

Just to clarify we also meet pets to determine temperment, take pics of pets, charge a $500 pet fee (non refundable) and pet rent of $25 per pet. The 25 lb weight limit actually came from our insurer. Though these units are 2/2s and with top and bottom units I agree no pets is probably better. We just didn't want to limit our pool of potential renters since allowing pets is pretty common in this area.

@Sergio Altomare thanks for the suggestions. We do have a pet fee and pet rent for sure, and limit pets to 25 lbs each to avoid our insurance carriers list of disallowed breeds.

Also, when I rented I specifically looked for top floor, corner/end units since they are quieter. Your tenants may not mention that's what they're doing, but from years of apartment living I can vouch for that kind of quiet being worth a little extra rent. :)

Thanks, @Dick Rosen I think that is likely the case here - this is more of a working class neighborhood.

@Elizabeth Colegrove that's totally what I thought! And we do allow pets under 25 lbs. Thanks!

@Roger Vi Thanks for the input!

@Account Closed Wow, thanks so much, I really appreciate it!  Just messaged you! =)

We're closing on our first 4-plex at the end of this month (yay!).  The building is two stories, two units up, two down.  The lower units each have their own moderately-sized enclosed yards with a small, paved patio area and some grassy area as well.  We are wondering how to price the units compared to each other, so my question is what is more valuable to tenants - an upstairs unit where you don't have someone trampling overhead (and increased security), or a downstairs unit with its own yard?  Or do the differences somewhat equal each other and we should just price all the units the same?  I know this will depend on the area (its in Everett, Washington for those who know the area) and the specific tenant, but I thought I would put this out there in case anyone has noticed general trends in preferences amongst their tenants for these features or those professional property managers who may have specific data on this kind of thing.  Any input is much appreciated!  Thanks!