All Forum Posts by: Michael Haynes

Hello Steven Rich. The easiest way to get into Real Estate Investing is to save up to buy your first Home. You can live in it for 2 out of 5 years and Sell Tax-free as your Residence. If you go along with the Government Plan for Real Estate Investing and add on one fixer-upper to 1031 Exchange over and over again until you are ready to sell your Residence, then, when you move into your 1031 property and live there for two years, you can sell that one Tax-free up to $250,000 Profit. The problem is that the majority of adults do not want to move every few years to make this Plan work. When I talk with the younger ones on the street, they are surprised that this sort of Plan exists at all. They are stymied by the thought of actually saving enough Money for a Down Payment and they know nothing about First Time Homeowners Plans etc. I owned a small portfolio of Rentals in S. Tampa for 30 years. I am Selling my last one as my Residence and making at least $50,000 Tax-free next month. I just sold my 4 Commercial lots and bought a 3/3 Townhome All Cash. The Bank will give me a HELOC as I own the Townhome outright and have a lot more Cash. I am buying the two houses next door from my friend, in 3 yearly Installments, for $170,000. $50,000 the first year, $60,000 the second year and $60,000 the third year without any Interest. I will rent the 5/2 as an Airbnb. If it works out, that will be my Buy and Hold that I hope to make up to $2000 a month from for my retirement, plus this and than and all the other Daily Cash Flow vehicles. The idea that you need to be a Millionaire or have more than 10 Doors is the Big Mountain that the Newbie cannot see how to climb. Tax-Advantaged and Tax-free Investments are set up to encourage people to start Investing and try to realize the American Dream.

The Threat from the Left when they do get power again to ruin our Economy. The elimination of the 1031 Exchange Rule. The Debt load never being able to be paid back. What about the Tax-free Sale of your Residence? Trump wanted to make that 5 out of the last 8 years? It is said that the Polititians also own a lot of Real Estate and why would they "cut off their noses to spite their faces?" Martin Armstrong Says that if you want to see our Future, you only have to look at Europe. Negative Interest rates, a Cashless Society so that no one can escape paying the Tax. Whether it is the App on your phone or a Credit Card or The Mark of the Beast with a Chip inserted in your hand, you will need it in order to Buy and Sell anything. They taxed everything they could including the Value Added Tax and that wasn't enough. Now, the EU has decided to turn their Pension Funds into Annuities where they declare the Principal impossible to pay back and only service the Interest Debt, forever. I wondered when President Reagan turned us from a Creditor Nation, into a Debtor Nation...what is going on? Then, the light went off and I saw that this was going to be a Race to the Bottom and our Government wants "US" to owe "Them" more than when the whole World Banking System collapses for good. 

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/

Hello BG followers. This is an open question, "How would you invest a million dollars?" I was surprised that so many suggested investing in Stocks. Think...you have a Million Dollars to start with right now. OK. The Leverage we use with Real Estate Investing involves using Other People's Money. I just sold my 15 year, 3/1 Rental on 4 Commercial lots for $377,000. I paid off all of my outstanding Debts...yeah!! and I am buying, All Cash, a like new, 3/3 Townhome with one car garage in a small, quiet Community with Pool and low HOA, outside of the Tampa City Limits. As soon as I change my license and lights and move in I can get a HELOC for 80% Loan to Value at 3.75%. I am Selling my 12 year Rental home that I have been fixing up for two years as a Tax-free Sale of my Residence and clear at least $50,000. My neighbor is Selling me his two houses on the same lot next door, Financed by the Owner, for $50,000 Down and he wants me to hold it at 6% for 3 years. Over the years I have done 3 Duplexes in S. Tampa with him and this one will work very well as a Short Term Airbnb Rental. The one big thing you always have to consider is with the Taxes and this one will allow me to continue to use Deductions. Where I am moving to is a town with lots of fixer upper opportunities. I have an Off Market 3/2 with two car garage and pool that I will also buy with whats left of my HELOC and Cash. It needs some inside paint, trim some trees and fix up the pool to Rent for $1800 or more a month. That's almost 1% of the Sale Value for the Rent. Soon as it is a Seasoned Rental I can go back to the Bank and get a Mortgage at the low rates we have now and still have the big problem with, "what to do with all the Cash?" Now, talking about Stocks and Leverage...I am 72 and Single and I studied for 20 years and now trade the ES Futures and Options on the SPY in the mornings, on my laptop at home. I can make up to $500 an hour using the Leverage afforded with trading the Futures and even more with the Options on the SPY. My Daily Cash Flow is trading online for my retirement. I always managed my own Rental Portfolio, but, now I will hire for my Buy and Hold, a Host Manager to run the Airbnb etc. I will need to travel to Brazil where I have a Million in paid off properties that I will fix up and begin Selling as their Economy recovers in a few years. I want to have all the bills on Direct Debit from the Bank account, so I have no worries each day as to missing a light bill or the HOA fee or a Mortgage payment etc. And that still brings me back to the "safe place" to "park all the Cash and still make some Yield without any Risk. That for me is my practical Blue Print that will leave me on "Cruise Control" and let me travel and spend more time in Brazil. "Different Strokes for Different Folks" depending on their needs and education.

I have been a landlord of a small portfolio of rentals in S. Tampa for 30 years and what I learned from the 2008 Collapse in the Economy and the last three Bubble Economies collapsing is that it has to be Simple and Liquid. I am running out of the one thing you can't buy...Time, to learn half the things that were suggested to Invest $1 Million and I would emphasize...Safely. In Tampa we had a Stock Investing Club for ten years called Cornerstone Investors Network. We had 500, mostly older, retired guys who had a Million Dollars each. I was younger and wanted to learn how to Trade with my money. It took me a long time to figure out that all the old guys and gals were looking for was a "place to park their Cash and make 20% a year." The beginning of actually having a Million is the only thing I ever wanted from an Education of any kind...How to Make Money. The second step is...How to Make your Money, make Money. The third thing that no one ever talks about is Where to put your Money, Tax-free and Tax-deferred so that you work Smarter, Not Harder. There is a difference in Passive and Active Investing your Money according to the Tax rules and Active Investing can make you more Money. The most important factor that no one teaches you concerns the Economic and Business Cycles. "A rising tide floats all boats" and if you are investing your Money on the wrong side of the Stock or Real Estate Market Cycle, you will lose, lose, lose until you wake up and say "Ouch" and get out...if you can. When you fall for the "Buy and Hold" Method of "Cost Averaging Down with Stocks" and thinking that you will be Compounding your supposed Gains over the long term, which for Warren Buffet is 25 years or more, the thing that is not mentioned is that the Markets have to be going UP not Way UP and Way Down. The problem with Real Estate Investing is that it is not Liquid. When times turn bad, you can't get out! The Economic Collapse in 2008 took us 11 years to get back to Break Even and Profits in Tampa, if your were able to hold onto your Rentals etc. We are now at All Time Highs here in Tampa and with all the huge construction projects going on, this place looks like a Gold Rush Town. Does that sound like a Time to Buy, Buy, Buy? I actually have the problem with having a Million in Cash and Rentals that I am selling and the question is "What to do with all the Cash?". The last thing is to learn that the first Rule of Investing is Daily Cash Flow. You have to learn how to think like a Farmer...you have to plant and raise or "invest" in things that produce Daily Cash Flow in order to pay the bills every 30 Days. If you have a JOB you can also fund a Roth IRA and Invest through your Tax-free, long-term Retirement Plan. From there is does not matter where you put your Smart Money as long as you can See the Big Picture of where you are in each Cycle. It is important for you to know How to Think and not What to Think. Bigger Pockets can show you the different Methods to making Money with Real Estate Investing, but, can YOU MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU? The thing that makes Money is Sales and you can Sell pencils to cars to houses to heavy equipment and Stocks and Futures etc. With the Internet you can Buy and Sell things online. I also Scalp trade ES Futures and Directional Options on the SPY every morning for MY Daily Cash Flow. The Rentals I had for 30 years were my Buy and Hold Investments which I am Selling off here at the Market Highs of this Cycle. You can't go wrong with Buying a Fixer Upper ane make it your Residence for two out of five years and Sell it Tax-free...everybody needs a place to live and food to eat. Did you ever hear, "Keep it Simple, Stupid?"

Hello Marisa Alvarez, I have used this agency for Insurance in Tampa for 30 years. Ask for Desiree

https://www.briergrievesinsurance.com/

Hello Marisa Alvarez, are you talking about the ads on TV for "Home Warranty" type plans? In my life, I am of the opinion that absolutely nothing that is advertised on TV is worth a hoot. They are all what Mark Cuban on the Sharks show, "Snake Oil." They are all "Gimmicks." "If it looks too good to be True..." I am buying a 3/3 Townhome in Brandon and the first thing my new Agent comes with is "how wonderful it is that we can get the Seller to give you a one year Free, Home Warranty policy." I have not signed a thing for a policy like this and my email starts getting ads for Home Warranty policies. I get an ad from American Home Shield in the mail. So, do a Google Search for Home Warranties and it says that you pay by the month for each plan. They have plans for you Home and your Car. The cost ranges from $100 to $300 a month! That's like paying another HOA fee and for what? All the appliances are new and if they were not, I can repair and replace them on my own ten years from now when they start to have problems. My computer tech had a tree limb fall down on his roof and do some damage. His Home Owner's policy fixed the roof and the second story railing that were damaged and they did not raise his insurance. That's what Home Owners policies are for. There are 13 private Home Owners Insurance companies in Florida and none of them are Solvent. There are 10,000 Claims in the Panhandle, from Hurricane Michael that have not been covered because the companies can't and won't pay and the Polititians won't protect us. Flood Insurance is a Federal program that is unsustainable. Congress ruled that the cost to you should go up 10% a year forever, until they can figure out how to pay for Billion dollar losses of whole cities each year in the Floods on the Mississippi River and Hurricanes in Florida. The only way is to make everyone in the US with a Home Owners policy to contribute to a National Pool of Flood Insurance. That's how Insurance works, when you get everyone to pay a little for the few who will suffer damages throughout the year. You know that there are huge Flash Floods in the Desert South West each year? You need Water, Wind, Fire and now Insurance against the "Young and the Useless" demonstrators in the street. You live in Clearwater...did you know that the Pinellas Peninsula is about 3 feet above Mean High Water level? Your Home Owners policy does not protect you from Water damage. You have to pay for the expensive Flood Insurance and you probably don't think that you are in a Flood Zone. The Public is blind to the fact that essentially, all of Pinellas County is a Flood Zone. The Townhome I am buying is near to the Brandon/Seffner City line that runs North and South through Highway 60 or Brandon Blvd. If you look at the Sinkhole maps you will see that all of the registered incidents of Sinkholes are right along that line and right along the I75 Highway. There are sinkholes everywhere running North out of Tampa and Clearwater. Do you have Sinkhole Insurance? Do you really think that Home Warranty policy will protect you from an ignorant Tenant who stuffed something down the toilet and calls you at midnight on a Sunday to yell at you, "that if you don't come over here right now and unplug my toilet, that I won't pay the Rent on Monday!" "Wake up America!"

Hello Jordan Batch, you are looking towards a Buy and Hold in Tampa? Why? Out of State Landlording is a horrible idea. Then, your asking is the Rental Market going to hold up with the current Stay in Home Virus problem? What is the future for Rents and Property Appreciation? What about the Minimum Wage JOBer's? Robert Kiyosaki and others say that you can't count on Appreciation in property values to go UP for three to four years and you must make sure your Rents are positive enough to hold on for the next Cycle uptrend. Did you see that Carnival Cruise Lines owns 100 ships and started to Sell six with more on the chopping block and some are scheduled to go to scrap? There are zero Bookings until the end of the year! The idea with Buy and Hold Rentals to Invest in is that "people need to eat and have a place to live." But, the only way to "guarantee" that you don't lose a lot with a bad renter is to be able to get First, Last and One Months Deposit when they sign up. I never was able to find a Renter for my $1000 a month houses and duplexes that had $3000 Cash to move in. If they tell you the Rent will be late this month and you don't immediately begin with the Three Day Notice and follow through with filing for Eviction, you end up losing this month. The second month you file. The third month it may go to the Judge in Tampa who is a bleeding heart Liberal, who will give them another 90 days to move. And if you are unlucky, they filed a letter with some excuse in order to get you to go to Mediation and you will still have to wait to get them Evicted after the Sheriff spends up to a month to Serve them because the Governor gave them time to stay without paying because of the Corona Virus...

Hello Michael, I did most of my Duplexes in S. Tampa, 30 years ago with 10% Down and Owner Financing for one year at around double the going Bank rate. I made friends with my Seller over the years. We are now thinking of another Deal next door. I am selling my Residence that was a Rental for 12 years, Tax-free as my Residence and make $50,000 in the next two months. I just sold four Commercial lots that I bought with Owner's Finance at 9% and 10% Down off of Dale Mabry and Interbay for $377,000. It was a Nursery and the old lady gave me a year to get a loan and pay it off. Held it for 15 years and rented the 3/1 house for $1000 a month. The Investor is building 8, two story Duplexes. The property next door has two houses that I rehabbed and managed off and on for ten years. They rented for up to $1800 a month. My friend is a real Motivated Seller and we just had breakfast and talke over the numbers. I told him to not List it again and let me give him All Cash in August. He will Finance by Owner with me with $50,000 to pay off his Line of Credit from the Bank of America and give me one year at 6% to pay it off. If I had a Partner I could trust, I would arrange a deal with them to live in the back 2/1 block house and we could Airbnb the 1400 sq. foot, 3/1 Bungalow house in front for maybe $200 a day. We may still get the Superbowl in Tampa...If not, I will just sell it and try to make it a $30,000 Flip. The Virus held up my Commercial Sale for 4 months. During that time I found 6 beautiful Pool Homes to buy for under $200,000 that I could fix up in a month with my Helper and make up to $50,000 or just live in one. All of them during this Stay at Home time have been Sold or are Pending. If you have $200,000 Cash you can be a Flipper today in Tampa with lots of Sweat Equity. Owner Occupied Financing is the easiest. I am buying my 3/3 with one car garage, Pool and low HOA, Dream Townhome in the Location I picked out for my move 4 months ago for All Cash. Republic Bank will give me an 80% Loan to Value HELOC to give me most of my money back which I can use to buy my friend's two houses next door. My Commercial Sale will still give me over $100,000, plus the HELOC money to use and I can start looking for the next Pool Home to fix up and rent in case I want to live in a wheelchair friendly home where I can get my exercise when I am in town in the backyard Pool. The rest of my Paid Off properties are in Rio de Janeiro and my next plane fare is for August 20. I know where you can buy a like new Manufactured Home, 3/2 with low HOA, no CDD at 3% Down and they will finance it for you in a small Community outside of town. My roof guy asked me if I could find one as he wants to move from Thonotassassa and does not want to live in Tampa. I work alone and really don't have an Agent and a Team and an Accountant and both my Lawyers died last year and all my Handymen are old and gone etc. I started more than 30 years ago with Carleton Sheets and the Low and No Money Down, Creative Financing course. Your looking to exapand and what I did 17 years ago was to get a girlfriend from our Stock Investors Club to be my Partner and she financed for me to fix up and rent three houses. The last four years we sold one downtown Tampa for $100,000 to split and pay Debts. Then, we sold our home on the River, Tax-free as our Residence for another $150,000 and she moved back into the one I fixed up for her retirement. Then, I sold a 3/1 Rental in S. Tampa for another $80,000 Profit. I am now selling my current home and moving on. Bigger Pockets gives you all the Methods to make money with Real Estate. What you need now is a Partner with some Cash or Credit like my girlfriend had and split the Deal with them to continue on. At some point, every Investor runs out of Cash and Credit and that is their next move.

Hello Kumar Gaurav, Did you know that everything you need to know on how to maintain and manage houses is on youtube videos? Do a Google Search and learn how to find out all your DIY projects.

Hello Crystal Cea, do you know anyone that is working and paid their rent during the Virus Crisis? After 90 days of not paying their rent, do you know anyone who will go back to MacDonalds and be able to catch up on the back rents? This is a time of High Risk for Rentals. The people that rent Duplexes in Tampa are the ones I have Landlorded for 30 years. I don't look forward to going through that mess again. If you have All Cash to do the Flips and can do the work yourself or have a Team ready to get the JOB done...Flips are my choice.