All Forum Posts by: Nicholas L.

@Mack K Everly a few thoughts:

-32 - you're fine.  When I was 32, I hadn't discovered BP yet, and I foolishly sold a rental property I had bought in 2011 at a rock bottom price that was a killer, killer deal.  Since then, it's taken me 6 years to buy 4 rentals.  I'm trying to improve with each that I buy.

-wanting to make a smart decision isn't analysis paralysis.  That's just a fun term that rhymes.  Being patient and making a smart decision is better than rushing.  Everyone is convinced that if they haven't bought something yet, it's "paralysis."  Nope.  Buying real estate is a big deal, and transaction / closing / financing costs make the transaction itself expensive.  If you haven't yet look at a full loan work up from a lender and you'll see what I mean.

-post the detailed numbers on the duplex here so we can take a look and see if it truly cash flows that much. You said it's "listed" which means it's on the MLS, which means I have a hard time believing it's a slam dunk deal if it hasn't sold yet. But who knows.

-you said you're analyzing properties in Columbus, but are you working with a realtor?  How many have you seen?  How many offers have you made? 

@Christopher Murphy you may know this already, but financing changes if you don't have a W2; you may have fewer financing options, and lose the ability to qualify for certain low money down loans with the lowest interest rates - those only given to ( 1 ) owner occupants with ( 2 ) steady W2 income.

But... this a very personal decision that only you can make... I would never tell anyone on the internet that I don't know to stay in, or leave, a job!  I just figured I'd point this out.

@Kaiya Sherriff welcome.  I strongly agree with @Jon Kelly in "investing" in house hacking.  It's an amazing way to get started.  Being interested in retirement accounts is great too.  If you can find a job that offers a 401k or some other kind of retirement match AND house hack, you'll be well on your way.

Check out Paula Pant's podcast for a lot of great info on both RE and investing.

@Steven Rosenfeld

Since you're a HNWI, you can see that basically everyone in this thread is recommending syndications.  If that interests you, that's great.  I do think based on your portfolio it sounds like you may have the time and funds to both find a syndication AND do something a little more hands on, like buying a property directly.  But again, you should only do that if those are both investing paths that are of interest to you.  If you don't want to be a property owner/ landlord, don't buy a property!

But if you do, I think there is tremendous value in finding a market you have ties to / you can drive to.  For example, within 3 hours of you there are more affordable markets investors are having success in - the Lehigh Valley; Harrisburg; Danbury; etc.  You could find an agent, plan a weekend trip, and go look at 20 properties.  There are lots of threads on BP about these markets.  Or if you have strong ties to an out of state market, go look there. I live in PA, but own a condo in Stamford.  It's not appreciating, but it cash flows well and I have property management I'm very happy with.

All of this is going to come down to your time, goals, energy, desired results, etc.  And there are lots of things you can do for free - go to REIAs, review syndications, talk to agents, talk to lenders, look at properties.

@Steven Rosenfeld

Congratulations on being in such a strong financial position.

What attracts you about real estate?  Are you looking to own individual units?  Put another way, does "rolling up your sleeves" a little bit (even if using property management) seem interesting and something you're looking to do at this point?  Or do you just want to shift into RE as an asset class for diversity's sake?

Another question - what markets would you be looking in?  Are there markets in the US that you used to live in / know well / have a network in / visit often / visit kid(s) or family in?  Does driving around on the weekends looking for properties sound interesting and fun?

I don't think it's at all "too late," but if you're not looking to make RE a full time job or something you put a lot of time into, it's going to be difficult to generate the net income you seem to be looking to add to your portfolio with your $300K.

Welcome and looking forward to continued dialogue.  Lots of great advice and questions already in this thread.

@Timothy Hersh congrats.  Any issues with permitting / conversion of the 4th BR?

@Lucas Bernard can you fly there and spend a weekend looking at properties with an agent?

@Lauren Kennedy look into house hacking.  A house hack is basically a little business that you would run.

@Matthew Hamilton only you can decide, but you will be tying up $50K plus closing costs in exchange for almost no cash flow.

Who pays utilities? What if HOA costs go up? Has anything been replaced since 2004?

And... what would you next move after this be? 

@Rachel Riley welcome.  I don't live there anymore, but I still own a condo in Arlington that I used to live in that is now a rental.  It breaks even, but has appreciated substantially since I bought it, so I'm keeping it.

I think renting for a year while you get to know the market is a great plan.  There are lots of REIAs in the area... go to as many as you can!