All Forum Posts by: Reaz Ahmed

Welcome back to SoCal I should say and thank you for your service!

I'm assuming you already have an idea of how expensive the RE market in LA County is? 

If you need to network with experts in the area, let me know. I work for the largest commercial real estate company in the world. Unfortunately, I'm not a broker :(

I don't think you're doing anything wrong.

I would recommend that you continue to buy more properties. 

Based on the numbers provided, I'm assuming your average purchase price was ~$250K and you put down ~20% or $50K on each. If these numbers are in the ballpark, you have sufficient cash to buy 4 more similar properties, and increase your annual net income to ~$80K (that offers a lot more breathing room).

Since you purchased your properties 2-3 years ago, I'm assuming you have very LOW rates on your notes; and therefore, I would not be in a rush to pay down these loans. Instead, take advantage of the continued low rates to buy more. As mentioned above by Todd and Cathy, use the leverage.

I would not recommend investing any additional money in the stock market because you already have $800K of your 401K invested in stocks/funds.

You're in great shape, keep going!

PS - I was able to take out a loan against my 401K with a repayment plan and pay myself interest. It's a great way to pay yourself, but the max term I believe is 5-6 years.

I currently own several Quadriplex properties, but would like to move into something larger, in the range of 8-12 units, and eventually larger.

What new challenges should I anticipate for with owning a 8 unit compared to a 4plex?

Would it be the same as owning 2 neighboring 4plexes or would it be completely different?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

If it will be used for both business and personal, you can expense the portion that's used for your business. There are apps out there that help you log business trips and track mileage.

The value can vary based on your goals.

There's the appraisal value and there's how much you, or other buyers, are willing to pay for it. You can follow the same steps that appraisers use, by researching what similar homes are selling for in the neighborhood, which will give you a good idea.

My valuation of a property is purely based on the income it can/will generate. Therefore, I may pay less attention to the appraised value, but that's because my goal is cash-flow. 

I'll give you a rib cage. There are two ways to fund a purchase (any purchase), which is 1) pay for it with your own money or 2) borrow from a lender. Anyone can be a lender, a friend, family member, bank, credit card, or even the seller. 

Since you asked this question, I would assume you need the latter option. In that case, your next question should be if you can qualify for a loan. Factors to consider would be your income, debt, credit score, etc.

It's not hard, but it can be risky and costly. 

My recommendation would be not to get involved in a flip or one that requires rehab right away. Buy something small for your first one that comes with a tenant and possibly PM already in place. Do your due diligence! Get some experience under your belt, learn from it, establish your network of people (ie agent, repair crew, PM, etc). 

When you are ready, you can go after other types of investments.

I'm on my 5th property in MO and I've never been there. I have a full time job/career. Although I can make the time to visit at least once, I haven't had the need to.

It's time for you to find a new agent who will work for you and not against you. On my very first purchase, which was a sale by owner, I hired a photographer to go and take photos from every angle, inside and out, room by room. I'd recommend doing this until you find a trustworthy agent or if you're able to see the property yourself.

I purchased 3 properties in MO this year, having a combined total of 4 properties or 10 units there. I had decided that it was time for me to diversify and find properties in other states. 

I've been researching to find my next spot for the last 2 weeks; however, have been struggling to make a decision on where. 

Long story short, I'm under contract for my 5th property in MO :(

It's in a small town, but everything just seems easier:

-I have a good property manager/realtor, who charges me 10% of rents and no BS fees to find tenants or renew lease.

-I have a network of workers to handle repairs/renovations.

-I have their local bank practically throwing money at me, which makes closing easy. I'm not sure yet if this is a good thing, but they don't even report my loan debt to the credit bureaus, which helps my credit history look very clean.

I went through a lot of headache to make these connections in this town and finding it difficult to start over elsewhere. It's just easier to make deals here, but I fear putting all my eggs in the same basket. 

Anyone have similar experiences? 

@Tim Ryan I glanced at your website and I can see you're a big timer. I'll definitely give you a buzz when I'm in your neck of the woods.

Meanwhile, I'm so overwhelmed by all the welcome posts on my thread lol. Maybe it's the photo.