All Forum Posts by: Ben Reichenberger

Welcome @Christina Bernardino!  I just relocated to the Phoenix area, and am looking forward to connecting with fellow Phoenix investors.  The podcasts and Beginner's guide are a great way to take in a ton of knowledge about real estate.  Also, make sure to set up some keyword alerts to notify you about other local investors talking about cities of interest!  

Thanks @Linval T.!  It definitely felt like a sleepless in Seattle / analysis paralysis mindset the last couple of years.  We had been planning on moving for a little while and wanted to hold off on our first purchase until we arrived in Phoenix.  Well, here we are and time to begin! 

@Mark Nolan thanks for the warm welcome!

@Albert Hasson nice to see a fellow Husky on here!  I was the class of 2012, and had an amazing experience.  Quite the win over USC on Thursday!  I am glad to hear you and your family have loved the Phoenix lifestyle.  So far we have very much enjoyed our first week!

@Bob E. that sounds great!  PM to follow.

Thanks @Christopher Hunter!  The weather in AZ has been wonderful compared to the overcast days we left behind in WA!  It will be nice to be able to golf year round too.

I have not read either of their books, so I'll check them out.  The multifamily book I have enjoyed was Larry Loftis's "Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads," along with a book about being a successful landlord by Mike Butler, called "Landlording on Autopilot."

@Account Closed Thanks! I have read some about FHA 3.5% down financing, but don't like the idea of PMI for the life of an FHA loan. I've read about refinancing out of FHA to remove PMI, but I have yet to purchase a house so it is still a new process to me! Alternatively, I would like to see if a conventional loan would allow for less than 20% down to start as an owner-occupant with PMI up until 20% equity is reached. Then I can avoid the refinancing. Your thoughts?

Hello BP! 

My name is Ben Reichenberger, a Project Engineer for a commercial general contractor. After spending the first quarter-century of our lives in the Seattle, WA area, my wife and I have relocated this last week to Scottsdale, AZ, to experience life in a warmer climate! I have been a member of the BP community for almost two years, and have taken in more knowledge through the forums with keyword alerts, podcasts (particularly fond of Brie Schmidt's story), the Beginner's guide, and analytical tools than I could have ever imagined. Now that we have relocated, I decided it was time for me to become an active member of the community!

Our real estate plan is to start with multifamily properties through "house-hacking" for the first two years, then to continue to expand our multifamily portfolio while transitioning to occupying single-family homes to establish a vacation rental portfolio. We plan to self-manage and continue to grow our portfolio while working our current full-time positions until this business can support us full-time. The ultimate "end" goal for us is to create the financial freedom by our early 40's (about 15 years) to allow us to spend extended summer vacations with our east and west coast families.

I am a bit of an Excel geek, and have spent countless hours analyzing both multifamily and vacation rental deals using a modified version of J. Scott's SFH Rental Analysis sheet, and am excited to be able to drive around Phoenix seeing the areas I have only been able to view through Google satellite images up to this point. I look forward to meeting those of you in the Phoenix area as we begin this exciting new time in AZ!

Thanks,

Ben Reichenberger