All Forum Posts by: Alexander Stafford

Thanks, everyone, for the welcome.

I'll keep poking around, and hopefully help someone out.

Ali Boone - I've stumbled across your blog a time or two. Really good stuff. This entry caught my eye -> http://hipsterinvestments.com/how-to-buy-real-estate-with-your-credit-card/

From what I've been told by a broker is that it will be *very* hard to use a credit card for the down payment as the underwriters are unlikely to close the loan if they see the credit card transaction. I suppose there is some timing to it.

If you've done it recently, I'm very interested in how you were able to get by underwriting.

Hello BP. Thanks for having me. I've lurked on and off around here and am a member on another RE forum for years. I figured it was time to join here and contribute to and learn from even more RE investors.

About me:
I'm a regular guy. Family of four. Full time job. I have a couple of rental properties and a small patch of dirt that I will one day build on and sell (i think). I have a RE license in Texas, but it's inactive. I only really used it for informational purposes for myself, but found better uses of my time and other ways to get info (friends).

I figured out the stock market isn't a place for a small-timer like me to make money except if I have cash and can spot a bubble before it forms and pops. Real Estate is how I will pay for retirement, or I won't retire.

I have lots of friends and peers ask me for advice about being a landlord as a "regular guy", and I try to help them out with some advice as an investor who is really only a few steps ahead of "how do i get an investment property".

My RE goal is in 15 years, I want enough doors to pay for my retirement. I don't know how many that is, but I'm assuming I'll need about $10k a month for my wife and I to keep living like we live. I don't need to be filthy rich, but if I figure it out, I'll go with it. I don't have to make money now, but I can't stand to lose any, either.

I want to help others who are starting out and going through analysis paralysis. I know a lot of noobs walk away because they see the most successful investors and think, "I can't get there from here, because I don't know where I am and I don't know the next step." A relatively new investor is sometimes a better sounding board than a successful expert. Of course, I should become a successful expert eventually, right?

That's where I hope to gain from BP. There are a lot of people here. I see there are several from Houston, even. It would be great to meet you and learn with you and from you.

The biggest challenge I have is figuring out how to finance the next property without having a bunch of cash laying around (remember the part about family of 4?!) Great credit != cash. I haven't dug into solving this problem, but I have to... or work forever. So here I am, with my small shovel.

I look forward to learning & working with you.

My first post on BP... wooo hooo...

Buy and hold is my personal strategy, and for this house, if the numbers are right, I say flip it.

Peter Moslar's analysis left out the cost of the rehab, which makes this deal painful. I have a $90k investment (my first) that rents for just under $1100. It's a money loser (aka education). If it were worth $145k, it would have been gone years ago, and I'd have two GOOD deals in it's place.

Let's assume it's going to cost you $100k to get into this place (say you're all cash for this one.) If you sell it for $145k, and assume you sell through a full service agent, you're going to clear $36k. Take 30k as 20% down on the next $150k.

And if you can manage that renovation cost down, you'll do even better.

IF you hold it, it will make money for you for a long time after your break even, assuming a 40k mortgage. HOWEVER, your break even on the money down (assume 9k) closing costs (assume $2k) and the renovation ($44k) is LONG. $1,000 income
- 300 mortgage
- 100 taxes (assuming)
- 100 insurance (assuming)
= $500 cash flow
110 months to break even on your cash. That's over 9 years, IF everything is perfect.

Confirm the "sell fast" comps and rehab costs. Be sure. And flip it.