All Forum Posts by: Ryan Fox

@Steven May- My wife and I are in our early 40s.  Neither of our employers offer 401k's.  Our main focus for retirement has been living below our means and putting our savings into rental real estate, mainly for its tax benefits.  Moving from California to Nevada increased our household cash flow by a huge amount, and really didn't change anything about our lifestyle.  Our children actually like it better in Nevada than California.  

What I would tell my 23 year old self: shop around when making big purchases and always do your due diligence when making investments.

@Benjamin L.- I was listening to the local national public radio station a couple of weeks ago, and a police official was saying almost all of the meth labs have disappeared out of the KC area over the last ten years.  The supply is now coming from other countries.  However, meth use does continue, as it does in all metros.

@Rich Lopes- Honestly, I'm not incredibly familiar with the area, but Jim Viens suggested looking west of 78th street, and the properties I've looked at in the area seem to corroborate that.  

@Rich Lopes- No, I did not end up buying there.  Too concerned about the location issues.  It's better the further west you go.  

 @Alvin Uy - Do your other business ventures require that you live in California? If not, you might consider selling your primary and moving to a state with no state income tax, like Nevada. Sounds like flipping is one of the things you do really well, and you would save a significant amount of profits over time. The proceeds from the sale of your primary would be in cash form and you wouldn't have to pay HELOC interest to do flips.

I have another suggestion for a company that sells something similar to what PIP Mgmt sells.  Feel free to PM me.   

Hi BP - 

I'm new to investing in KS and was wondering if 66112 is a good area to invest for a long term buy and hold.  It seems to be outside the inner city but I'm still concerned about crime and tenant quality.  

Thanks -

@John Clark - I found one study that showed home values were 11% higher than the national average.  Can't find anything about rents.  I find it hard to believe.

This is a pretty good thread about good / bad areas in KC to use as a starting point:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/276800-kansas-city-missouri-zip-codes?page=1

Yesterday, I learned that numerous former Chicago public school district schools on the South side are going to be auctioned off this fall.  The listing agent believes that the most likely bidders will be Chicago "affordable housing" developers.  Apparently, the most likely use of these properties would be new-build construction for affordable housing.  I'm not sure how such an "affordable housing" program works thru the city.  As someone who owns rental properties on the South side, and very near one the properties to be auctioned, I am concerned about a potential increase in supply of rental units which would drive up vacancy.  However, I've seen very little new construction at all on the South side.  Should I be concerned?  Is there a city program that encourages new-build affordable housing?