All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Brandon,

TREC uses form BL-A to record points for credit towards a brokers license.  It is up to you to keep track with proof of your activity.  There will also be an additional education requirement as well as the number of years experience requirement.

Your question about the brokers in your office doesn't make sense.  Please search for their names on the TREC website.  If they are indeed both TX active brokers then either can sponsor you if they want to.  As brokers they should be able to answer your insurance question...if they can't you might want to rethink this...just saying.

Good luck.

The "positive cash flow" mantra picks up after economic downturns when folks who bought marginal properties find themselves feeding them each month and losing equity through falling values.  This crowd is prevalent on BP but can sometimes sound like your grandparents who, having lived through the Depression, never trusted banks again.

Still, that doesn't mean they are aways wrong.  In truth, feeding a property is not the greatest situation in the world and if your appreciation projections are off (which is likely 5 years into the future) you might find yourself as a desperate seller in a few years.

Feeding a property  (also referred to as "negative gearing") can make sense if:

- You have sufficient cash flow from other sources like a job where a large repair bill won't sink you

- You are converting a home into a rental in which you put little down for a FHA or VA loan (as examples)

- You are undertaking an expedited paydown of the mortgage to enjoying a better cash flow downstream (perhaps aligned with a retirement age)

David

Sometimes it is worth a few hundred bucks to get advice from an attorney specializing in your state landlord tenant law.  

 Well at least your tenants think it is worth it.

As you probably know from searching the site, there is very little actual experience with this and yet everyone (to include myself) has an opinion.

So I guess so far your informal poll is:

Actual experience - 0
Opinions based on nothing - 6

Erin,

This is a favorite topic amongst those here who like the debate.  

Paying off a mortgage -- especially a mortgage on your home can be good or bad depending on your goals and what happens in the future.  Since we haven't lived that future yet it is impossible to know if you made the right choice.  So do whatever let's you sleep at night.

But you really asked about the mechanics of paying extra.  Most banks have a policy on how they apply extra payments.  My bank is very transparent and I can see the extra principal payment on the next statement whether it is 5 cents or 500 bucks.  You should be able to find your banks policy on the Web or by stopping by a branch.

David

Real estate is both art and science.  The art is in finding ways beyond what is readily apparent.

For example, ask the seller if he will partner with you by selling 50% of his ownership.   Your 100k is now a 25% down payment.  Protect the other 50% by an option to purchase or by having the first right of refusal for XX years.

You provide live in mangement services and he gets cash flow and keeps a large equity position.

Anyway, you get the idea, figure out what he really wants (heck just ask him) and find a way to bring that to the deal.  It is possible that a pile of cash is the worst option for him and he really just wants to stop dealing with tenants or simplify his estate etc.

Let us know what happens.

New Western is not the only game in town.  

Please give StepStone Realty a look, it sounds like they may be a fit for you.

(Disclaimer, no current affiliation and won't benefit from the recommendation)

Good luck,
David

Only if the separation is a formal, legal one with a property division already approved by a judge AND with the concurrence of your attorney.

Otherwise your new properties will likely be subject to any future property settlement which may make you a desperate seller and the target of every wholesaler on this site.

Sorry you are going through this...in your shoes it is generally better to simplify instead of complicating finances.

No legal advice given, just someone who has been there.

Please search for member Jonatan Barbera.  I have no affiliation but he was recommended to me by someone I trust and may be able to help.

The question is a good one.  

Most investors calculate phantom expenses as a monthly cost that is paid to their reserves against future cash flow reductions. Capex and vacancies are such expenses. The reserves accrue until needed and are then used to mitigate the reduction in cash flow when (to use your example) a vacancy occurs. The calculator on here follows this model.

Others fund their reserves upfront at closing or out of personal savings outside of closing.  

Others rely on credit availability for reserves.

Some just ignore reserves altogether...please don't do that.  Find a way to account for reserves that allows you to sleep at night.