All Forum Posts by: Shinwon Moon

 Killeen has been a great market over the last few years for cash flow investors. However, it's getting harder to find deals that meet the 1% rule and MFH get snatched up very quickly. My PM says that he sees a lot of buyers from California buying up properties left and right, driving up property values. My best deal to date is a duplex that I purchased for $90k with 25% down in the spring of last year. The combined rent for both units is $1450/month.

I use business credit cards in conjunction with Plastiq since most business cards do not report to personal credit.

@Account Closed

I invest a little north of where you are (I have 5 MFH in the Killeen area), but I have started venturing south. I recently got under contract for an SFH in Georgetown.

@Tom Rutkowski set up a high cash value indexed universal life insurance policy for me for the express purpose of real estate investing. He hand-held me through the process and was patient enough to explain the concepts numerous times until I finally got it. This year, I was able to use the line of credit secured against the cash value of my life insurance policy to successfully acquire a duplex, a SFH, and pay off my auto loan. I am particularly proud of my duplex which is producing cash on cash returns of over 19% after rehab. I intend to increase my contribution to the policy next year since the interest rate on the line of credit has actually DECREASED to 4.75% from 5% (based on prime).

@Juan Rango I'm surprised your FA didn't discuss the tax advantages of real estate with you. I would argue that the tax advantages of real estate are a feature, not merely a perk. Not only can you write off depreciation, you also have tools like 1031 exchanges to rapidly grow your portfolio without getting hammered by the IRS.

I liquidated my index funds and am in the process of closing on two fully occupied duplexes in good neighborhoods. I am currently looking at 15-20% cash on cash ROI with a conventional loan for both. My full time job has me working long hours and also requires me to travel out of state or overseas on a regular basis. Looking for deals and doing research probably took me about an hour per a night. I also sacrificed a few lunch hours to go look at properties. IMO, that is a small price to pay in order to double or triple my investments (plus, the extra cash flow per month beats the big fat goose egg I got every month from my Vanguard Roth IRA and brokerage account). My only regret is not getting in the buy and hold game sooner.