All Forum Posts by: Tatum Littleton

Good for you for pulling the trigger! The first deal, as already stated, is the toughest but YOU DID IT!! I trust you did your due diligence and ran the numbers every which way for the past two years to find this deal, so I believe you are well prepared. 

I say this as an encouragement but, the work has only begun and now the fun part starts with you utilizing or growing your hospitality skills. See what works and what doesn't, that's part of the journey! Be creative and continue looking on these forums for different opinions and ideas. Find what complements what you are good at and able to do and that will take you far!

For us, it happened all rather quickly as well and knew little about what we were doing. We have a LTR and are looking for a possible STR. Honestly, we are all still learning, no one is perfect and all have felt this way to some degree. You are not alone, that is for sure. So, I commend you for posting and being honest, I'm sure others responding will help.

Keep up the hard work!

Hey Brian! Happy to hear about your interest and willingness to learn. Yes, you are correct, there are a lot of educational tools, BiggerPockets is of course my go to but not the only one. Being new to REI I would encourage you to look through the Ultimate Beginner's Guide for an overview. Even though you have identified some interest already, it is still good to see what else is out there. The guide isn't exhaustive but is a great starter! 

Keep working and learning, good luck!

Great to hear you're getting into REI and diversifying your investments! Listening to the podcasts is a good place to start and would encourage you to get any one of the books on the website, I haven't read all of them but I can imagine they are all useful and since you are just starting, any of them may be good to just get to know REI as a whole.

The forums are good for looking into different discussions and gaining some general knowledge and different opinions... remember, most are opinions and good to bounce ideas off of. 

This guide is a great place to start for a 30,000-foot overview of real estate as a whole and will help you get familiar with all the different aspects and strategies, good for you to find what piques your interest!

Keep up the hard work and learning!

This is a tough question although many people on here will never let you rent and would always advise you to buy... I don't totally agree nor do I totally disagree. Everything is dependent upon you and what you are comfortable doing, you know your spending and saving habits more than anyone. Of course, buying a house now and when you move out using it as a rental property is a great option, I would encourage you to do it IF you can and are comfortable doing that with the money you have. BUT, renting is not the end of the world like many make it out to be. Renting can allow you to live in an area you really like that you normally wouldn't be able to live in and save some money to live a good life and I think that's worth maybe not buying. 

I have no perfect answer and no one on these forums will but do your research and what you can afford, talk to lenders about how much you can get, and do some realistic projections for renting it out in the future. Putting down as much as you are comfortable and able to do will help with your mortgage. If it will make you happy and feel like you will have a good start to your family, go for buying and continue to save like you say you can. You said you're young so you have time to learn and do different things. I wish I could answer for you but this is where growth happens! Good luck!

 Yup, Austin is great... something for everyone in my opinion! We may be a bit biased but we love it here. You're always welcome to visit!

Currently, I don't manage a STR but we do manage our LTR ourselves (I know there are plenty of differences) and as we are currently looking for a STR to invest in, we would do it ourselves. I think if you have the ability and time, it's a great option as you are starting out. You learn a lot and can cut out costs and save more for cash flow. I agree with what you said in your post, maybe add management as you build your portfolio.

Also, if you're looking for time to spend with your family... maybe have it be an activity you do together, and make it fun (if you have kids) and get pizza or ice cream every time or every other time for something to look forward to. It could also teach your kids about having a good work ethic and setting an example for them by seeing the rewards of investing time (and money) and effort into something. 

Great to have you, Joey! I have a similar path here where my wife and I bought our first investment and I became an agent in Texas almost at the same time. We're always looking for new deals while I help my clients. If you ever have any interest in Texas, I'd love to help out!

Keep it up!

I don't see why you shouldn't do a STR and a LTR in the same building and maybe figure out which one is more profitable and stick with that one. It depends on the work you can/want to do which it seems like you already have figured out a good system and can handle a STR well. If you are worried about the kinds of tenants then you just need a stringent screening process... more work, but is it worth it? That's up to you to decide.

Again, it's all about what you are comfortable doing. Good luck! 

Hey Ruth, good for you for taking your first step into REI, the first one is always the most difficult but let it help you build momentum! I like the mid-term rental strategy because it is a little bit of hospitality work but also longer tenants allow more stability. When renting to people for MTR, it is usually traveling nurses, corporate workers, students only needing it for a semester or maybe remote workers needing to be there for a specific time but longer than a short term.

I don't know the Chicago area quite as well but if there are any employers that fit the above criteria, it's plausible to make a MTR work. But maybe as you're continuing to learn and get your feet wet, a LTR may be your way to go. Find what works for you and what you are willing and able to do. You aren't always locked into one strategy or the other, maybe try out both and familiarize yourself and learn some new things as you go and make mistakes (we all have and all will). 

Keep at it!

Hey Giuseppe! Great question as many are full-time investors and don't have a career like yours. In full transparency, I do not have an as demanding job but I can offer the advice I have learned. 

I would encourage the househacking multifamily option for you and your wife. It will teach you home ownership as well as managing a property at the same time so you gain more experience quickly. REI really isn't as passive as some would make it out to be, it does ask plenty of you but that is where your team comes in to assist you such as screening tenants using a property management company or updating properties by using contractors for specific needs, all depending on what you are comfortable and able to do on your own.

As for my wife and I, our investment is about an hour and 45 minutes away in Bryan/College Station, TX, she works a full time job in Austin and I'm gone six months of the year traveling for my other job (REI agent part-time). I do a lot of scheduling maintenance and contact with tenants from wherever I am... thank goodness for the internet and cell phones! Ours is obviously not a househack but that's what worked for us at the time... and that's what I would tell you to ask yourself. What works best for you and your wife right now in this stage of life?

So, with all that to say... it depends. Househacking may be the best on paper, but maybe not in actuality, that is up to you and your wife. I would encourage you to look into as many different ones it down to the strategy that you and your wife like the best and would be most effective at this point in your lives. 

I hope this helped, good luck!