While my free cash flow could be described as substantial, I have money market accounts to hold reserves for unexpected expenses and events like the one we are currently experiencing.Respectfully,Gary

It has some excellent ideas about reducing your expenses drastically and finding ways to free cash up to pay off debts.Another good book can be found in the BP bookstore here:https://www.biggerpockets.com/store/real-estate-note-investing-ultimateEven if you don't want to buy notes, there is a lot of great information in there that was unexpected.

-July 30th CNBC“Home sale prices continue to shoot up across metro Detroit, delighting many sellers but causing nightmares for the would-be buyers who keep getting outbid for the few properties on the market.Some of the biggest price jumps have happened in the city of Detroit” Freep.com JULY 16 2019“In the city of Detroit, the median sales price hit $38,500 in June, up 41 percent from a year earlier, according to a report released Monday by Realcomp.”

Here are a couple things that have come up a bit unexpected on me that you should consider: 1- You have a lot of soft costs missing from your stack that you will need to account for.

Cash flowing properties will better equipt you for ups and downs of the market and the unexpected.

It is a good thing you already have cash reserves to cover the unexpected costs that can raise their ugly head.  

If you are using hard money you need to budget for the points and fees as well as traditional third party closing fees.Repairs: The money it is going to take you to rehab the property plus an extra 10% of estimated repair costs to account for unexpected repairs.Holdings Costs: Here is where a lot of investors get tripped up.

I grew up in NYC, so rents going up was never unexpected, even if it was $100-$200 per year, every year, and if you bought something in the year 2000, I imagine you'd have made a fortune if you still owned it in 2022 and I'm sort of hoping for a similar experience with Chicago.  

Wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on this deal. I recently closed on a property in Hawaii because I never found ANYTHING that could cash flow in the Bay Area. I was not planning on buying another unit for a few months...

As he embarks on his real estate journey, any insights you could share would be greatly appreciated.Perhaps there are things you wish you had known sooner, unexpected challenges you encountered, or just general sound wisdom that has served you well throughout your own real estate professional endeavors.