I was a homeowner in the Phila. area for 25 years until 2002 at whch point I cashed out. Since then I have been living and teaching in China. It’s time to return but I don’t want to go back to the 9-5(really 6-19). I have a substantial amount of liquid cash (±100k) to work with and no debts. I don’t know what my credit rating is these days but three years ago it was good enough to enjoy an occasional sip of credit nectar. I’m thinking rehab, flipping, apartment house - I just don’t know - there are so many plans and possibilities and terminology. Currently I have no real residence in the US. (Also no car) basically no property of any kind. Thoughts?
Welcome Alkiadt!
You really need to see where your credit stands by ordering your credit report from all 3 agencies and checking to make sure it is correct (72% of ALL credit reports have at lease 1 error on them!)…
From there, read EVERYTHING you can get your hands on about your chosen niche…read books, magazines, and everything that you can on this (and other quality REI sites, if there are any – LOL!)…study hard and then study some more.
When you get back and decide on your investment area (geographic area), study the area…know your market cold. This will mean driving (or maybe walking/bicycling in your case!), working with realtors, networking with other investors, reading the paper, talking with other landlords, etc. Really get to know your target area.
After that, it’s a matter of researching and finding those deals!
I “buy and hold” (minor refurb and rent) --if you go that route, ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY CASHFLOW IS KING!!!
…and, keep asking questions!
Keith
Thanks for answering so quickly.
What you do is sort of along the lines of what I had in mind. Can you give me more detail without revealing all your secrets such as the type of money required, what kind of preperties you deal in, location, headaches, potential?
A
I sent you a Private Message.
Keith
What I would do is get a job to pay the day to day. I would develop a lifestyle based on that job income. I would then buy real estate to cover those expenses and then quit my job.: por ejemplo
Job provides
house note $1000
Car payment $450
Utilities $400
Insurance $300
Entertainment $500
Misc $500
Total monthly required $3150
I would then find me 15 $80,000 houses that yield $300 monthly positive cash flow. I would put down 10% to make that so. I would buy 15 to compensate for 10% vacancy that still leaves me with a cushion. Then I would quit my job and live on doing make ready and 3 or 4 flips per year when I find a property that will flip and yield at least $20k and will flip in 6 weeks. I will have an annual income of $100k to $200k depending on the flips I do.