Live in the truck save $ and become financially independent???

NewNashGuy
What makes me nervous about your statement is the certainty with which you speak. I'm a private guy, and am not interested in giving credentials on a public forum, but you are into an area I am quite familiar with. I'll give you one piece of advice, in real estate investing, the skeptics make money from the optimists. Oh, and never take economic advice from a realtor.

FYI - Currently, I only have my modest house, which is paid for, but I don't feel the time is right to be making any big moves. There are a lot of indicators that have me sidelined right now.

I like your plan in general, and I wish you success. It's nice to see someone with a plan these days as it isn't very common. Hats off to you.

 

I do not take advice from a realtor. I am on the sidelines as well. I predict this season there will be way more inventory than buyers since so many people who have been underwater can finally get out of their house. Plus with the higher interest rates and Obamacare, there will be uncertainity. I will wait until Obama leaves office and we get a real republican president and the economy will explode to pre-Bush levels.

 

Sounds like the OP has a good head on his shoulders. I would still recommend poking around some rental forums like biggerpockets.com & reading whatever books you can get your hands on (there is a decent one by Larry Loftis on multiplexes).

Tax avoidance/deferral is probably the second biggest factor to building wealth (the first being living well within your means). While everyone's situation is different, in general I recommend maxing out your 401K & IRA contributions. If you reach a point where you're no longer getting a tax deferral, continue contributing up to the limit in a roth.

Your net worth will grow faster thanks to the free 30% loan you're getting on the tax deferred via traditional 401k/ira. You can roll this over into your real estate business at some point, borrow against it, or just have it shoring up your financials which should lower your cost of capital.

Buying while being OTR is tough, but doable. You'll have a limited amount of time off the road which can put a lot of pressure on you to make a deal now. Be patient, you'll walk away from lots of prospects before finding something suitable. I recommend networking with others in your area that invest in multiplexes. Find out which realtors & property managers to use (or stay away from). I would not consider any property needing much more than cosmetic work, however. It's just too tough to handle from afar.

I searched for about six months before buying my triplex and it was one that never went on the market. I picked it up from a local investor who got a little carried away and became over-leveraged.

It helps -- especially if you can do some tourist stuff while you're off. I actually tend to do the hotel, rental car, + tourist stuff when broken down. On "home time" I wind up doing lots of puttering around taking care of maintenance stuff.

That's kinda how I started. I wanted (and still do) to become an o/o, but every spreadsheet showed that at current market prices & financing, a good multiplex just destroys a tractor-trailer in return -- and does so with less risk.

[h=1]“Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful” -- Warren Buffet [/h]

There are plenty of busted boom towns out west to disprove your absolutism and even over the long run speculating on the value of real estate has not been a good investment compared to stocks or even bonds: $100,000 invested in 1890 would have been worth $115,000 in 2010 after adjusting for inflation:



And that doesn't even factor the money that went into the property over that 120 years (taxes, maintenance, remodeling, etc). A big home in 1890 would be a tiny cottage by today's standards.

Rental property, on the other hand, pays you while it more or less maintains its value in the long run & all while offering tax advantages.

 

A wise old businessman once gave me a sage piece of advice, "The deals you make the most money from are the deals you walk away from."

Never be so anxious to do a deal you can't walk away.

 

So, if real estate is the king of investments, why is it you can buy a house in Detroit these days for $5,000? If not just move in and claim it???

 

Some Chinese guy from the mainland recently ordered "two or three hundred houses" in Detroit, sight unseen, for cash. He's going to be in big trouble in the future. He thinks he's going to just sit on the houses while they increase in value and resell them in a few years. The mainlanders refuse to pay taxes, so that's his first mistake thinking he can get away with ignoring property taxes. He doesn't realize the condition of those Detroit houses. The houses in China are solid concrete and can sit for decades without falling apart, unlike houses in other countries made of wood and siding.

 

Ironpony is probably talking about Adverse Possession. Every State allows for squatters (non title holders) to take legal title to property if certain criteria are met.

Personally, I'll put my money in real estate before anything else. At least with real estate you have control. But to each his own.

 

From what I've heard about the situation in Detroit its just move in because no one gives a ####. Its that bad in some abandoned neighborhoods.