Sarah needs $36,000 per year in living expenses in order to reach FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). She owns several rental properties, and she’s aggressively paying off the mortgages through the debt snowball method. How will she know when she’s ready to live on $3,000 per month in consistent rental income?
AyV wants to rent out his primary residence. What steps should he take to prepare the property for rent? Should he hire a contractor? What level of renovation should he give it?
Anonymous lives in a high-cost-of-living city, but she found a small city nearby with a diversified economy, good public transit, and plenty of Class B and C+ multifamily properties. But these properties need a little work. How do you estimate repair costs?
Carly wants to know how the one percent rule is impacted by appreciation. She bought a property that underperformed the one percent rule, and it’s appreciated. Should she hold onto the property?
Erin has $15,000 and is trying to decide if she should use it as a paltry downpayment towards a $270,000 personal residence in northern Virginia, or as a sizeable downpayment towards a $50,000 rental property in Huntsville, Alabama. What should she consider?
Nancy wants to buy rental properties from overseas, but she’s having a tough time finding real estate agents who take her seriously as a buyer. Many of them don’t want to Facetime with her as they walk-thru properties, or send her photos. What should she do? Additionally, how can she find multiunit listings online? She’s not having much luck through the public-facing mass-market websites.
I answer these six questions in today’s final Ask Paula – Real Estate episode. Enjoy!
Resources Mentioned:
- How I Bought 20 Houses, Debt-Free, While Serving Overseas in the Military – with Rich Carey
- RichOnMoney.com
- NYTimes Rent vs. Buy Calculator
- National Association of Realtors page, in which you can find a local agent who is a designated Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource
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