Today I made the decision to stop over-analyzing and fulfill my goal to buy an investment rental property to generate cashflow and take some action. I plan on documenting the steps I'll take to buy the first property here on Enrichr.com so others who are interested, but haven't taken action can learn from my mistakes, and hopefully success. I'm guessing the process will take about 3 months since I'm pretty deliberate in my decisions.
Currently my experience is limited to reading several books on the subject by Robert Kiyosaki and Robert Allen and listening to Carleton Sheets. I know a few real estate investors and have talked to them and have done some research online. I've also taken classes to become a real estate agent, but haven't taken the test yet. Other than that, I'm a rookie.
The first step I took today was to drive out to a neighborhood I'm somewhat familiar with near my house to get a feel for what's out there--some market analysis. The homes are mostly 3 bed, 2 bath ranchers. I found 2 for sale and one for rent and called the realtors and landlord.
The home for rent was probably being rented out by an investor since he sounded very experienced in talking to potential renters. His rental price was $1200 a month. That gave me a good feel for what I might expect to rent a similar property for in that area. The rental was a little bigger--1600 sq ft and had 4 bedrooms, but I think that could be balanced out by the fact that it is located on a very busy 2 lane road and the other homes are in a nice neighborhood.
The two properties that were for sale were priced at $181,000 and $191,000--both probably at a price point too high to rent out and make positive cashflow. The rule that I've read is that 1% of the purchase price should be about what the rental value is. In this case, 1% is 1800-1900 dollars a month. Maybe that would fly in Chicago, but not here. The one positive that came out of it is that one of the Realtors seemed excited to help me find investment properties that fit my goals. She sent an email a couple hours later with several properties that look much more compatible with my goals. I plan on checking them out and getting back to her.
More to come as I make further progress.
Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, fabulous, gorgeous, talented? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. You're playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that's within us. It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we automatically give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.
-Marrianne Williamson
A Return to Love
Falsely attributed to Nelson Mandela's 1994 Inaugural Address http://www.nelsonmandela.org/index.php/news/article/deepest_fear_quote_not_mr_mandelas/
Also some claim that W.E.B DuBois is the original source, however, not much evidence exist to substantiate this.
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