Fastest Way to Acquire 10 Investment Properties

Nathan asked a question on my post “Give Me Your Investment Property Questions“:

“What is the fastest way to acquire 10 investment properties?”

I think there are several questions and a couple answers to this question:

Questions:

Why do you want to own 10 properties?
Are you looking to leave your day job and work on your investment real estate exclusively?
Is your goal to use investment property as a supplement to your retirement or is it to add cash to your monthly income?
How much time and financial resources can you devote to building your investment property portfolio?

Answers

Regardless of how quickly you want to acquire 10 investment properties, the most important decisions you can make is to partner with a great Mortgage Banker and a great Real Estate Agent. These individuals must own investment property and specialize in investment real estate. A good team can absolutely help you be successful at growing your investment portfolio (I have see a bad team or no team send investors into financial ruin).
Once you have chosen your Mortgage Banker, I recommend that you follow every single piece of advise s/he gives you in regards to your financial future. Do not make a major purchase or change without his approval. He understands much better than you what that new car will do to your chances of getting a mortgage for that next investment property.
Assuming for a second that you don’t have an extra $400k sitting around to invest in real estate (for 20% down payments), in this market, I would be capitalizing on rehabs as a way to stretch your limited down payment pool as far as possible. We are working with many investors right now that are going to acquire 5-10 new Minnesota investment properties and spend very little of their initial down payment seed money. Read about those Minneapolis investment property opportunities here.
I also recommend that you buy your properties in clusters. You do not want to be driving across town (especially when gas is $4 per gallon) every time you need to unclog a drain or show an apartment.
Get yourself organized early with an accounting system for your investment properties. Without setting this up early you will be letting money slip through your fingers by not keeping on top of what your tenants owe you.
Lastly, read how I manage 28 rental units and get prepared! There are many tricks and time saving tips to managing a larger portfolio.

Setting a goal to acquire 10 investment properties is a good goal to look forward to. If you achieve it, you can set yourself up for a lucrative financial future.

Have you always wanted to buy investment property, but never knew where to start? Don’t Wait! Get Started now.

4 comments

#1RonJune 23, 2008, 3:40 am

Scott do you own mostly duplexes?
Are you putting enough down to cash flow pretty well?
The reason I ask is if you are buying a lot of multi-units than you are probably doing fine in real estate right now due to the rental demand.

Do you buy your properties with owner financing or only with bank financing?

Do you do any sub2, c/d, etc?

#2Investment PropertyJune 23, 2008, 11:22 pm

Hey Ron-
I own a little of everything (single family, new townhouses, duplexes, and 4-plexes).

I bought many of my properties in 2005-2006 and therefore many are upside down value wise. They cash flow OK, but as you know, you can never have too much cash flow!

Seller financing was possible in the old days and I did some (hope no authorities are reading). Otherwise, everything now is standard by the book financing (no CD or sub2). Deals are good to get without them.

Oh, lots of rehab/construction loan financing to fix up the foreclosures. This will also let you get in for almost $0 down.

#3GO Zone InvestmentsOctober 12, 2008, 7:49 pm

Scott, have you considered investing in the GO Zone for the bonus depreciation? 30 investment properties…Wow. Sounds like you could really use it.

#4adminOctober 12, 2008, 9:01 pm

GO Zone Investments »
Thanks, but I am old fashion and like owning property close to where I live.

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