Podcast Reno Real Estate Investing

Refinancing Rental Property Tips There are many flavors of refinancing rental properties: cash-out refinances, cash-in refinances, rate and term refinances, and recasting loans. Understanding each one, when you might want to use them in your real estate investing, the general rules and guidelines for using them, and the impact of each are all impor…

Financing Tips When Writing an Offer to Buy a Rental So, you understand financing for buying your next property, and you're ready to go out in search of a property to buy. There are a few financing-related tips that might help set you up for success, improve the odds of getting your offer accepted, getting the best price and terms on your offer, an…

Sometimes buying rental properties is merely a means to an end: financial independence. Some folks don't want to hold onto their rental properties, manage them, or deal with the business of owning them when they achieve financial independence. Instead, they may prefer to have their money more passively invested in stocks. Can a real estate investor…

Tips for Getting Mortgage Quotes from Lenders If you choose a random lender, you'll have a random chance of closing with financing. And in many markets, if your lender fails to perform, you as the buyer are in default (since your lender is not a party to the contract). Wouldn't you rather have more certainty that your lender will perform and that y…

In the last few years, we've seen equity explode. Property prices have been growing like a weed in a spring. And, lower mortgage interest rates mean loan paydown has been more like the Mississippi than a backyard creek. Many real estate investors who owned property during that period will be tempted to tap into that equity to invest in more propert…

How can you speed up your journey to financial independence (FI)? In this special class, James will go over a brand-new spreadsheet and walk you through all the different ways to speed up your achievement of financial independence. James covers the following in this class: What is financial independence? How is financial independence defined mathem…

Preparing to Get Mortgages So, you’ve decided to invest in real estate and know that you’ll need a mortgage to buy property. There are some things you should do BEFORE you apply for your mortgage. You should be thinking about these things ideally for multiple years before you try to get a mortgage. In this mini-class, we will discuss the preparatio…

Accessing Equity in Properties With prices up a lot over the last few years and interest rates having lingered near all-time lows, many real estate investors find themselves sitting on massive amounts of equity in their properties. But, how do you access that equity? In this mini-class, James will look at a variety of ways to access equity in prope…

The Return on Investment on Extra Down Payments You’re buying a rental property. You have more than you need for a down payment, closing costs and reserves. One option you’re considering is putting more down. Putting more down will often improve cash flow and Cash on Cash Return on Investment. The dollar amount of returns from Appreciation and Depr…

Most real estate investors consider themselves financially independent when the income from all of their investments exceeds their personal expenses. To achieve this, they need net positive cash flow from all rental properties after all expenses, any income generated from stocks, bonds, or other investments times a safe withdrawal rate, and any soc…

Use this special spreadsheet to track the returns on each property in your portfolio. It utilizes the Return in Dollars Quadrant™ methodology to easily allow you to track appreciation, cash flow, debt paydown, Cash Flow from Depreciation™ and the return on your reserves all in one place. Plus, see how and when each return is taxed. And, whether the…

Should I Put 15% or 20% Down When Buying a Rental Property? In a real estate market that has seen significant increases in property prices and rapidly rising mortgage interest rates, it can be harder than ever to obtain decent cash flow. However, many real estate investors are tempted to minimize their down payments to optimize their overall return…

Use this special budget spreadsheet to model changes in your situation like buying an owner-occupant property, buying rental properties, getting married or divorced or remarried, retiring and much much more. The spreadsheet allows you to create 6 variations to your budgets for different seasons of your life to easily see how that impacts what you n…

Loan Comparison Spreadsheet for Real Estate Investors Sometimes it can be helpful to compare various loan programs and options simultaneously. For example, it could be useful to compare the monthly payment differences between various "nothing down," "low down," and full-size down payment options when buying a rental property. Visually seeing a char…

Buying Down Mortgage Interest Rates for Real Estate Investors There are several ways to improve cash flow on your rental properties. One option is to put more money down to reduce the amount you borrow. In some cases, this can also improve your interest rate by lowering your overall loan-to-value. However, when comparing putting more money down to …

Other Financing Options for Real Estate Investors In the last several classes, we covered a variety of traditional financing options, including nothing-down financing, low down payment financing, conventional financing, and portfolio loans. These options represent the overwhelming majority of financing options used when purchasing properties. Howev…

Home prices are up a lot over the last 10 years or so, interest rates are up even more in the last 18 months or so, and—while rents are up—they’re not up enough to counteract the higher prices and interest rates. That makes cash flow harder... but not for Ryan and his strategy... We discuss this method of improving cash flow under "Improve Strategy…

Prices have gone up rapidly in the last few years. And, interest rates are much higher. And even though rents are up, they’re not up enough to counteract the much higher prices and much higher interest rates. That makes it harder to achieve good cash flow with a reasonable down payment. One way to overcome the impact of higher interest rates is to …

The Importance of Loan Planning for Real Estate Investors Real estate investing is a little like the game of Chess. You can play the game with an elementary understanding of the basic rules. But, you soon learn that just knowing how the pieces move about the board are the table stakes for being able to sit at the game board. If you want to do well,…

Hard Money and Private Money for Real Estate Investors Certain real estate investing strategies suggest certain types of financing. For example, most long-term buy-and-hold real estate investors purchasing non-owner-occupant properties will opt for 30-year fixed rate conventional financing or commercial loans. House hackers and Nomads™ will often s…

Commercial Loans 101 for Real Estate Investors Recently, we have been covering a variety of financing options for real estate investors. However, we have primarily focused on financing single-family homes, condos, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. But what if you're interested in purchasing a commercial building, an apartment with fiv…

Portfolio Loans 101 for Real Estate Investors Most real estate investors initially use conventional financing options to acquire their rental property portfolio. However, when they hit the limit of conventional loans they can obtain, they may switch to portfolio loan products to continue acquiring properties. Additionally, when doing certain types …

Conventional Financing 101 for Real Estate Investors While about one-third of real estate transactions are all-cash, the majority of real estate investors use conventional financing options to acquire their rental properties. Even new investors often desire to utilize creative financing strategies, but it's important to have a foundational understa…

Improving Cash Flow on Rental Properties as a Landlord When real estate prices, mortgage interest rates, and rent rates are high, it can be more challenging to generate great cash flow from a rental property. However, it is also more important than ever to do everything in your power to maximize cash flow. There are 88 strategies for improving cash…

Low Down Payment Financing Options for Real Estate Investors Real estate investors often believe that minimizing their down payment leads to higher returns. This is partly true since a lower down payment means higher leverage, which amplifies returns. However, returns can be amplified both positively (when returns are positive) and negatively (when…

Property prices and interest rates are currently high, while rents are not keeping up. Achieving cash flow has become even more crucial and challenging than ever, despite our 88 strategies to maximize it. One common question that arises is whether it is better to purchase rental properties with 20% down payments or to invest in stocks. Buying renta…

Is Creative Financing Really Nothing Down? Every real estate investor has heard stories of the amazing deals that can be found with creative financing, often involving instant equity from buying significantly below current fair market value with nothing down. While these deals do exist, they are not typical. So, what can an investor reasonably expe…

Improving Cash Flow on Properties You Already Own When real estate prices, mortgage interest rates, and rental rates are high, generating great cash flow from a rental property can be more challenging. However, it is also more important than ever to do everything in your power to maximize cash flow. There are 88 strategies for improving cash flow o…

Nothing Down Financing Options for Real Estate Investors Some real estate investors are obsessed with investing in real estate with no down payment. For some, it is a practical necessity because they don't have the funds for a down payment. For others, it's about boosting their return on investment. Although there may be other local options and cre…

Property prices and interest rates are high, while rents are lagging. Cash flow is both more important and harder to achieve than ever, even with our 88 strategies to improve and maximize it. Another question common rises to the top of the list: I’m going to buy an owner-occupant property with 5% down first, but then… should you put 20% down when a…

Selecting a Lender for Real Estate Investors The top two, most commonly used dream team members for real estate investors are real estate agents and lenders. In this mini-class we will discuss how to select a lender to use as a real estate investor. We will discuss some of the selection criteria I consider when choosing a lender to work with. Check…

Improving Cash Flow When Marketing Your Property for Rent When real estate prices, mortgage interest rates, and rent rates are high, generating great cash flow from a rental property can be challenging. However, it is more important than ever to maximize cash flow. There are 88 strategies for improving cash flow on rental properties. Some are used …

WARNING: This is not our typical content. Normally we teach real estate investing classes. This is not one of those classes. May 20, 2023 is the 1-year anniversary of launching the new real estate investing podcasts. To honor the anniversary, we’re recapping how the first year went including: Key milestones achieved Number of episodes published Num…

FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums New, lower mortgage insurance premium (MIP) rates will apply to mortgages insured by FHA on or after March 20, 2023. These rates were announced by HUD on February 22, 2023. In this mini-class, James will discuss the improvements to FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums, as well as their previous rates. Additionally, James …

Property prices and interest rates are high, while rents are lagging. Cash flow is both more important and harder to achieve than ever, even with our 88 strategies to improve and maximize it. Another question common rises to the top of the list: should you put 20% down when acquiring your rental properties, or should you save up a little more and p…

Alternate Uses for Down Payments It might seem obvious that the more money you save up for down payments, the more you can and maybe should put down as a means of improving cash flow. But that might not always be the most optimal and effective strategy. In fact, there are a variety of other options available as alternatives that might improve how y…

The World's Greatest Real Estate Deal Analysis Spreadsheet™ Updated I know this sounds controversial, but I'll say it because it is true: everyone else's deal analysis spreadsheet for buying rental properties is wrong. How? First, they don't take into account that you MUST have reserves to buy rental properties. A correct deal analysis spreadsheet …

Improving Cash Flow When Considering Your Real Estate Investing Strategy When prices are high, mortgage interest rates are high, and rents are lagging, it can be more challenging than ever to generate great cash flow from a rental property. However, it is also more important than ever to do everything in your power to maximize cash flow. There are …

What is the ideal down payment when purchasing a rental property? While some real estate investors may barely scrape together the minimum down payment, there are advantages to putting down more. Additionally, changing your strategy to allow for a smaller down payment may also have advantages. In this mini-class, James discusses how different down p…

Property prices and interest rates are high, while rents are lagging. Cash flow is both more important and harder to achieve than ever, even with our 88 strategies to improve and maximize it. But a debate still remains: should you use smaller 5% down payments with the Nomad™ real estate investing strategy to acquire your rental properties, or shoul…

How to Get the Down Payment When Buying Rental Properties There are two primary ways to deal with down payments when buying rental properties: first you can REDUCE the need for them and second you can focus on ways to PRODUCE the down payment required. In this mini-class, James discusses strategies to produce the down payments when buying rental pr…

Improving Cash Flow When Financing Your Next Rental Property When prices are high, mortgage interest rates are high, and rents are lagging, it can be more challenging than ever to generate great cash flow from a rental property. However, it is also more important than ever to do everything in your power to maximize cash flow. There are 88 strategie…

Reduce the Need for Down Payments When Buying Rental Properties There are two primary ways to deal with down payments when buying rental properties: first you can REDUCE the need for them and second you can focus on ways to PRODUCE the down payment required. In this mini-class, James discusses strategies to reduce the need for down payments when bu…

How Much Down Payment for Investment Property? Check out the video of this class here: https://realestatefinancialplanner.com/how-much-down-payment-for-investment-property/ In this special mini-class for the Real Estate Financial Planner™ coaching program James covers: The two primary groups of loans for real estate investors... How much down payme…

What does a real estate agent do when you're buying a rental property? What are you use responsbible for? What do each of your other dream team members do? In this special mini-class for the Real Estate Financial Planner™ coaching program James covers: What's the difference between a real estate agent, broker and Realtor? A word on local variation …

Don't wait until after you own your rental property to start optimizing cash flow. In this special recording, James discusses all the strategies for improving cash flow while you're actively searching for the next rental property to buy. In this special mini-class for the Real Estate Financial Planner™ coaching program James covers: Real Estate Age…

When should you upgrade or do improvements to your rental property? How do you tell if it is worthwhile doing the improvements/upgrades? In this special mini-class for the Real Estate Financial Planner™ coaching program James covers: Where are we as we improve rental property cash flow/now? Distinctions between BRRR/R and taking advantage of forced…

The Your Financial Independence module for the new Real Estate Financial Planner Coaching program for folks looking to buy a property in the next 90 days that will move them closer to financial independence despite high prices, high interest rates and lagging rents. James covers: Does buying this property move you closer to your goal of being finan…

Introduction to the Real Estate Financial Planner Coaching program for folks looking to buy a property in the next 90 days that will move them closer to financial independence despite high prices, high interest rates and lagging rents. James covers the 7 steps all real estate investors should go through when buying a rental property and the 20 modu…

What does financially independent mean? Find out in this special, deep-dive podcast episode. James defines financially independent: Passive Income from things like social security, pensions and annuities Net positive cash flow from rental properties Safe withdrawal rate times other invested assets like stocks and bonds James discusses how you need …