Hey guys! For me, financial independence has involved investing in real estate. When I first became a landlord five years ago, I had no idea what I was getting into and felt so overwhelmed. I was spending so much time with menial tasks that I couldn't focus on what I originally wanted to do: grow my portfolio. Luckily, I discovered Tellus and everything began to change. I felt like I had taken a major step toward the dream of financial independence.
Tellus is a free rental management app that lets you collect rent, track finances, communicate with tenants, and create work orders. With financial reports professional enough to make my CPA jealous, it has completely changed the way I manage my finances.
They're still invite-only at this point, but DM me if you'd like an invite link.
https://www.tellusapp.com/blog/can-a-landlord-break-a-lease-to-move-in-or-sell-the-property/
" If your landlord is trying to move in:
This process is called an Owner Move-In Eviction. It is completely legal in most states, as long as the landlord provides a reasonable notice (usually 60 days if the landlord wishes to move in before the lease expires). Once the tenants have vacated, it is crucial that the landlord does in fact move in to the property. The landlord (or a relative of the landlord) must use the home as their primary place of residence consecutively for at least 36 months. Otherwise, the tenant can sue the landlord for wrongful eviction and in some cases be entitled to move back into the property. "
Idk why I the person who had the license is even bother arguing with you. Also idk about you but a lot of people don't like drama especially those with kids. My leaseholder turned off the internet during the beginning of the pandemic and was increasingly erratic.
I was tempted to try Tellus but have not yet and haven't seen a ton of feedback. I liked the feature that you could block partial payments of rent which isn't a luxury you get with every form of digital payment. I don't love the company as a whole that owns apartments.com, loopnet.com, costar.com, etc. so I feel you.
https://www.tellusapp.com/manage/
I also found this thread with some suggestions:
https://www.reddit.com/r/realestateinvesting/comments/jzv6by/best_alternative_to_cozy/
I started looking into this for myself and I found a company called Tellus that has streamlined the different aspects of property management between renters and landlords. Using this app helps me to stay in touch with property managers, tenants and service providers in Tellus chat as well easily staying up to date with leases and rental payments.
If you are already a property owner, then you can borrow against your property and obtain a loan to buy another. As I'm sure you're probably already aware, your collateral and credit need to be in before a lender to consider giving you a loan. Even if you look like viable candidate to take fro your equity, you can expect a lengthy application process and a general pain in your neck. I came across the Tellus app, and while I'm looking for a loan, I found that their platform provides borrowers easy access to loans. The application process is digital and takes only a few moments and borrowers can expect to hear back within five days. Their interest rates are pretty standard depending on your loan to debt ratio on the house you're borrowing against.
You can use a property manager or management company but chances are they'll just piss off your tenants and cause you a ton of stress while you're deployed. I started using Tellus and it's made collecting rent and dealing with other issues much easier. And if anything goes wrong like you have a tenant that can't figure something out, the app is supported with a customer response staff to resolve any issues that might happen. Plus it's free.
I would take advantage of the entitlement granted in the VA loan. There is a sliding scale of loan potential based on the zip code of where the property is located. It sounds like you want to build up your portfolio and start stacking the residuals. Plus, you don't need to worry about a down payment in most cases, but saving up as you mentioned will help start making payments wherever you end up buying. Another thing to consider is helping your saving grow in the meantime. I'm interested in real estate investing but initially, I didn't have enough to buy anything worth while. I came across Tellus and invested some money into portions of mortgages and earned a lot more interest than if I just let it sit in the bank.
Hope that helps.