Real Estate Investor Interview #2 - California Real Estate Investor Comes To Kansas City

Real Estate Investor Interview #2

Today's real estate investor interview is from a gentleman residing in the Los Angeles area of California. He chooses to go by Phil "N" and that is enough for you to know! You see, many people are not looking to sell books and tapes as real estate gurus. They are looking to build a Retirement Worth Having.

This interview stands in stark contrast to the last interview I did. Our last real estate investor had owned property consistently over the last 50 years and had many properties. Compare that to this interview and see the similarities and differences.

Q: How long have you been a professional real estate investor? I have been investing in real estate for almost one year now. That is with the duplex in Blue Springs, MO. I researched for about two years before I bought.

Q: Why did you choose to start investing your capital into real estate? I think it is a good idea to invest in real estate because of he fact that you're able to leverage a larger amount of appreciation of funds for a smaller amount invested. In other words, my $30,000 investment is actually $150,000 appreciating at 4% a year, not to mention that someone else is paying off the mortgage, I'm able to benefit with reduced income taxes, and the duplex I bought in Blue Springs is actually operating in the black by $300/month already.

Q: Okay, but you live in California. Why did you choose Kansas City? I chose Kansas City (after much research) because it offers good cash flow on my property. The combination of purchase price v. rents was a good ratio (i.e. good cap rate). The neighborhoods are nice, the per capita income in Kansas City is higher than the national average, and Kansas City seems like a good place for large businesses to operate from.

Q: Does owning property so far away cause you to lose any sleep at night? The only concern I have is that because I'm so far away, I'm not as familiar with the day to day changes within the community where my duplex is. I rely on my property manager to keep me up to speed on changes in the neighborhood that might influence future value of the property. I subscribe to an online newspaper for Blue Springs that allows me to keep up with local news.

Q: So now you have one under your belt. What are your future income property plans? I'm very happy with the duplex, and I plan to buy one or two more properties within the next year in the Kansas City area.

Editor's Note: These interviews are done without me writing the answers. I swear. But they sound like things I preach. Hmmmmmmmm.