Warning - Risks of Neighborhood Decline When Investing in Real Estate Everything in life has risks. Not investing adds certain types of risks, while investing adds other risks. One risk that some real estate investors face is the possibility that the neighborhood they're investing in will decline, causing values and/or rents to drop. So, how do we …

What should you do when you need a financial reset in life? Whether the result of divorce or death of a spouse, job loss or landing your dream job, or just getting out on your own for the first time, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, have some ideas for how you can navigate a critical money moment. Have a money or tax question for …

How to Analyze a Duplex Some real estate investors are sensitive to their ability to get ten 30-year fixed rate financing loans and would prefer to fill those loan spots with larger purchases than just single family rental homes. One way to do that is to buy more expensive properties like duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes. In this class, James will…

How to Calculate PMI If you're a house hacker, Nomad™, investor buying properties with less than 20% down, or buying creatively where the seller has PMI, you'll want to make sure you know how to analyze deals that have Private Mortgage Insurance. In this mini-class, James will cover how to analyze deals that have PMI, with an emphasis on doing it u…

Listen in as Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, share their thoughts on the CFP® Board's recent advertising campaign, "It's gotta be a CFP®." Learn how they became CFP® professionals, some history behind the designation, and why choosing a CFP® pro is just the beginning. Have a money or tax question for us? Send it to podcast@fpfoco…

In many cases—not all, but many cases—real estate investors can speed up the time it takes to become financially independent by choosing to pay off the mortgages on their properties early. Sometimes it makes sense to take every extra dollar beyond a healthy amount of reserves and aggressively pay off properties as quickly as possible. Other times, …

Deal Alchemy™ - Residential vs Commercial Property Deal Alchemy™ is all about manipulating the returns you're earning on your investments. Often, this is done through the choices we make when selecting the investment property and the strategies we choose to implement. For example, you could choose to invest in residential properties where your tena…

We’re back with an update on the IRS’s 2024 Dirty Dozen, the dirtiest tax scams and schemes of this tax season! Join Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, as they break down the half dozen ruses not covered in episode 26, Dirty Dozen: Tax Scams and Schemes! Plus, check out the FPFoCo blog on the 2024 Dirty Dozen! Have a money or tax qu…

Warning - Risks of Loan Called Due When Investing in Real Estate Investing in real estate adds some risk to an already risk-filled life. However, certain activities and strategies when investing in real estate create additional risks that other strategies and activities do not have. For example, choosing to utilize strategies where the lender has t…

How to Analyze Buying a Rental Property at a Discount in Fort Collins Some real estate investors insist on only buying properties where they can purchase them at a significant discount. While not mutually exclusive, other investors insist on buying quality properties at a fair price as long as it gets them their desired returns and will stand the t…

Have you forgotten to add something to your financial plan? From left-out EFOFs to missed cars and forgotten “now” goals, we’ve seen it all. In this episode, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, share some of the common items that clients have unintentionally left out from — and then added to — their financial plans. Have a money or t…

How to Calculate PMI If you're planning to buy a property and put less than 20% down, you're likely to be required to pay Private Mortgage Insurance. Lenders prefer that you put at least 20% down, but if you insist on putting less than 20% down, they may still make the loan. However, they will usually do so at a slightly higher mortgage interest ra…

There are a large number of investing strategies you could pursue as a real estate investor: Nomad™, house hacking, fix and flip, buying 20% down rentals, buying 25% down rentals, saving up to buy free and clear rentals and many, many more options. Which is the best? Which gets you to financial independence fastest? Which gives you the highest net …

Stuff happens! What could you do if you were to face an unexpected expense? Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, share how they’ve handled their own surprise costs and the emotional toll they can bring. From a down market just after retirement or a pricier college education than planned to a vehicle breakdown or job loss, they’ll shar…

Deal Alchemy™ - Increasing Down Payment There are four primary returns from investing in rental properties: appreciation, cash flow, debt paydown, and the tax benefits of depreciation. Additionally, there is a secondary return in the form of the interest earned on the reserves required to make the investment in the first place. Many real estate inv…

Warning - Risks of Rental Property Expenses When Investing in Real Estate Risk is all around us. When we choose to invest in anything, we’re choosing to take on the additional risk characteristics of that investment. For example, when we choose to invest in real estate, we choose to take on the risk characteristics of the specific real estate inves…

Heard of a tax filing technique that sounds too good to be true? It just might be! In this episode of Money & Taxes from Bb to XYZ, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, go over the Internal Revenue Service’s list of the top 2023 tax scams and schemes so you can watch out for them this tax season. From email and text schemes to social …

How to Analyze a New Construction Single-Family Home Property in Fort Collins Your ability to analyze deals is arguably the most important skill as a real estate investor. It allows you to make smart investment decisions and helps you avoid making career-ending bad decisions, such as buying cash-flowing-sucking vampire properties. In this class, Ja…

The 3 Strategies to Pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Whether they're putting 15% down and buying a non-owner-occupied property or utilizing an owner-occupied loan with 0%, 3%, 3.5%, or 5% down for Nomading™ or house hacking, some real estate investors will choose to put less than 20% down. With the decision to put less than 20% down comes the c…

Have you been feeling the inflation lately? After increasing early in the pandemic and reaching a peak in June 2022, inflation steadily declined through June of 2023 — and has more or less leveled out since then. When January’s inflation numbers were released last week, they showed a rate higher than expected. As we continue to deal with it, Jason …

Investing in real estate is full of truthy-sounding falsehoods: it is always better to do X than Y. However, if you were crazy enough to sit down and do the math, you'd find the truth to be much more nuanced. For example, should you take all your extra cash flow and savings and apply it to your mortgages each month to pay off rental properties fast…

Deal Alchemy™ - Cash Flow to Debt Paydown There are four primary returns from investing in rental properties: appreciation, cash flow, debt paydown, and the tax benefits of depreciation. Additionally, there is a secondary return in the form of the interest earned on the reserves required to make the investment in the first place. Many real estate i…

Money and … romance? That’s right! It’s almost Valentine’s Day, so get ready to talk to your significant other about money — no matter which generation you and your love are part of. In this episode, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, share how they communicate with their partners about financial topics and share some ideas so you a…

Warning - The Risk of Down Payment Size When Investing in Real Estate Life is full of risks. When we choose to invest, we choose to take on additional risks. If we invest in stocks, we choose to take on certain risks. When we choose to invest in bonds, we take on different risks. When we choose to invest in real estate, we choose to take on additio…

How to Analyze a 5% Down Single-Family Nomad™ Property in Fort Collins Using the latest version of The World's Greatest Real Estate Deal Analysis Spreadsheet™, we will walk through how to analyze a single-family home Nomad™ property with a 5% down payment. Learn how to analyze deals correctly and avoid buying cash flow vampires. Only buy the best d…

What does it take to make a house a home? There’s a lot more to it than renting or buying! Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, will share ideas on how you might make that decision — and a whole lot more! From timing your mortgage payoff to downsizing and having roommates or living solo, you’ll learn what you may want to consider for …

What Affects Your PMI Rate Lenders prefer that you put at least 20% down, but if you push hard enough, many will allow you to put less than 20% down if you're willing to purchase insurance to protect them in case you default. This insurance is called Private Mortgage Insurance. The cost of this insurance depends on several factors. Some are primary…

You're a real estate investor looking to acquire properties by saving up and putting 25% down. Should you buy an owner-occupied property first? What if that's more expensive than renting? Should you still do it? What if it means you'll be saving less for acquiring rentals by buying an owner-occupied property first? In this comparison class, we will…

What are your goals for 2024? From filling up your EFOF and contributing to your retirement savings to having some fun, let’s get planning! In this episode, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, share their own goals for the new year, discuss how they can apply throughout the generations, and share takeaways that you can use as you ide…

Deal Alchemy™ - Lease-Options Different real estate investors desire, prefer, and prioritize different returns. For example, many real estate investors have a strong preference for the cash flow part of their return. With Deal Alchemy™, we can manipulate returns and move them from one area to another. Or, we can move them from one or more areas to …

Warning - Insurable Risks When Investing in Real Estate Life has risks. Real estate investing in Fort Collins adds some additional risks. Some of these risks can be shifted from your responsibility to the responsibility of a third party for a fee. This is often described as insurance. You choose to pay someone else to take on a risk you don't want …

The new year is almost here, and that means it’s time for some updates! To what? Standard deductions, phaseout ranges for retirement savings, retirement plan contribution limits, and so much more! Join Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, and get ready for 2024! Have a money or tax question for us? Send it to podcast@fpfoco.com, and J…

How to Analyze a 20% Down Single-Family Home Rental Using the latest version of The World's Greatest Real Estate Deal Analysis Spreadsheet™, we will walk through how to analyze a single-family home rental property with a 20% down payment. Learn how to analyze deals correctly and avoid buying cash flow vampires. Only buy the best deals that make sen…

What is PMI And How to Avoid It You want to work with a lender so that you don't need to purchase a property with all cash. The lender is willing to lend you money, charging you interest to make a profit, and ensuring there is a safety buffer of equity in case you default and they need to foreclose to recover their funds. Your goal is to minimize t…

Get ready for 2024 income, saving, and spending with a new cash-flow plan for the new year! In this episode, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, talk you through what you should be considering in your annual budget. Plus, you can get started with Regina’s cash-flow planning worksheet here. Listen in and get planning today! Have a mon…

Should you use the Nomad™ strategy to acquire properties with a minimal 5% down payment as quickly as possible? Or is it better to be a little more patient and save up for full 25% down payments and buy rentals without moving into each? By saving up for a 25% down payment, the properties will cash flow better. That may allow you to save up faster f…

Improving Cash Flow on Rental Properties by Improving the Property 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 im…

It’s officially the holiday season, and you know what that means: It’s time for giving! If you’re including monetary gifts to people or charitable giving in your holiday or end-of-year plans, listen in as Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, share the rules and potential tax benefits. From QCDs, DAFs, and CRTs to cash gifts to people …

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…

Making your first Roth IRA contribution? How about contributing to your Roth IRA through the backdoor? Or the behemoth mega-backdoor Roth? And don’t forget about Roth conversions! However you contribute or convert, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, have ideas to share! No matter which generation you’re part of or how you’re Roth-in…

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…

It might be early November, but the end of the year will be here before we know it! Listen in as Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, share what you can do to prepare and finish out the year strong. From open enrollment and insurance planning to budgeting, finishing your 2023 contributions, Roth conversions, tax planning, and more it’…

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 spooky season has begun! In this episode, Jason Speciner, CFP®, EA, and Regina Neenan, CFP®, tell some horrific finance and tax stories. So gather around the fire, and get ready for a fright! Have a money or tax question for us? Send it to podcast@fpfoco.com, and Jason or Regina might answer your question in a future episode! We’ll release a ne…

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…