Monthly Archives: August 2015

This will be my third Bike MS here in Kansas City.  As many of you know I just love to ride. Each year I’ve raised a little over $1,200 for Bike MS.  It’s a great organization and I have a lot of fun along the way.  Can you spare $10 or $25 or $100? If so, I’d love have you visit my donations page.  Thanks!!

Click Here To Donate

What is the number you need for a secure retirement?

You probably have something in mind.  And we’ve all been taught it is a number rather than a cash flow.  But what if you could own rental property for your retirement?

Your social security check, if it still exists, will be cash flow. The withdrawals on your IRA, 401(k), etc will be considered cash flow.  Why not rents from your rental properties?

I have discussed over and over again on this blog, since 2006, the pluses (and minuses) of owning and managing income property.  And it is still my opinion that the pluses far outweigh the minuses.  That is especially reinforced this week when I see my IRA drop in value by 10% in two days while my rental property continues to perform.

Yes, 2008-2011 was a real estate apocalypse as far as real estate values are concerned. But you know what?  Because I had purchased those investment properties (pre-2006) on sound fundamentals I weathered the storm.  Sure, the value of the rental went down but the rents actually went up!!!  So my PITI remained mostly constant (taxes fluctuated a little) but my rents went up. I’ll take that over what just happened to my stocks and mutual funds this week.

Yes, I own investment property.  Yes, I’ll buy another one or two. Yes, I’ll still continue to have monies in the stock market as well.  And yes, I’ll continue to grow my real estate business.  I believe in having as many income streams as I can so that when I do retire I won’t have to worry about it the entire time.

I’m building a “Retirement worth having” and I can help to counsel you to do the same where it involves residential investment property in Kansas City.

Chris Lengquist
Ad Astra Realty, Inc
913-322-7515

Like most people, I didn’t really know what I was getting in to when I started working in the field of real estate investing.  Fortunately,  I met a man named Phillip from Bainbridge Island, Washington who showed me the ropes and gave me quite an education about real estate investing, working with real estate investors and what to look for in a rental property.

Over the course of about 18 months I learned a ton from that man.  He hired me to liquidate a couple dozen of his income properties and it was education by immersion. Here are a few of the things that I learned along the way that I wished I had known from the very beginning;

• The difference between proceeds and profits.
• Cash flow versus appreciation and the inverse relationship.
• What a quality property looks like.
• What a quality tenant looks like.
• What a quality property manager looks like.
• Trust, but verify.
• How to measure returns in a way that is meaningful to your situation.
• What a real estate investor is looking for in a real estate agent.
• What a real estate agent is looking for in a real estate investor.

These are just a few of the seemingly simple categories that deserve a lot of attention in your thought process of acquiring residential income property.  We can talk about these in detail.  All you have to do is invite me out for a coffee or beer…or heck,we can talk by phone.

Ad Astra Realty, Inc
Chris Lengquist
2011 E Crossroads Ln #305
Olathe, KS  66062
913-815-3473