All Forum Posts by: Alyssa K.

@Jaron Walling

I’m definitely not looking at RE as a cure all. And truthfully nothing needs to be cured, we live a lovely life and could stay in the rat race with relative comfort.

However we are at the point in our life where the decisions we make now will establish and shape our financial future/retirement, and so it’s time to “pick something and go all in”.

If I just went back into higher Ed I’d have the earning potential to contribute to any goals we have or gain along the way. But my husbands goals are my goals.

We operate very much as a unit. So while my language might come off as outdated/traditional to some…my husbands goals are synonymous with my own. I’ve gotten to live my dream of being home with my children, and so if I can help him achieve goals he’s set while he’s sacrificed to take on the sole support of our family, I’m all in.

I also have enjoyed learning real estate with him, and enjoy being in a position to apply what I’ve learned in a way that contributes financially to my family. The industries I’ve worked in prior have their perks, but earning anything additional on top of your salary for extra effort is not the norm. Career wise, my only goals are maximum earning potential while maintaining maximum time with my family; wherever those two points best marry.

I’ve got personal goals of course, and those are things I’m working on individually; but none of them are career specific; they primarily relate to health/fitness and family.

When in a role, my goal is always simply to advance to a position where I can be the subject matter expert in my field, the go to person. I’m a fast learner and and extremely hard working; and I will make goals that help my employer reach their goals, because that’s what helps me achieve mine (making more money and becoming the “go to”). I’m a great employee, but husband is a great leader/boss/business owner. We’ve done well leaning into our strengths.

@Drew Sygit

My husbands background is machining/mechanical. For the past 10 years, he and a buddy have built an automotive business. My husband oversees the shop and all things mechanical/the mechanics, his buddy all things sales/the salesman.

@Eliott Elias

Good points! Thank you! I’ve thought about becoming a Relator a few times, but haven’t pulled the trigger because all of our deals have been off market, and negotiation came much more naturally as an individual. However, I definitely found myself wishing I had one when I came time to sell one of our properties (though our realtor was a rock star and worth every penny she earned; it would certainly take a good chunk of time and effort to get on her level)

@Tom Shallcross

I hadn’t considered property management. I’ll look into it, thanks!

Thanks as well for the info regarding taxes, I’ll take any help regarding write offs we can get. Currently we are just building equity for the future, and while we’ve been at it a couple years, what we’ve built will absolutely benefit us down the road rather than anytime soon; we cash flow, but nothing significant enough to impact income as of yet.

My goal in obtaining a well paid w2 job, whatever field that may shake out to be, is I either can take over as breadwinner so my husband can focus on RE, or we can continue to live off one income, and pour the other into investing.

I’m looking to support my husbands RE goals by choosing a career path that offers perks/unfair advantages, or at the very least, education, that will help us in pursing RE.

So, what job do you wish your spouse had (in terms of would be most beneficial to your RE goals)?

I have a BA in Communications, MEd in Management of Technical Education.

When we started a family, we decided it would be best for me to pause my career, working in higher education, to stay home with our daughter. The plan was to stay home until she started school, then re-enter the workforce. Our oldest is now in kinder, however I’m now home with our second daughter. Having been out of higher education for the past 5 years, and an additional planned 4 years home with our youngest on the horizon, I find myself realizing this is my opportunity to choose any career path I like (as I have the time to earn any certifications/degrees/network necessary to ensure I’m well qualified).

In terms of RE experience, I got into BP

Podcast to be able to understand what my husband was talking about, haha, and be able to contribute to those conversations meaningfully. I actually ended up being the one to find and negotiate our deals thus far, save 1. I have also managed our rentals from renovation to property management. Currently we are in our 3rd BRRR property. So while our RE goals started as my husbands passion, I've embraced it fully and feel confident I'd do well in a RE centered career.

I’m considering banks, mortgage brokers, home builders, obtaining a real estate license, or even pursing a doctorate in real estate law. I also could definitely justify going back into higher education/city government for the strong W2 and great benefits/hours alone.

I appreciate any insight and experience you’re willing to offer!

@Craig Parsons thanks so much for your time and suggestions! Here’s hoping we can get that clear coat removed 🤞🏼

@Craig Parsons I think it could certainly be possible, we have a floor scrapper so I can try that this evening. I know small bits have come off anytime I’ve used a razor blade to get off paint or grout throughout the renovation. My only worry on that if it works would be consistency if we run into areas that it won’t scrap from since it’s such a large surface area.

Do you by chance know of a solvent that we could apply that would help break down or dissolve the clear coat?

I’ll go around peeling it off with duct tape if I have to, haha.

If we were able to get the clear coat off, that would be sufficient to allow the mortar to stick?

@Craig Parsons the concrete does have a clear coat, but not a good one by any means. When we had our granite countertop installed the installers put sticky plastic down to “protect” the floors, and when it was removed it ripped the clear coat clean off in the areas my daughter had been playing with the air pockets.

@Keely Aldinger

Thank you! I’ll look into that and see if I can get someone from the company on the phone. I appreciate it!

My husband and I are currently in our 3rd live in flip. 6 bed, 3 bath, on 5 acres. We’ve FINALLY, after 3 years of remodeling on weekends, got the house & land completely done except flooring & baseboards for the 1st floor (about 1500 sq ft). I was especially elated to see the light at the end of the tunnel on this reno as I’m currently pregnant with our second child, and had both hoped to be able to help my husband complete this job before I’m huge, and actually have a done house by the time baby # 2 arrives.

We planned to put wood look tile throughout the bottom floor. We bought the house off market from a couple who started the reno and got in over their heads. One thing they did was diy stain the concrete slab after they ripped up the original hardwood (I could slap them).

In looking into prep for the tile, everything we are seeing says we need to sand down the slab until we get off ALL the stain. This is a huge, and obviously messy, job we were not anticipating having to do.

Desperately seeking out any tips, tricks, or solutions those more experienced than us in this would recommend to prep the floor for tile in the most cost effective way; keeping in mind the rest of the house is finished, so we are trying to minimize damage to cabinets/drywall etc.

If we have to do LVP we will, but it’s not ideal for the neighborhood/resale for this particular home, and my husband has concerns about install as the previous owners also put in ikea cabinets when they started the kitchen reno, and he says there isn’t a good way to have a floating floor around the cabinets that wouldn’t result in them eventually pulling away etc.

Thanks in advance for any solutions or suggestions your willing to offer.