All Forum Posts by: Amanda M Laird

@Jordan Moorhead Thanks for the reference!  I just bought the book and last night I listened to Todd's podcast.  GREAT info there!  Thank you so much.  Im excited to give the book a read.

@Sterling Williams  Thanks for the recommendation I also added that to my amazon cart and bought it.  Will give it a read as well.  

Thanks for the tips and the time to post on my discussion!!!

@Katherine Fournier

We have a down payment saved up and set aside for when we find a place we like and want to buy and live in.  My husband sold the house he was living in and we will be using those funds for our downpayment of the next house we live in.  My husbands income is what we would be living off of, while my income (from my vacation rental and/or the sale of my two properties) would go towards further investing.  

I paid $250k for my rental property.  I put $150k into it.  So total invested in $400k.  If I were to sell it I could get anywhere between $600-$650k for it.  I have a couple of people interested in it so I could potentially avoid realtor fees.  So I could walk away with about $200k+ especially if I could do a 1031 into larger apartment complex.  My personal residence is the same thing...I could walk away with about $200k in my pocket (non taxable since its personal residence and I've lived here for over 2 years).  I would add that to the other $200k I roll over from my other property and thats where I come up with $400k.  

As for looking at other investment properties I will honestly have to really sit down and read your pointers and tips on how to calculate.  I appreciate you spelling it all out for me!  I need to learn how to analyze properties....just not sure how or where to start!

hahaha  will definitely be reading it, and ill let you know how it goes after I'm done!

@Lane Kawaoka  My vacation rental has some amazing cash flow and by the end of this year ill probably net about $30k.  If I sell both my vacation rental and my personal residence I could have $400k liquid to invest.  If I keep the vacation rental and cashflow and just sell my personal residence that puts me right where you suggest of $200l liquid and $30k of passive cashflow.  But id still be considered a "newbie" because I haven't done any deals outside of those.  Should I do some more smaller stuff to get more experience under my belt or since I have the finances, to go ahead and jump right into bigger deals?

@Israel Torres  thanks for taking the time to reach out.  Trust is a big thing and one of the key factors that keeps me from moving on to find somebody else.  I should sit down and talk about a win win situation and what that looks like for both of us.  We consider each other family and neither one of us wants to screw over the other person.  Im really hoping he can provide me some bids that are fair to him but gives me a heads up of what to expect each project to cost.  thanks again for your input...its appreciated!

@Matthew Paul  Thank you for your insight and perspective.  That is a good way of looking at it.  Id like to keep using him.  Im just hoping he can give me bids instead of an hourly rate.  Do you typically bid things our or do you only work for an hourly rate?

@Brian Pulaski and @Sam Shueh  I think Ill start with that and get quotes from him per project if he's willing to.  If not then Ill probably start looking around.  And I just found out this morning he got caught by the CCB and is in trouble for working without insurance and told me he might need to bring in another guy to "work under" so that he can work for us.

@Ryan Kinsella  he does framing, can install new windows, does tile work as well (not the greatest work but can still do some tile),  he used to be a licensed plumber...so he can do plumbing as well.  I line everybody else up and get the materials that are needed.  If I'm not on site then he rungs to the store and gets the things he needs and I pay him back

@John Miranda He's been a contractor my family has used since I was a little girl.  He helped me when I was in a pinch when my contractor walked off the job and this guy was a family friend who had done work for my dad and basically saved the day and was able to step in and finish a flip of mine because everybody else was booked out months in advance.  I since have stuck with him because once again everybody else is booked so far out.  He does anything and everything.  Framing, installs windows, tile, does plumbing, etc.   He's in his late 60's and isn't the fastest...and sometimes that irritates me that he's $50 an hour but he does good work.

I think I know the answer (find somebody new), but I will just feel bad letting this guy go who has been a family friend and who has helped me in the past, and therefore I feel like i owe him these projects even though i feel its costing me in the long run.

Just figured Id get suggestions and opinions first :-)