All Forum Posts by: David Arney

Sorry, it sounds to me that your reasoning on changing the carpet is NOT based on what the current tenant did to the carpet. The way you worded your question was that you were planning on changing the carpet anyways, whether the current carpet is clean/dirty/scratched/whatever.

If that's the case, don't charge him anything.

If you are replacing the carpet BECAUSE of what the current tenant did to the current carpet, by all means charge him for it. If he is damaging things, then he should pay for the new carpet. But replacing the carpet trumps cleaning the old one, so you should only charge him for replacement.

so here are your options

don't charge him anything if replacing the carpet was your intention all along no matter what was going to happen to the carpet currently installed

or

charge him for replacing the entire carpet, but don't charge him for cleaning the old one, since it is going to be thrown away anyways.

Am I getting this one right?

if you are replacing the carpet, I doubt you will be eligible to deduct cleaning for the old carpet. You are throwing the old carpet away, right? What's the point, other than if you just want to stick it to the guy. Don't be THAT landlord. Seriously.

haha I was 3 in 85

I did pay a bit for the two seats (18k), but based on the current prices (Ebay, Stubhub, Ticketliquidator, and a few other sites I checked out) I should expect to pull anywhere from $200-$400 profit per seat per game (not including crappy preseasons, of course), so that's 3200-6400 a season. It will probably take me about 5 years to get my money back, but after that it's all pure profit. I mean it's the bears, they are popular whether they win or lose (take right now, for example, lol)

This obviously doesn't work for every team. I looked into the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Philly Eagles.

Basically Texans and Panthers are cheaper, but no real resale value, so you will be taking a loss

Steelers and Eagles are just WAY too expensive to make such a purchase worth it

I was able to snag lower level 100 seats. They are one of the 3 corner sections, but its the corner closest to the sidelines sections, which means the value is a bit higher (can charge more per seat) but the face value for the tickets are in a lower price bracket (higher profit margin!)

I got a great deal on these seats, I searched for a while and couldn't find any lower level seats for a better price (nothing under 20k). I almost bought upper level cheapies, which are also a great investment, but obv. the money will come a bit smaller and a bit slower.

Word of advice to anyone who's thinking about making such a move: Go for the absolute cheapest seats you can get that are not in the endzone. Thats usually the best profit margin you'll find for an NFL team. I paid more for better seats, but the deal was there and I had to take it.

When I first was looking, I was thinking of getting club seats cause they are nicer, you can get good sideline seats, and you have the indoor seating area with your seats that includes free food and drinks!! It sounded great! But there is no way you could turn around and sell those tickets and even expect to get FACE value for them. People just don't want to throw down that kind of cash.

Season tickets for the bears in my section is $850 per seat, but tickets are selling for $400 per seat per game online. I sell 2 games and I've earned my money back for the season. The next 6 games I sell go to payback for the Seat Licenses.

The 2 preseason games I sell for what I can get for them, or I just go see the games myself. Either way sounds good to me!

also, the life of the stadium is looking good right now. It's Soldier Field, a great for Bears Fans. They also recently underwent renovations. I think things are good here for the next 20 years at least.

Has anybody ever thought about investing in permanent seat licenses to sport teams? I just purchased 2 PSL's for the Chicago Bears, I am expecting 20% return on my investment (based on previous sales in mine and other similar sections), and I get the seats forever, so this is essentially a piece of real estate I just bought.

Any thoughts? It's kinda cool, and actually is a smart place to put your money. Big teams (Bears, Packers, Cowboys, Redskins) have a lot of demand, so in the long term, 5 years +, you are looking at free money here.

hmmm...I really shouldn't post in here at all but I'm in the middle of this BS right now so I gotta say something.

I just inherited a large estate. Since the tragic death was so recent, as of right now, I still have a lot to work out. We are subject to estate tax, so we have to make sure everything is in order so I don't get gouged out by this ridiculous double tax on farmland that has been in my family since 1850. I would rather die than be forced to sell it to pay off the government.

I'm also 25 years old. I was raised well and i'm pretty sure I was a spoiled kid. I attended boarding school in europe, traveled around the world in my teen years, and I currently drive a BMW. I have yet to wrap it around a tree though.

I don't drink, I don't smoke or do drugs, have never been arrested or in trouble with the law, and I am currently working on my Ph.D. in Chemistry at a top University. I understand the value of responsibility, and I have appreciated everything that has been given to me by my family.

I also have a sister. She has been less fortunate than me. She has many health problems, and her outlook on her career is not quite too promising. She has a hard time saving money and working hard to earn it as well. I'm sure many would probably just call her lazy and irresponsible. And she also received half of this estate. I have elected to take charge of everything to ensure that the land is properly handled, farmed well, and produces a stable income that can provide for both my sister and I.

I'm sorry if you happen to be a parent who's children have not appreciated what you've done for them, or you do not believe can handle what you have spent your lifetime building, and if it obviously your choice to do what you want with your money. But I will tell you right now, it won't matter after 2010. After that, all your estate will be eaten up by the federal government. Your children will be forced to sell everything anyways, just to pay an unfair tax. An exclusion of 1 million dollars in today's inflated society is not as significant as it was 50 years ago. So none of this will matter.

And one more thing

"If anything, I think children should pay their parents to reimburse them for all of the time and hours spent teaching them, cleaning poo, and keeping them alive."

This statement is a pretty poor thing to say about your children. You chose to have kids, they did not choose to be born of you. Children are naturally a negative investment. You put your time and money into them so that they may carry on and survive, not that they will come and pay you back for diapers you purchased for them. If I ever tried to pay my parents for diapers they would laugh at me. Sorry to be rude, but what a foolish and sad thing to say. You really think your kids should pay you back because you 'let them live'? Tell me how do you feel about pets? Should a cat pay you back because you gave it milk? The world doesn't owe you anything. I would like to believe that you don't really truly believe this, and you are just having a bad day and taking things out on the internet.

you may want to factor in any possible carryover costs. You never know if you may have to eat a month or two with no renters. Obv not what you want, but it happens sometimes.

Alright, so it's been another month and I would like to chat a bit about the portfolio I prepared back in the middle of March.

This was two months ago, I felt pretty strongly that the market had bottomed out or was very close to bottoming out, so I started eyeing many stocks. I not only picked ones I thought would perform well, I picked stocks I thought would continue to perform poorly, and hopefully I will try to explain why some are doing well and others aren't. I hope you find it interesting. This was a fun experiment for me, and I'm glad I tested the waters to see how things have been going.

Since I first prepared the portfolio it has increased 14% in 2 months. That's a current APR of 84%, which is ungodly, but obv who knows whats going to happen in the next 10 months.

Biggest Percentage Increase: Apple (AAPL)

I purchased 100 shares at 140/share, then a month later, purchased another 100 shares at 147/share because I felt strongly that this stock was going to continue to perform. It's been as high as 200, and there was no indication why it couldn't get close to that value again. It's currently trading at 188.77/share.

Suggestion: Buy.

This stock will continue to perform well. I don't expect there to be any stock splits, as they have already split 2:1 twice in the past 7 years, but wait next year when google releases their phone software. It could brew up some competition. But I strongly recommend purchasing and holding onto this stock until at least 2009 when the exclusive rights with AT&T to the iphone has expired. At that point, AAPL shares could go through the roof with iphone purchases. We will see.

One Month Ago Google was my biggest winner after they reported huge earnings for the company. One month later, this stock has continued to stay strong, although due to some recent market fluxuations, it has not risen above 600/share, but damn is it close

Purchase Price: 462/share (& 457/share)

Currently trading at 581.45/share (up 26.5%)

Suggestion: Buy. Google is trading near an all time high right now. Although it has been just going up and up, I'm really uncertain how much higher than 600/share this stock can go, which makes me not want to buy. But I'm starting to wonder if with new software releases that will allow greater search capability for users, can this stock ever split? If so, get some. Now.

Other Strong Stocks mentioned from last time.

John Deere & Co. had also been performing really strong (up 15%) and I was please with this stock. Two days ago, though, they had reported significant losses of earnings due to rising costs in price. I was a bit shocked by this report, as I had expected with the increased price of corn and farmers scrambling to get higher yields, farm equipment purchases would be through the roof. I guess it wasn't the case. I still think this stock is a strong winner in the long run though, as they do offer high dividends along with a very safe and secure stock price.

Purchase Price: 80/share
Currently trading: 83.50/share (up 4.3%)

Suggestion: Hold

Citigroup:

I mentioned that the biggest reason I purchased this stock was because it was at a bargain price. In fact, most any bank I felt would be a great buy 2 months ago with the housing crises. Then was the time to buy, you have earned as much as you can from this stock in the short term. In the long term, though, there is still strong potential. For now, though, just hold on to what you got.

Purchase Price: 21.25
Currently: 23.41 (up 10%)

Recommendation: Hold

Other Huge Performers

Ford (F)
Purchase Price: 6.44/share
Currently Trading: 8.22/share (up 27.64%)

About a month ago Ford posted a 100 million dollar profit, which is very rare for american car companies these days. This profit came mainly from their South American and African Sales CEO Alan Mullaly has promised that Ford is on the turnaround and we should be expecting this trend to continue. I'm sorry Alan, I was very happy to have been on the profit ride with you, but the long term outlook for american car companies is grim, and although I'd love to continue holding onto this stock, you were just forced to recall 655,000 trucks yesterday, and considering your truck line is your biggest brag, things aren't looking good for you in the next 5 years. I had my fun, I'm letting this stock go.

Recommendation: Sell (take the money and run)

Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD)

Purchase Price: 26.23/share
Currently Trading: 33.51/share (up 29.25%)

This company has contined to shine in a rough and competitive restaurant market in the US. They just reported strong sales for last quarter and things are only looking up and up! I expect the way I eat those tasty wings, there is no way this stock is going to do poorly.

Recommendation: Buy!

Sony Corporation (SNE)
Purchase Price: 41/share
Currently Trading: 50/share (Up 28%)

Sony is finally feeling the cool air after a very speculative battle with the Toshiba corporation over their HDDVD/BluRay Market push. Now that they have won over their market after learning a few tricks from the last time they tried to pull this (BETAmax) they can finally sit back and let the profit roll in. Skyrocket sales from their PS3 game systems are doing great, and there is no sign of water as this bird flies to the sky. This stock is on the up.

Recommendation: Buy

Sprint Nextel Corporation (S)
Purchase Price: 7.64
Currently Trading: 9.40 (Up 23%)

I usually put about as much faith into communication companies as I do car companies. The MCI Worldcom scandal back in 2000-2001 made me bitter about any cell phone company (I lost a lot of money on them) and I don't generally like to put my money there, but this stock has performed suprisingly well, and I'll tell you EXACTLY why: NASCAR. The auto racing franchise brings in tons of money every single year from extremely devoted followers, and who is their #1 sponsor? You guessed it. They call it the Sprint Cup for a reason. As long as that name continues to be attached to Nascar, I don't see why this stock will underperform. Also, keep an eye on their iphone market for 2009. You might see some great deals on this if you are looking to get a Spring Compatible iphone

Recommendation: Buy

Some Other Healthy Performing Stocks

American Express (up 10%)
Chevron (up 15%) Duhh....Oil Stocks!!!
JP Morgan (up 7%)
McDonalds (up 8%)
Sysco (up 5%)
WalMart (up 5%)
Time Warner Cable (up 12%) Price gouging a**holes.

Alright, and now it's time for the bad eggs. There's always a few in the basket...

Worst Performers

Delta Air Lines (DAL)
Purchase Price: 10.06
Currently Trading: 8.04 (Down 20%)

You know, I told you I was going to buy some stocks that I knew were going to suck bad. This was one of them, but I did have a ray of sunshine hope, and that was that they merged with Northwest Airlines to become the largest Airline Company in the world. I guess the bigger they come, the harder they fall. Obviously don't bother with this stock, and if you do have it, dump it before you lose any more

Recommendation: Sell

General Electric (GE)
Purchase Price: 37.25
Currently Trading: 32.32 (Down 13.23%)

This one I thought had a shot. With high energy prices, I figured for sure this stock would benefit. But I was wrong, and here's why. They have been completely affected by the housing slump. Their biggest money makers are household appliances, and since nobody is wanting to sell their homes right now, that means nobody is moving, which means nobody is going to be buying new stuff for their house, which means GE's biggest seller is not selling like it should, which means I made a mistake. I wouldn't sell this stock though. It will take some time to heal from these wounds, though

Recommendation: HOLD

Merck and Company (MRK)
Purchase Price: 45.05
Currently Trading: 39.02

What can I say, it's a bad time to buy pharmaceutical stocks. It's only going to get worse if the drug company-hatin dems get control come this november. I'm just not going to take the time to try and squeeze out a profit on this stock when the potential for loss is so much greater.

Recommendation: Sell

Starbucks (SBUX)
Purchase Price: 17.92/share
Currently Trading: 16.18/share (Down 10%)

Starbucks is having a rough time of it. They are facing increasing competition from McDonalds and other companies/chains that are now advertising gourmet coffee drinks at sub-starbucks prices. It has forced them to lower their prices as well on many of their menu items, which means a lower profit potential. They have shifted from a company working to get new customers to a an oversaturated business trying to keep the customers they have, and it has shown. Their latest earnings report was below expectations. They are about to enter the summer season, and although they aren't a strictly seasonal company like, say, smoothie king, I believe they do have some lower sales during summer months (I mean, who wants a hot coffee in the hot summer weather?). This stock is going to take a while to bounce back. No, they aren't going to go bankrupt, but no, they aren't going to double in price.

Recommendation: HOLD

Other Poorly Performing Stocks

Yahoo (Down 5%) (Too bad Microsoft Didn't buy them, otherwise it would be quite different)

Pepsico (down 4%)

Hewlett Packard (Down 3%)

Ebay (Down 4%)

Alright, that's all I got for now.

Don't work to make money. Make your money work for you.

it's funny you used that reference. MO farmland prices are currently doing very well due to sharp spikes in corn & soybean demand

lol @ allcash.

well i don't believe anything was actually taken, so thank goodness for that, but it still was a bit of a crappy situation to put her in. I just wanted to know for future reference. Thanks

When a tenant has opted to move out of their home and the landlord wishes to show the place to new potential tenants, what is the policy on entering the home for the tenant/clients?

My gf came home today and there were random people walking in and out of her house that had come by unannounced claiming there was an open house. The Landlord was not there and had never called ahead of time to let her know people were coming to visit. She was pretty upset about the whole deal. This landlord has also failed to provide her with a copy of the lease agreement, and so she has never been able to look up and see if there is any policy on this.