All Forum Posts by: Bill S.

@Kylie Kwon you are barking up the wrong tree. It is what it is. You can't change the fact that it is now 8% (at least in the short term) and it does no good to you to assign blame for not getting the information. Move on to solutions. 

@Spencer Holland several of the suggestions can be done for under $10k for 500 sqft. You can easily add a 2nd layer of drywall. I have done a LOT of research on this issue and have done a number of the "fixes". My experience says that this cuts down on the magnitude of the sound but you still hear it.

The very best result was from taking up the upstairs flooring, installing mass dampened vinyl then a mat of 5/8" plywood (2 layers layed at 45 deg angle with green glue between the layers) and then a new hardwood floor, along with blown in cellulose between the floor joists and then j-channel on the existing basement drywall ceiling with a 2nd layer of drywall in the basement. About all you hear in the basement unit is a chair being drug across the floor. Not cheap but it works. I did this because the hardwood floor in the upper unit was trashed and I needed a new floor so I wouldn't recommend the mass dampened vinyl unless you were doing a new floor anyway.

The last item is the heating system. If you have shared ductwork, you are wasting your time and money doing sound proofing. Ideally if you have ducts, you need two completely separate systems. The shared ducting carries the sound between the floors and there is no way around it without creating separate systems. The metal duct even tends to amplify some noise. 

@Kylie Kwon I agree with @Jonathan Klemm to go back to the buyer. Maybe they would be able to buy with another lender if you offered some assistance. They could then work with the HOA to get the insurance limits to conform. I am sure if other owners realize what is happening to their values due to the 3% change in deductible they would climb on board with getting the limit lowered.

@Kylie Kwon very disappointing that your buyer backed out. In retrospect, the buyer might have been able to ask for a waiver from their lender on the insurance requirement. Not sure if that is possible but it is what my insurance agent suggested for a loan I am in process on. Turns out it was not needed but it is worth trying.

Is it possible to rent your current place out until you get a handle on the insurance situation?

This is more long term, but you could run for the board in the HOA and get the insurance deductible changed so it is warrantable. When you think of the increased value it might be worth your time. Usually there is nothing that says you have to live in the unit to be on the board.

Finally, get your agent to give you some comps on non-warrantable condo sales in the area and make a business decision about how to move forward. The quicker the decision the better for your pocketbook no mater the outcome.

@Kevin Perry so another thought is that you should look into funding syndications as a limited partner. Lots less headache and if done right, you can be more hands off. Realistically you have lots of disposable capital and that might bring the biggest bang for your buck. You don't seem too unhappy with your W2 aside from the travel. You also didn't mention what skills from your W2 that you thought would transfer to RE. Having and eye for value doesn't mean you would enjoy the nuts and bolts of owning RE and managing it personally. I agree with Marcus about needing "a love for brick and mortar" if you going to be hands on.

I am not sure I agree with the statement by Marcus that both you and your wife need to work in RE for the REP status. 

I wish you well in your journey.

Personally you can make it work pretty much anywhere. That said, a growing population is a big tailwind. I don't know how those area fair on that front. They are smaller communities so it doesn't take much to move the needle there. I would say the first three you mentioned are tourist areas. I'm sure they saw some pandemic bump but not sure if that has continued. They are smaller communities so that makes it hard in many ways. The main difficulty is finding quality help. Property managers and contractors. I would start there and if you find the right people then I would pick that area vs picking an area and hoping you can get the right people. 

San Luis Valley, has some tourism, some education, but is primarily an agriculture community. I don't see much growth in that so personally I would stay away from there. 

Colorado Springs has a lot going for it but generally speaking the prices vs income make it necessary to pursue alternative approaches such as short term and mid term or some other less traditional approach. 

If it were me, unless I had some sort of inside track to the smaller communities, I would stick to the population bases (ie Colorado Springs) where you can find good people for all parts of your team.

@Valarie Anderson the only woman that I know investing in real estate in Wyoming is a lady named Lynn out of Cheyenne. She did have a BP membership at one time. You can probably search the forums and see her profile. There have been a couple other women in Cheyenne but I think they were military and have moved their duty station. You can also search the BP forums using google which is a better search engine that the one at the top of the page. Hope it goes well for you.

@Valarie Anderson you should be able to find a real estate agent in Worland that does property management. I seem to recall that there is a small local newspaper. Check the classifieds for rentals offered. You can even call and connect with other landlords and maybe even find the local property manager. Next to facebook I would say that is the best way to get the word out about your property. I know Jerry had at one time a property or two in Worland so as Nathan said he would be a good resource. 

@John R Bongiovanni no good answers here. We use an insurance broker who has us with multiple different carriers. Some of which I think are wildly expensive and difficult to deal with (ie a complete renewal and pictures every year) and others very easy and cost effective. I am afraid to rock the boat and end up in your shoes. 

@Kenny Smith a more meaningful stat would be to compare with March of 2019 which was the last "normal" month before all the Covid-19 craziness. The info I have heard antidotally is that the actives are up from 2019 but I haven't heard about the other line items. I would say that price is for sure up from 2019. 

Median Days on Mark of 18 Days seems low as only the best priced properties move in less than 30 days. I can't believe that half the properties listed are going under contact in 3 weeks. If so, that is still really pretty good IMO. Are your sure you don't mean that the median days on market has increase 18 days from last year at this time?

This seems more "normal" than anytime in the last 5 years. Buyers can take their time and negotiate as well as get concessions and do proper inspections of the property. Sellers have to consider the market and their property condition and price their property accordingly.

No sad faces here.