All Forum Posts by: Brian Mathews

That's borrowing money at 20% interest right off the bat. Pretty high. Then whatever penalties there are if it doesn't make it back, then your tax rate on top of that. I think it's usually about a 40% hit by the time your done for the average person if it doesn't work out. That's loan shark stuff there. Not too mention the great returns you can get in the stock market right now if invested properly. I've been getting around 18% returns in my Roth IRA and IRA the last year and was getting upwards of 25% 2 years ago. I think I'd take out a mortgage before I'd risk my retirement. Just my 2 cents.

I'm by no means implying being disrespectful to them. Just thank them for their generous offer, it means a lot to you, but you and your wife have a life to lead and being involved in this does not figure into your plans. You will pay for this long after their death. Being a good son/daughter does not mean you have to mess up your life for them. Can you afford it after their death? Will it put a burden on your finances? Trying to leverage this thing with others involved puts them at risk if something goes wrong. What happens if whatever you leverage into goes bad for whatever reason while your inlaws are still alive and they lose their home. That isn't fair to them.

Just graciously decline their offer telling them what you posted. If they are decent people, they will understand. If not, there's nothing you can do.

Everybody thinks their dog is big and lazy and great. Nobody will tell you they eat walls and poop the size of elephants.

Watch the koolaid. Jim Jones gave that to his people. It's funny people forget the housing bust of a few years ago, it seems to me like we are starting the same train ride again. But the train is starting the journey and not derailing yet. It will appreciate for a while, the market will become saturated and it will come down, just as it did 5 years ago. You just have to be smart and get out before it does and it will. Pay the IRS off, build some cash reserves and keep them there.

I think it was probably at one point a simple enough problem to fix, but as you have mentioned. The property manager screwed this one up badly and the tenant probably being a slight bit unbalanced or just fed up, has escalated to the point that there is no return, he has painted himself into a corner now. Is it possible for you to talk to him person to person and back him down a little? Or has he just gone too far? I'd be curious if you sat with him and explained to him the situation that the property manager was completely incompetent and you didn't know of these "issues" he had, but would like to make this right where everybody comes out winners. What were the original maintenance issues he had? You could address them and maybe you could come out with a good tenant. I think you mentioned he lived in the last place for 8 years. It sounds like a lot of he said she said.

I know a lot of people in the industry and several who have failed. I think it would be neat to own a restaurant, but after having many conversations with these folks. Don't do it. Employee theft is very high, if they serve booze, you have to deal with the state. Food costs are outrageous, if you piss somebody off, they will trash you on the internet and people will believe it and quit coming. Its really factors beyond your control which kill you. You have to have great systems in place to succeed.

So you have the original house paid for? No mortgage before you took out loan? And now have or will have $80K in cash. I wouldn't take out a loan on a paid for house unless you could buy another house really cheap. Not sure taking out a mortgage to put towards another mortgage makes a lot of sense. Stock market doing ok for now. But depending on what you're interest rate on loan will be, it could be a wash or a losing proposition depending on stock returns. I don't see making a lot off of it either way unless you get lucky. If it were me, I wouldn't try to outthink the situation. I'd take the rent money from paid for house and apply it towards one of not paid for houses, probably the one with lowest mortgage. Or I would sell paid for house and try to pay off a not paid for house or 2 and knock down #3 or pay for it if you can. Then you're exchanging 1 paid for house for 2.

I'd walk. It has too much of a pita factor.

EIN is nothing more than a way to identify your business to the federal gov't. It doesn't mean you have employees. Use that . The feds will know who you are.