All Forum Posts by: Bonnie Low

Congratulations on this deal! I love Chico - I went to Chico State and worked for Butte County for many years. We sold our home in Chico just before real estate went through the roof and I've wished many times we would have stayed there. It's a great town for raising a family, too.

@JD Martin and @Russell Brazil will do. I don't want to be "that guy" but I also hate to see people treated poorly. Thanks!

We usually buy new, but I put in an order from Home Depot during their Labor Day sale and it keeps getting back ordered so I'm now trying to find a used gas range. If it's minor wear and tear and cleans up nicely it will work fine in a B+ neighborhood. I would also consider buying a used fridge under the same conditions. I wouldn't buy a used dishwasher, though. They tend to have very short lifecycles anyway and they're really hard to get clean. We never supply the fridge or washer/dryer for a rental, though we make sure the hookups are there. That's very common in our area.

Even in better times, it's common for hard money lenders to only fund 70-75% of the deal until they have a successful track record with you. We always expected to have to put 25% into a hard money, which means you not only have that down payment, you then have to fund the rehab expenses yourself, too. We now have a track record and have a hard money lender that will lend 100% of the purchase price, but we had to establish our credibility through sucessful deals first. It does take some cash to get started. Some people have had success using the low and no money down book from Brandon Turner. In order to save the 25% down payment, maybe consider renting out a room or two in your current home to reduce your monthly outgoing expenses? Or sell the one you currently have and invest the proceeds into a live in flip or house hack? 

@Richard Balsam I love your ideas for different content! I would really like to hear more of the HOW stories. It's interesting to hear that someone did 50 deals this year or just closed on an 80 unit apartment complex, but more experienced investors really want to talk about the HOW. I really appreciated the recent podcast with the DIY guy who shared lots of tips that contractors know and the average house flipper doesn't. That was invaluable and a great change of pace. I remember thinking at the time that it was so much more practical than just learning about someone's story. Those are great, especially for motivation, but it would be nice to mix it up. 

I'm noticing a trend in the BP forums lately. The number of snarky comments is really increasing. I guess that shouldn't be surprising since you see this on every other kind of social media. But when I joined BP I really appreciated the genuine demeanor and positivity of most members. Members helping each other is what makes BP great. When someone asks a question, if you think it's a dumb question just keep scrolling. Don't be a jerk. It could be a very legitimate question for the person asking. If you're a jerk, you add zero value here and only make yourself look bad. And worse, you might be intimidating newer members. It might be too much for the moderators to monitor, but it would be nice to see what ideas people have for mitigating this problem. Maybe instead of just a 'vote' button there could be a thumbs up or a thumbs down button? I don't know the answer, that's for sure. I just really hate seeing this. And I really, really appreciate the people who helpfully reply to posts.

I agree with @Bill Hampton. Most student loans give you 10-20 years to pay off so I'd refinance into a lower rate and take your time paying it off (it's annoying, but not painful). Use that $900/month to save for your down payment on a property then find something you can house hack. If you're a pilot, you should have good W2 income and will have no trouble qualifying for a conventional loan in a short while. The more you put down, the better your equity position to help you fund future deals. Paying off that student loan erases a short amount of out-of-pocket cash each month but it won't help you build anything. Good luck & congratulations on completing flight school!

@Brian Ellis it sounds like a great move. Every real estate investor says they wish they started earlier so there's no time like the present. Even though it seems you're leaving "security", the fact is you are very likely opening your possibilities up to a degree of security no W2 job could offer you. I left a 20 year career in local government in 2007 - yep, right before the real estate bubble burst and the economy tanked. I didn't go into real estate at the time, but I did start my own consulting firm which resulted in far more flexibility, gave me the ability to work from home so I could be here every day when my boys got home from school and ultimately led me to my current job with an amazing company, far better income and the ability to put money aside to invest. I would have had none of those things if I hadn't made the move right at the start of the last economic crash. I am grateful every day that I did it. You're making a smart move because you already know you're moving towards something that inspires you. You have your contractor's license and side work set up as subs - both SUPER handy for real estate investing. We all know lining up a good contractor is one of the biggest challenges most investors face! Continue to network with other REIs in your area and you'll probably have your plate as full as you want it. Congratulations to you - I look forward to hearing updates!

I'd say that depends a lot on the location. Is it in an area where there are a lot of 1/1's? Any rental that is kind of an albatross - one of a kind or odd for the neighborhood - will probably have fairly high turnover. 1/1's tend to be popular in bigger inner cities particularly with younger renters. A 1/1 in a mostly blue collar area with families probably won't be as desirable. Is the square footage big enough to add a second bedroom? If it's a home run from a cash flow perspective as a 1/1, making it a 2/1 should be a no brainer.

Remove it! It's not that hard and it looks so much better. But before you do, check out some youtube videos because people have seriously learned how to hack it to make it super simple. No need to reinvent the wheel. We scraped popcorn ceiling from an entire 1,100 sq ft house and it only took a couple of hours. It's messy, but the house was totally empty at the time. We were pleasantly surprised how easy it was.