All Forum Posts by: Calvin Matthews

Hi everyone. My property manager just called me/sent an invoice with 2 options regarding replacing an electric water heater (please see attached screenshot). The property manager said the issue is the water heater's at the end of its life and causing major mineral build up and bad smell in the water. I'm weary about the second option because (1) the repair company labeled it as a "band aid" and (2) I'm concerned about this kind of fix eventually leading to more problems in the future and am thinking it's better to just get a full repair done. My question is given the information that I shared (and hopefully this is sufficient information) does anyone have a suggestion as to which option would be best? This is a long distance property with a tenant inside so I apologize that I can't provide pictures of the current condition of the water heater. Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone, I'd like all TX investor's opinion about getting a Powerwall for back-up electricity.

Quick info about mine and my wife's home: 4 bedroom/2 1/2 bathroom 2 story house in New Braunfels that we have as our second home but are currently renting out, within an HOA.

I recently heard that Tesla is now selling the Powerwall (back up battery) without solar, meaning this can be purchased as a standalone product and I'm really interested in buying one for our house. Reasons why:

1- We don't need to buy a full-on solar system with panels.

2- To my knowledge TX weather can be extreme in both hot and cold weather and I'm concerned about power outages. This will help with keeping the electricity on in case of power outages.

3- Tax rebate potential. (Tesla shows "potential incentives" of $2,988 on the website though if anyone knows of definite incentives then I'm very curious)

4- Tesla Electric, which allows for selling electricity at peak prices and earning credits that can be redeemed for cash (basically a passive money printer that will go towards paying for the Powerwall). At the moment it's only available in Houston/Dallas according to this page https://www.tesla.com/support/... but I assume eventually it'll open to the area that our house is in.

Does anyone currently own a Powerwall, and even better is enrolled in Tesla Electric and selling back energy from their Powerwall? What's your experience like? If anyone has any input about why this wouldn't be worth it for the money (purchase price without taxes/installation/incentives is $9,200) then I'd like to know.

Thanks for reading!

hi everyone. i've been thinking about using my mom and dad's house as a rental property and would like some input. i'll try to provide a lot of information while keeping my post short.

regarding my family dynamic: my dad passed away and my mom is living by herself in the house. they want to leave the house to my siblings and i. there are 4 of us (2 sisters, 1 brother, me). my 2 sisters live out of state each in a different state and don't plan on moving back here. my brother and i live in state but we both have our own things going on and don't plan on moving back into the house. ive only spoken to one of my sisters about this.

regarding the house: IIRC my mom did a refinance, i THINK because her name wasn't on the loan. for some reason only my dad's name was on the original loan. i'm not sure what the terms are of the loan but i think monthly payments are in the mid-$1000 per month. it's a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bathroom house. comparable rents in the same city are (according to zillow) listed at over $3000 per month currently. i haven't looked in to property management costs yet.

can anyone who's ever split a rental property one or multiple ways with family think of anything that all of us have to consider? how this works for me and my brother versus my two sisters? what we should do? thanks in advance.

Open new credit cards to use when shopping for things I'm buying anyways (the key word being "anyways") to earn the sign-up bonuses. I don't intend to shop more than I have to, and opening new credit cards has allowed me to rack up huge amounts of various hotel points, airline miles, and credit card points in a much shorter time than it would take if I just spent on the same cards regularly. My credit score now is at a point where opening and closing cards make a small dip in my credit score, but it bounces back after a little while because I pay all of my credit card bills on time (VERY VERY IMPORTANT). Last year alone my family and I did 3 staycations at Hilton, Marriott and IHG brands from points I accrued through credit card sign up bonuses. Currently working on spend for the AMEX Gold card which I signed up for when they had an elevated sign up bonus of 75,000 points and when travel eases, I'm planning on using these points + points I've accumulated from other AMEX cards to go to Japan with my family.

aloha sheldon! my name is calvin and im in kapolei on oahu. its cool to see another person from HI in the bigger pockets forum. im not an experienced long distance investor but my wife and i just bought a house in new braunfels and are working to get it rented out. if you also live on oahu we can meet up and talk about long distance investing. in the mean time, good luck.

Awesome. It was kind of obvious when the production/delivery numbers were released recently because the announcement was from Austin but glad to have official confirmation.

 Hi, I agree with you. Austin is still growing and growth means migration so I believe there's a lot of potential for cash flow between those two cities.

Hi there. Crazy stuff! Even if you think you're getting maximum profit, there's potential for even more profit.

Thatʻs an insane jump. I donʻt know what the data is where i live but I live in HI so I can imagine similar things happening here. 

No kidding haha I think it's great! It seems like Austin is a well-loved city.