All Forum Posts by: Levi Gale

Congrats, and I hope you have many more to follow. Taking the leap is huge, and your profit margin looks huge given the exit value. Looks like the potential for 30k+ for profit. If that is the case that is huge for a 70k-ish investment, and infinite of course for your situation. Great job really.

Well I've found roaches!!! Sorry nothing I've found can even compare to the beer from the 80's let alone a cache of artwork.

Under his wing, or does he mean he will just let you hang your license there? If you have an experienced broker willing to mentor you, then I would say do it. But reading other posts here on BP I have seen that many brokerages will seek you out.

Either way I don't see any reason not to get your license.

Well using the 50% rule your cap rate would be about 3.5%. But since you can easily manage it yourself I would expect the rate to increase to about 4.3%. I get that by reducing 50% to 38%, just assuming that managing fees would be around 12%. I think you should be concerned about the age of the roof and A/C though. Sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen in the first couple years of ownership. If your reserves aren't well built you could easily become a motivated seller when those items fail.

As far as flipping goes you would really need to post true comps to figure that out.

Hi Eric,

Welcome to BP, the site is a sure way to help calm any jitters you may have. But remember many investors have different strategies, formulas, and ideas. To keep from over analyzing I would suggest to have a formula (read up on the 70% rule), and know how to get accurate comps. But BP members are always here to help you out free of charge as well. Welcome to the market, and best of luck to you.

Originally posted by Rich Weese:

Watching the couples and families in food court, movie theaters, and stores seemed no different than here. Rich

It really is a modern vibe all around Dubai. One time I was there Kim Kardashian was visiting the Sephora at Dubai Mall, and believe it or not it was damn near impossible to navigate the mall due to the crowds. Why is that strange? Well it's strange because a person that became famous from an "adult" video drew crowds like I've never seen before. And they did that in a Islamic country. They are as westernized as any other country I've been too. Minus public display of affection of course, that still doesn't fly over there.

Several US DoD contractors employ this same tactic minus the decades long part. Hire cheap foreign labor and save money. The foreign labor is more often than not paid well above their home country's average salary.

So I disagree on your "practically enslaved labor" comment, but it is well known that wealthy Arab countries do keep servants. And I agree Dubai has a human rights problem, but experience has proven to me that the vast majority of foreign contract workers are paid handsomely compared to their average home salaries.

Having been to Dubai many times I can agree with just about everything you said. The first thing that struck me was the amount of luxuary cars. Second would be the amount of cranes, but I'm sure there are less now since they were bailed out by Abu Dhabi. As far as being the safest place I wouldn't agree completely. Well at least not for pedestrians, because on several occasions I have witnessed pedestrians hit by cars.

When I first drove by the Burj Khalifa (tallest tower) I was amazed. I couldn't see the top without sticking my head out of the cab. Going to the highest viewing point was rather boring, but if you time it right and go at night during the fountain show it offers a bit more. The Dubai mall is flat out amazing, and talk about money oozing out of everywhere. I'm not big on shopping, but I couldn't resist when I got in there. The fountain show from ground level was really something you must see (especially at night).

Oh and they do have normal ATM's, but the ones that issue gold are awesome.

You can get to know so much about the world just by visiting Dubai. Why? Because like Rich said a majority of the population is foreign. Just spark up a conversation and you will be amazed at what you will learn about some tiny province in Pakistan. And if you do want to find the slums then you need to travel around the areas the poorer foreigners live.

Best nightlife I seen there was at the Buddha Bar. They put on some great shows, especially the fire show. It's a very nice place, and it's not uncommon to run into famous people there.

It was definitely very clean, and an extremely rich country. It is a business hub, and will likely grow. But it has also experienced financial problems recently, and was really saved by Abu Dhabi.

Rich, was that the most amazing airport you have been in? I've been in some dumps, mid level and nice, but DXB was by far the nicest. However I will add that Sky Harbor here in Phoenix is probably the most efficient airport I have been in. Last place easily belongs to Nepal.

Originally posted by Rob K:

I agree. I pay $30 per sq ft plus $200 for the sink. The last granite I had installed was a small kitchen and was $600 for 20 sq ft of granite plus $200 for the sink. The one before was $1,140 for 38 sq ft of granite plus $200 for the sink.

Wow! I clearly need to find a new granite contact. Your prices are great compared to what I've been using. I'm not far from the prices you are finding Manuel Acuna. I am very happy with the level of quality, and the price is very competitive to other bids that I have received. The latest job they did was a 10' slab with no seams, but I guess I really need to look a bit more to see if I can find some savings.

"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."
Muhammad Ali AKA "The Greatest"

This is what motivates me to strive to be a successful business owner. In my opinion it's rather simple to take orders, but it takes courage to put your paycheck on the line as a business owner.