All Forum Posts by: Chico Ford

@Account Closed My experience in life has been calling out the person lying only makes you feel better.  More times than not the person lying feels no remorse.  I wouldn't waste the mental energy on calling the person out unless it's negatively and physically impacting my wife and kids.  Save your mental energy for more productive pursuits in life.  Additionally, it's critical that you expel negative people from your life so that they don't drag you down to mediocrity. All the Best...

What kind of work do you need done?  

@Account Closed I have read many of the books on real estate investing from the most popular writers.  I thought I was educating myself to limit my mistakes "once" a i decided to start purchasing.  What I was really doing was executing "paralysis by analysis" or reading.  I've listened to most of the BP Podcasts with Brandon, Josh and David.  I would tell you assess your mindset and see if you have a natural tendency to have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.  The growth mindset allows you to move forward and learn as you go and practice the craft of investing. I had a fixed mindset and was paralyzed to move forward.  I say all that to say pick a book or two (I like Gary Keller, Ken McElroy and David Greene) and follow what it says, they all say mostly the same thing.  Play the game under control with a growth mindset that allows you to learn as you go and make mistakes.  Jump in feet first and start investing with money you are willing to lose if it came down to it.  Good Luck!

I agree with @Mark H. Porter.  You are past the point of renegotiating the price because of property damage or condition.  To Mark's point I would insist the damage be fixed by a licensed and bonded plumber with an invoice as documentation.  All the Best.

@Syed Shah  Here's a list of paint colors I have used with my rentals.

• 3K+BM HC-173 Edgecombe Gray or SW 7029 Agreeable Gray
• 3K+BM HC-81 Manchester Tan or SW 6155 Rice Grain
• Benjamin Moore Horizon (works well with white or wood trim)
• Benjamin Moore Grey Owl mixed with a little more white (25% more white) - (works with white or wood trim)
• Sherwin Williams Eider White (best with white trim)
• Benjamin Moore Grey Owl (good with white or wood trim)
• Sherwin Williams Repose Grey (can look beige with wood trim so best with white trim.
• Benjamin Moore Moonshine (great with wood or white trim)

@Sherry McQuage Marshall Goldsmith had a similar quote.

@Sherry McQuage I wish I would have started sooner.  This is similar to many.  More specifically, I wish I would have played the game with a "winners mindset" vs constantly thinking about losing the game.  Having the "Losers Mindset" holds many back. It certainly held me back.  I hope this helps.

I'm not sure if this issue counts as a mistake but it was certainly a lesson learned.  In the past year and a half, I've purchase 3 properties / 5 doors.  In 2 of the 3 properties, I've had a sewer pipe collaspe with water backing up into both properties.  Each of the repairs cost me $5K to $6K each.  I thought after the first incident I had learned my lesson.  In the first property, I didn't have the sewer pipe scoped during the inspection.  So in the second property, I had the sewer scoped and the inspector found a potential area of concern but there wasn't a full blockage in the pipe.  Since we were investing $20K in the rehab on the second property I choose not to make any repairs to the sewer line until it finally collasped.  Well 5 months in the bill came due on the second property.  #lessonlearned

@Joy James Ultimately the seller decides the list price.  If an agent decides not to work with your because they don't believe the property will appraise that's a choice they can make based on the value of their time.  However, the only possible issue I see is if you have signed an exclusive listing agreement with the agent who doesn't believe the property will appraise.  If you have an exclusive listing agreement I would discuss your concerns with the agent and come to an agreement on the list price or canceling the listing agreement.  Further, as an investor you should be pulling your own comps to know what your list price should be.  You should be able to develop your own assessment of value based on the information that's available to you.  I hope this helps!

@Lloyd Son In my humble opinion you always need insurance whether purchasing with cash or a loan. I would suggest that you think more big picture about what's your overall Risk Mitigation Plan as an investor. You need insurance for all the reasons other posters listed. Failure to have a comprehensive Risk Mitigation Plan can ruin your finances with one incident. As someone else mentioned you don't need insurance until you need insurance. To me a risk mitigation plan takes in to account the following: property ownership structure (LLC vs personal name), landlord insurance policy, mandatory renter insurance, and an umbrella insurance policy. That's the approach I've taken with my properties. Good Luck!