All Forum Posts by: Henry Clark

Break your thought process/review down into segments:

1. HOA- responsibilities.

     - evaluate each responsibility.  Example: do you have to pay $10,000 next year for a new road or sidewalk?

- How stable are the HOA fees at $xx? Are the units full or going into default, so you have to pick up more.

2.  Need to do your financial analysis in more detail.  Use one of the forum calculators.

      - What are your revenue projections- assuming 12 months every year for ever, or using 90% rented?

      - What are your expenses.  Assume this is not a standalone unit.   Basic expenses, NNN, capital expenses- replace carpet/shower/kitchen/roof/etc.  Even if your not repairing immediately, you need to factor in annual set aside.

3.  Built in 1960.  Lead based paint, asbestos insulation or floor tiles, other issues.    

4. Do a market analysis in the HOA and similar areas. Any new projects being built near by that will compete? Over the next 5 to 10 years, is this neighborhood improving or declining?

5.  Start developing a checklist for future deal assessment.  Incorporate the above and other concepts into it.

Straight up numbers look good, until you start replacing carpet, hot water heaters, bathrooms, etc.

@Craig Choksey

I might be off base.  Would recommend you sort these by state and city.  Then look up on GIS maps for those communities/properties.  Start with the municipalities you have the most so you knock out a lot at once.  You will get the contact name and address, plus a thorough property description.  Enough to help you narrow this list down again, before you reach out to the people.

You should be able to knock out 200 of these in a weekend, as long as you have the address.

Another sub category.  Get rid of the World is coming to an end posts or is it a good time to buy.  Its always a good time to buy and who cares if the world is coming to an end.  I/We won't know it happened.  Most of these stock market crash posts are being put up as irritants.

If you want to stop the world from coming to an end, go plant a tree and stop eating grapes and bananas in the middle of the winter.  Carbon footprint to get them here and the Carbon retention loss to plant them.

We own 80 acres of trees and grass.  We just bought 50 acres of pasture and are planting 10,000 Teak trees.  Go do something, stop using my oxygen up and telling people what to do with their lives.  And no, I'm not a greenie, I love steak and to deer hunt.

My point is to come up with subcategories to get these negative energy posts off to the side.  If someone is truly worried about the stock or housing market crashing, I will be glad to give them positive actions they can take based on their risk analysis.

If someone truly thinks its a bad time to buy, then I will be glad to help them to learn to do more business deal analysis, they haven't learned their risk/reward level yet is all.  Put that into a different subcategory under Big Sister/Big Brother or mentor section.  Any experienced investor won't ask that question unless there is a nuance to the situation or they are just being an irritant.

@Allison Leung

a. Time to collate and prioritize.  Take all of the above comments and categorize into about 8 categories.  Grab a bunch of yellow stickys or do it on an electronic platform.  Show the results to this group.  Then categorize into 8 categories.  Then Sub categories as A/B/C.  Note the number of comments.  Communicate out to this group, since they took the time to answer you.  Just because one comment was noted a 1,000 times doesn't mean it gets prioritized at the top.  There will be A/B/C projects.  A's- big impact but also big resource drain.  C's- quick impact, takes little resources.  Example:  Newby help center-  this is easy.   Put in a Big Sister/Big Brother tab; with sub tabs for the major investment types. Example: Sub type- Self Storage- I will be glad to walk people through from start to finish. Though I will cut them off quickly when I realize they are just day dreaming and not committed. Sub types- SFH/MFH/Trailer parks/Retail/Commercial/Financing/Tax/etc. This will clean up the forum quite a bit. B's- usually don't get done.  Others get done, then these move up to A's or down to C's.  Local section- State/city/type- example best plumber in Potosi, Missouri.  I don't want to see that personally.  I actually love Potosi.

By doing this A/B/C approach you are explaining without explaining why something  (B's) didn't get done.  They will understand, their subject was beat out by other subjects.  They might disagree, but will know why.

Circle back to this group who responded to you.  Let them have a first pass at your collation and prioritization.  Then take forward to your internal group.  Then come back to the BP population.

b. Assign resources and responsibilities.

c.  Tell us Bigger Pockets direction.

If your team has done before great.  Otherwise I can do for you, but is better to be done by the person who asked the question and is tied into the resources.

Have seen this same request several times.  Stop asking unless there is a path forward.  No need for Four more pages of comments.

Don't close this subject.  Move it forward.

10 September 2020, 05:40 Started planting right before the temperature dropped from 100 degrees one day, then down to 55 for a high the next day. Will be cool and wet for the next two weeks. Dirt was bone dry, but now, due to two slow days of rain, we're good.

Dug the holes with the mini excavator above.
Put steel posts in for tree support.
Cut tree guards out of 4 inch corrugated drainage pipe. Used the Chainsaw to cut down the middle. Then with someone holding the end, I cut them into 3 to 4 foot sections.
Put the guard on the tree first. Then plant the tree. Tie plastic string around to hold the tree. This will keep the tree upright and protect against deer rubbing the tree.
Might not be able to tell from the tree picture. Built a little dam up front and left a little low in back. This will help in both catching rain water and as we needed to water the tree. It will get and keep more water.
These guards will come off in about 2 to 3 years. If the tree grows faster than that or if I forget, the plastic will expand and open up as the tree grows. No bugs or diseases inside, plenty of air flow.

@Ronald Rohde

Thanks for the note.  Definitely understand the "value" of the info and insights I am "handing" out.  We are building our very last Storage location and will be done growing our Storage business at the end of 2021.  Have started a second Life venture and business venture in Belize.  Just killing time on this forum, sharing the info/insights I've learned.  Will be off the forum by the end of next year.  Probably on another forum telling you the best way to slice one of my pineapples or the best way not to get bit by a Fer de Lance or Tommy Goff and die in 15 minutes.

Basically decided we are at enough ($).  Already hit our "number" now start racking up Life adventures.

1.  Tell why your post was eliminated.  Versus having to ask

2.  Be responsive.  I do member blogs and they don’t get picked up as featured.  Why?  Full of content.  Not selling myself or product. Not putting in bad links.  I’ve asked this twice with no response.  Is it because I don’t have a picture of myself?  Just give feedback when asked.

3.  Reading about a third of the comments above, my blogs or responses are detailed and applicable which are what people are looking for. 

4.  Would recommend a beginners section with sub categories on financing, deal making, analysis, mentorship, etc.   This will make it easier for them. Create a tiered interest level versus all levels in one section. 

5.  Have negative votes.  This will help either clean up content or help other people to avoid reading it.   For example if I’m in the non beginner section and I ask for the best carpenter in Potosí, Missouri; people can vote negative to my post to let me know to move to different category.

6.  Give feedback to your post.  Collate the above responses.  Prioritize them. Then respond to the top five.  

Still a ways off before we open.  Started interviewing night watchmen.  I think I have a candidate.  Passed the neck strength test.

5 September 2020, 03:53 PM  I cheated. Know this weekend is called Labor Day, but I just didn't want to work that hard. Have about 100 Tree and shrub plants to put in. Decided to rent a mini excavator to dig the holes. The construction dirt and the untouched dirt was hard all around due to how dry it is. Cost $325 with the trailer for 8 clock hours. Have it till Tuesday after the Holiday. Got all of the required plant holes done. Will go back sometime and put some extra holes where I want to plant more. Started at 9 and was done by 2pm digging the holes, putting in tree stakes (used two steel T posts) and filling with black topsoil. Ended up costing about $3.25 per hole, not counting my time or replacement fuel. Lets say $4.00 per hole. It would have taken me a week in this hard soil to do by hand.

Second step, is to put in black top soil. Luckily my neighbor who does trucking for one of the potting soil companies has a mountain of it for some reason. Had him deliver a dump truck load or 12 yards for $350. Saved me about 5 pickup loads and loading/unloading it. Filled in each hole with about five 5 gallon buckets. Only got have of the holes filled. To hot. Will finish another day.

Put two T posts in every other hole for the trees. Shrubs won't need.

Will show you later how I make tree guards out of 4 inch drainage tile about 4 foot tall. This is to tie the strings around the tree, and also to keep the deer from shredding the new trees with their antlers. You can re-use these forever. They don't deteriorate. Take them off as the tree outgrows them.

Read my post on “Anyone investing in Iowa”.  Look for a nasty ugly purpose built facility with a lot of hard surface.  Do that down there.