All Forum Posts by: David Barnett

Does your four months' worth of reserves include the HELOC that you pulled? If so, you really need to up your savings game if you think you are going to be laid off in the near term. If so, I would say you have bigger concerns than where to park your savings, and would instead focus on banking as much money as possible. I think you're in a pretty tough spot...

Does your four months' worth of reserves include the HELOC that you pulled? If so, you really need to up your savings game if you think you are going to be laid off in the near term. If so, I would say you have bigger concerns than where to park your savings, and would instead focus on banking as much money as possible. I think you're in a pretty tough spot...

@Elizabeth Zielinski By any chance, did you go to the tax assessors website for the property?  In the area that I invest, the tax assessors website has a phone number of the owner (if they took out a loan).  Even if the taxes are delinquent, the tax notices have to go somewhere...

Originally posted by @Karl B.:

Originally posted by @James Wise:

Originally posted by @Karl B.:

Yes! I needed that. 

I recently read that in Portugal it's commonplace for people not to be able to flush TP down the toilet as their sewer infrastructure is inferior - they have to discard TP in bins. 

The hardship Morris is enduring is funny to imagine. 

They will likely sue me for $1,000,000,000,000 dollars though will likely try and settle for a 4-pack of Charmin. 

 Given the current COVID-19 outbreak and the run on TP, a 4-pack of Charmin is a really high price.  I would consider splitting the 4-pack and not offering to settle with the full 4-pack.  Maybe you guys can settle on 3 rolls instead of the full 4.

Originally posted by @James Wise:

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Originally posted by @James Wise:

Originally posted by @Russ B.:

I'm still kinda surprised he managed to get someone from Wilmer Hale to take that turd of a case, given how well known their name is and the public exposure of getting smacked down + dismissed before it even starts. 

Riiiight. Clayton's supposed big shot attorney Louis W. Tompros even had some media coverage on the case. Jenna Greene, the so called "reporter" of the article linked below never contacted me for a comment on this story and I tweeted her a few times after they released it....Never heard a peep from her. Shortly thereafter they stopped with the press releases. I would assume because it didn't go down how they expected.

 Daily Dicta: Former ‘Fox & Friends’ Anchor Turned Real Estate Guru Turns Tables on Competitor

 Now hold on a damn second here. Clayton Morris is being depicted as a Real Estate Guru in the media???

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Coach? Maybe. Mentor? Maybe. Assistant? Maybe. Guru??? C'mon.

If Clayton can file suit against you for telling the truth, what about the media getting in trouble for telling lies??? LOL.

It's ok. I know that's not how the world works.

Good Grief. Not only does this guy use his television fame to sucker investors, his media buddies help him do it.

Bravo Mr Wise, bravo. Considering the way the world actually works, I was worried for you. I guess your lawyers knew better. Bravo to them as well. I hope whatever you spent comes back nkind - you deserve it if it does. At the very least drinks are on me if we ever meet.

The court findings were a good read. Very interesting to see how courts view things. Based on their findings, it is even more evident that the intent of the lawsuit was never to win, but an attempt to scare you into silence.

What a scumbag.

This is the best meme so far.  It narrowly beats out the Fox and Friends meme of good ole Clay.

@Rachel H. I agree with what most everyone else has said.  I want to mention one additional thing that I think might guide in the future.  I would be cautious about using "national averages" as a way to try to qualify or disqualify someone.  Someone that has $30k+ on a $342k income is a lot less risky than someone that has $8k on $50k-$60k (which is the national average household income).  If you're going to use national average data, I would recommend using all of the other national data to provide as a benchmark.  With that income, is it safe to assume that the property is in Seattle?  If so, I would recommend using local data, since national data is not exactly useful on the coasts.

@Janelle Hicks Given your situation and what you've shared, I would take out a HELOC to have access to the credit line. I would likely shy away from using the line to buy additional properties in an area that seems to be reliant on one industry (which might dry up during any recession). The other key to understanding your situation would be the relative strength of your employment. I think there is little risk is taking out a HELOC, and would be very cautious of going on a buying spree in an area that is reliant on one, "boom/bust" industry.

I think this is a really interesting development.  I was never too keen on short term rentals due to the government/regulation risk as the model became more popular with folks trying to score quick wins.  I have a hunch that there might be some opportunities to pick up properties that were bought solely for VRBO/AirBnB and don't work for long term rentals.  My hunch is that once the full on recession hits, discretionary travel will subside, leading to an oversupply of short term rentals, diving the price.  Might create an opportunity for longer term buy and hold investors to scoop up some deals.

@Danny Mak If you'd like to do the bidding yourself outside of REI's, I've had really good success with thumbtack (www.thumbtack.com). The site sends out requests to local pros and they can competitively bid out your job(s). I usually look at the reviews and look for 4.5 stars with at least 10-15 reviews. Generally, if others have had good success with the pros, they are usually good, quality people. Good luck!

As Amber mentioned, I like the fact that there are a lot of blue chip companies that are in the Twin Cities.  In addition to these items, I've noticed over the past few years the Twin Cities metro really making strides for business development.  For example, over the past few years, the metro area has hosted the Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four tournament, the Frozen Four (NCAA hockey) tournament, the X games and other events.  Overall, the transit system is pretty good, and it's quite affordable with people migrating to the Twin Cities.