All Forum Posts by: Mike Seluk

Bikes in SW FL are a baaaaad idea.

When I decided to get out of cars and focus on RE, I picked up a 96 Ranger. It's a 2.3 with a 5-speed, just like all my other cars (minus the turbo) so fixing it is a breeze and cheap. I got it for $1000 below book because it had a bad headgasket and that was the estimate the previous owners were given. I fixed it for next to nothing and have been driving it ever since. Great little truck, A/C, radio, tints, bedliner, etc...

For the car guys - I had a project car for a while, a '71 Pinto. I put an SVO (2.3 turbo) motor in it and raced it quite a bit. Probably wasn't as fast as the GN mentioned above, but that thing was a riot! I rented it to Pepperidge Farms - they gave me $500 for 3 days use. I still have no idea what they used it for, but the check cleared! :mrgreen:

I'm also in the Reformed Hot Rodders Club, but I'm definately planning a relapse :D

Nah, just sit far away from the screen and you'll be OK. I love the alien/zombie/monster stuff, so I thought is was cool. The plot ruined it though...lol.

More n00bZ questions... :goofy:

Why would I want to take money OUT? I never understood that. If you do that, you've got cash in your pocket, but you 'own' less of the property, no? And won't it be harder to cash flow, since you now owe more on it? Your payment SHOULD go up, right? If you sell, won't you have to sell it for a good bit more than you bought it for so you don't loose your butt?

I figure if I OWN the place, I don't pay interest anymore. I rent it out, and that money is MINE (well...expenses, too...lol). If it goes down in value, who cares? I'll wait; it would still be making me money if I keep it occupied, right? And if it goes up, bonus, and I can sell whenever I want and put waaay more in my pocket.

"I've seen more people fail because of liquor and leverage - leverage being borrowed money. You really don't need leverage in this world much. If you're smart, you're going to make a lot of money without borrowing."
- Warren Buffett

Yeah, like that guy said... :D

I agree with you Chop!

It's so simple. And dumb! People spend more than they earn. How do they not see that it can't work?!

I have a friend who does this, and I just want to sit him down and add it all up for him. "You take in this much each month. You spend this much each month. At the end of the year..." :protest: :protest: :protest:

I'm closely watching the market and trying to decide what to do next. Part of me wants to err on the side of safety while the other part is reminding me that the rewards you get are for taking some risk. I'm going to wait a little bit more...still have a couple ducks to get in a row before I make a move.

Here in Lee County, things seem to be dropping hard. I can't believe how it's *everywhere*. People I know (the non-RE interested ones) are in trouble, a lot of units in my area are for rent, people are moving out with their tails between their legs it seems while others are saying that they're stuck where they are because the can't sell.

When you look up the purchase prices from a year or two ago and compare it with the current market prices...man, it's scary. I'm still in a good position, and I'm working hard on preserving that!

30 yr. fixed at 6%.

They're dropping in price right now, to be honest.

Looking back, I should have sold when they were high. I had just bought the place, and not 2 years later, the prices around me almost doubled!! I had no idea how abnormal this was since it was the first time I had ever been in the game, so to speak.

I suspect this may be a self-answerable question... :oops:

I currently live in a small but nice townhouse. I want to buy something else, but I'm wondering if there would be any benefit to paying off this place before doing so. Based on what every outlook I've read seems to indicate, things will continue to decline or at least stay low for some time, and I think that there is time enough for me to pay off the place and then save up more.

I'm expecting to hear that it's best to keep cash on-hand and ready for use when a great buy comes along, so no, I shouldn't tie it all up in the first place.

But what about financing? With lenders being freaked about who they give money to now, will I be able to get a loan while carrying the first place?

Well, I have more than a couple neighbors in my condo development who bought in when things were high, and they paid just about twice what I paid for mine only 2-3 years earlier (they got in at ~160k give or take a few, I got in at 82.5k). Checking the current local ads, you can find units advertised as low as 94k in here - and they're not moving, it seems. So it's close, but I won't wake you just yet. :D

I'm thinking about buying another unit in here, but now I'm asking myself why not get a small single family house? The condo fee that I WON'T be paying there could get ME more house!