All Forum Posts by: Gene Livingston

Its very VERY possible. It's the deal that matters! Not a self-imposed $ amount.

Because I'm a total cheapskate, but still like nice things...perhaps I can assist. A few ideas:

*paint is very cheap and has the best bang for buck there is...paint the place yourself; BUT, the goal is not to sell the place (its an "interesting" short-term rental); the goal is to catch the eye of a customer on a web portal...so don't be boring! Your AirBNB should stand out from the pack, visually.

*With EVERY design decision on an AirBNB/VRBO rental you should be thinking... how will this look in a photo? Because that should be the whole point. The point of your design is to have an interior that looks "Instagrammable". A customer's eye should be drawn in to a world you are creating with color and design. And that DOES NOT have to cost a lot of money.

*Thrift shops! for quirky things, furniture, dishes, art work....

*I cannot over-stress how important high-quality photography is. Every detail is important.

And lastly, my most valuable Top Secret idea that can save you piles of money...

*Gel Stain. (Use General Finishes "Java"). and maybe a Poly topcoat (also General Finishes brand)...kitchen cabinets, furniture, shelving, etc.

I've probably saved you $20K :-) but you may have noticed that I did not tell you how much it will cost...that's because I don't know anything about the property you have in mind, so it's quite impossible to give you a price. Is it a VRBO in Malibu? Or is it a shed on a goat farm? I pretty much live in Airbnb's and have experienced the extremes lol.

"Obviously, cash in a savings account is not a great idea"

Not posting any financial advice here, but...its NOT obvious that cash is a bad idea (as of April 2022). Why? Because your timeframe is 12 months or less. If I were in your situation I would consider that...

*The Dollar Index (a weighted basket of various foreign currencies) is currently getting smoked against the Dollar. In other words, most foreign currencies are FALLING right now against the Dollar (Dollar is rising). The Dollar is also rising against Bitcoin (the only "crypto" that actually matters).

*Gold is performing well, gold stocks not so much; but gold has short-term volatility

*Some REITS are doing well, some aren't (DYOR/DYODD); income generated would be taxed, so meh, in the short term. (better to hold REITS in a tax-sheltered way, like IRA accounts).

*Fed is raising rates while economic activity is crumbling, the rate of change in inflation is slowing (in other words, inflation is high, but its rising at a much lower rate than it was last year), oil prices are creating demand destruction, and the US/UK are trying to create WWIII.

*the current macro setup is bad for stocks (rising rates + declining real economic growth)

So my point is, if you are stacking cash for a likely real asset purchase in the near future...cash is perfectly fine. If your time horizon were further away then I'd answer differently!

Quote from @Paul Crosby II:

I would say it would depend on future legislation.

There seems to be a political appetite for increased regulation and reduced profits for lenders and landlords.

Hoping we dont get to that point

New legislation creates new opportunities for grift and corruption (which is why politicians have an incentive to create legislation). So yes I very much agree that political and legislative risk is one of the largest risks we deal with in real estate; but even in extreme circumstances, opportunities would exist (with completely different business models).

I'm an agent, investor, and have been working on my home inspection license for awhile now. It's probably overkill to learn home inspection, but I've found it useful. Paying for an inspection will only cost maybe $300, well worth it. But after awhile you'll find the same problems repeating over and over at each new property, so you'll eventually not need the inspection. You'll see the fire-risk electrical panels, slab foundations issues, ungrounded electrical, aluminum wires, exhaust venting into attic, badly graded lots,   etc. and it will eventually not scare you as much.  And you'll work out standard solutions that you do on every property. Also, as an anti-tactic, when representing a seller I refuse to look at inspection reports, and only negotiate using the standard contract forms haha.

Reviving old post:-) Valley Ranch is no longer the home of the Cowboys; however it's now becoming an interesting rental and infill development area. Very active area. New Home Depot, Wal-Mart etc along the 635/Olympus/MacArthur corridor. Lots of tech moving in (Amazon Fulfillment, CoreLogic, Options Clearing Corp, IBM, many others).

I meant living in a place like Canyon Lake and then doing RE deals in SA area.

If you are working remote then why pick either? Why not something like Canyon Lake? It's between SA and Austin, and it's basically a resort area.  Or a smaller town in the orbit of SA/Austiin, like Blanco, Marble Falls, etc? Lot of Hill Country options you might want to consider.

Wow, that's terrible. Is this projected now completed?

Speaking of RDPD, I'd recommend "Rich Dad's Guide to Investing"...a bit more content in that one, imo.