All Forum Posts by: James DuBois

Hey, we are in the process of trying to buy a home. It is using a septic system and there is no option to connect to a sewer at least not anytime soon. First Inspection company comes out and tests the system and says this " Recent attempts of repairs have been made, effluent levels in the distribution box are high, unable to dye test for this reason. Contact a licensed septic repair person and or the county health department for necessary repairs to this system. " They then fail the system on the inspection and say it is in an unacceptable operating condition.

I then call the company who did the most recent work on it and this what they did in November of 2020: Rehab of the septic system. Including Excavation, labor, materials. Jetted all leach lines. Pumped tank and leach field. Installed vents and clean-outs. Replaced baffle in outflow line of the tank. Installed two new riser assemblies. Replaced distribution box. Rough backfill to allow for proper ground settling.

Now what seems odd to me, is if you do this much work on a system and it still fails? I got in contact with the company that did this work and we met out at the property. He then said everything is fine and in working order and not to worry about the distribution box being high as the Water table is pretty high right now(Been high since 1/25 and still high today as of 1/26. (We have had some snow melting and light rain here and there. He did not dye test and says those can actually do more harm than good, he then said "All a dye test does is tell you where it's going not if the system is good or not. Now I've been doing some research and it seems no matter what, if the distribution box is high, that would mean the system has failed and is unable to properly drain into the field. The guy who originally did the work seemed honest and put his best foot forward, but still, the system fails on paper. Are we going to have to do this when we sell the house, I feel like that a failure would turn most buyers away. Can anyone shine some light on this, really not sure what to believe.

Thanks

Mike, thank you and your input is most definitely appreciated. So you and I seem to be in agreeance, yeah definitely using that cash as a downpayment would be great as more than likely I'd be doing an FHA loan as this would be my first home and I would be occupying it. So that $8500 is more than likely my whole downpayment maybe even closing as well depending on the house price. (Parts of Ohio tend to be cheaper than most places).

Hey, I was wondering, I'm in the process of 0 balancing all of my credit cards. The only debt I will have after that is about $8500 in student loans(DIRECT UNSUB STAFFORD LOAN), its 3 loans but the highest interest rate is 4.66%, the expected payout year is 2027. My minimum monthly payment is about $52.00 a month but I generally pay around $120 to $150. I currently pay $940 dollars a month in rent, not including utilities. I am currently 24 years old. My salary range as I won't give the exact is somewhere in the range of  $75,000 - $95,000. I'd really like to start saving for a house(multifamily) once I finish wiping out my credit cards. I've been listening to Dave Ramsey a lot and he advises most people to pay off all debt before buying a home. 

I was thinking that once I have no more credit card debt, I will start saving for a house. Dave Ramsey would probably say wipe out that student loan as well before buying a house. I would prefer to save the money that I would be using to wipe that loan out and buy a multifamily and househack. Once I'm in said home I would purely focus on my only debt at that point(minus the mortgage) which would be the student loan and just throw as much money at the student loan as possible each month until its gone. 

I am seeking input, please feel free to give me opinions as I am seeking some guidance.

Thanks!

Cool thanks all! I felt terrible and awesome, what I had for a down payment for a house ($2k) I completely wiped out my balance off one of my credit cards. The total credit card debt I have left, i've calculated that it will take me 6 months to pay the rest off if I budget correctly minus my student loans which the interest rate i have it super low its like $100 a month. Thanks for the support. Im trying to convince my dad that assuming I am debt free in 6 months if we can do a deal then so i can still keep looking at deals. So 6 months from now id be bad debt free as my student loan is a mortgage for 30 years at like $100 a month. I'd be able to pay that fine while saving up for a downpayment and still being able to afford a mortgage payment even with the student loan. 

Thanks all for the responses, so then@Caleb Heimsoth suggested to pay off credit card debt first. Do you guys agree that I should do that before I even think about purchasing a property? 

Hey all,

I have been looking for the past 6 - 8 months at properties, reading books and listening to podcasts. I believe I am ready to buy my first investment property(Multifamily HouseHack). I am already pre-approved for a renovation loan. One problem, I am having trouble coming up with the down payment/closing costs. I've been focusing the money that I would be using for investing to pay off credit cards from school as I graduated 8 - 9 months ago and have been working as a Software Developer ever since. I can afford a mortgage no problem as I get paid well for my career. I cant afford the down payment/closing costs currently because I want to get out of credit card debt. But the way I see is I'm paying rent regardless, but wouldn't it be nice to have the chance to live for free?

My question is how can I convince my parents to pay for the downpayment and closing costs and i pay the monthly mortgage and manage the tenants? My dad is a businessman so he would need numbers to make sure it's a good investment. What kind of deal do you think I could come up with so its a win win? My loan, their downpayment and closing costs and then I would manage the property. In what way could I swing the deal to make it worth my parents time and money to help me out? And how could I swing the deal in the way to make my parents monthly payments to pay them back for the down payment/closing costs?

Thanks!

Hey all, 

I am currently in the process of finishing "Set For Life" by Scott Trench and I have ready majority of  "The Book of Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner. There is one core factor I am trying to figure out as I found a dispute in view points in these books. Brandon Turner seems to be fine with using Private Lending where Scott Trench seems to believe that using other peoples money is not investing it is just managing someone else money. Scott says that you're not an investor if you use other peoples money. What makes you  an investor if you use your own capital says Scott Trench. Now what do you guys think, is private lending the way to go or is using your own money more beneficial in the long run. 

You can just delete this I am all set.

Hello, I am looking to by a house. I am buying it as an investment so I need a honest realtor that understands the Cleveland Area and can help me assess a property as a good investment for the area or not.  I am pre-approved and extremely motivated. 

Is Kris Krohn  legit or another guru just scamming people out of their money, giving them false hope? Haven't found many reviews.