All Forum Posts by: James Murphey

That is a good question.  The barrier to entry on a cheap website domain that looks professionally done with WordPress is pretty reasonable, but you do not want to get sidetracked on creating something overly complicated.  I would reach out to other whole sellers that have the business model you are looking to emulate, and see what they say.  Hope this helps.  

@Chris HadleyI would also avoid telling the tenant that I am the owner if possible. Mike Butler's great book Land Lording on Autopilot discusses the advantages of identifying yourself as the property manager.  The book is also packed with tons of great advice.  It has ways to go paperless for free.  It also has a way to show a property without actually having to be there.  It is also has a great way to screen tenants using Google Maps.  

@Jordan Lucas, as a high school teacher, and someone with a masters degree, I feel strongly you should only go to college if there is a viable career path on the other side that can justify the debt you will acquire in the process.  It is just to expensive pursuit to not have a career path lined up.  If you can live at home, already have strong network of people, and you are a people person I would seriously consider getting your RE license.  I would avoid college debt as long as possible unless you know their is a viable career on the other end of college that will allow you to pay off the the debt you accumulated.  I would also read @Scott Trench's book Set For Life if you have not already.  It is on sale a great book for high school students or recent graduates.  I also would recommend looking Graham Stephan's YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV6KDgJskWaEckne5aPA0aQ he did not go to college and became a RE agent at age 18.  He also has a program for RE agents that would cost a fraction of college tuition, and would most likely be very practical.  Hope this helps.  Let us know how it goes.

As a teacher I feel like this is the perfect gift for a new graduate.  Honestly this book should be one read in a personal finance class that is mandatory in all states.  As educators this is one area we tend to fail our students.  We fail them right before they make one of the largest financial decisions (student loans) of their life.  I suggest this book to all my seniors.  

@Milan Joshi I would check rentometer.com and run a few rent checks.  From what I have seen,  Johnson City commands the highest rent out of the Tri-Cities Area on average.  A good C class 3/2 house in Johnson City commands around $900-1100.  Where as the same house in the neighboring cities only seems to rent around $700-900. Realtor.com does a good job of pointing out higher crime areas when you look at the maps view, and click the crime button.  Some of the places close to downtown are higher crime, but are coming up as more families, and students move in.  I think Johnson City has a lot of potential to get better and better as the downtown gets more revitalized.

@David Simard I think it would depend on the reason you are getting the appliance.  Do you plan on getting your property appraised? or selling it soon? or are you just looking to save as much money as possible when it comes to getting your a newer appliance?  If you are looking to have your property appraised and want a top dollar I would consider stainless steel all the same brand new or slightly used.  If you are just trying to save money I would just look for used appliances that are in great shape like many have suggested.  Hope this helps!

I would suggest watching this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6MwGeOm8iI

Also Penn and Teller have a great video on MLM.  After watching these I made my mind up a long time ago not to get involved. 

I agree with @Ross Olson What are your goals? Some people just want to add one rental to their portfolio. Some people want the highest ROI. Some people want to eat out 5 days a week. If you are truly investor minded and want finical freedom as soon as possible probably saving for another investment property would give you the highest ROI. If you do not want to pursue that but still want to invest probably index funds would be a nice hands off approach. If you want to pay down the principle of the property you get a 4-5 percent return on that money, and when you pay off your mortgage you double to triple cash flow, but the ROI is pretty low. Again what are your goals? I really like to think of goals in terms of Mark Manson's perspective. What am I willing to struggle for? Let us know what you decide to do.

I think Jay Scott's book Recession Proof Real Estate nails this topic on the head.  Jay gives great advice about how to approach the potential recession.  Increasing your margins, taking out lines of credit, selling loser properties, and hoarding cash are some of his tips. No one knows when or how bad the next recession is going to be.  I remember hearing everyone say that real estate would appreciate 10 percent a year in 2006.

I agree with @Joel Fine once you have self-educated as much as possible then make the decision.   I would also consider my financial situation, and the market you are looking to invest in.  If the mentor program is going to take a significant chunk of your investment funds I would think twice.