All Forum Posts by: Jennifer S.

@David Song thanks for your insights which make a lot of sense. I was curious about the small life sciences start ups in the Boston area? I thought they had eclipsed the SF Bay Area recently?

I agree big slow companies normally won't show the growth of a successful start up. I am trying to vet the info on Boston and seems like you have good info on this space so was curious about your view.

For other areas of tech eg SaaS, consumer, apps, I think SF Bay area is still on top by a massive amount and there are many interesting private unicorns that haven't even gone public yet. When these people have liquidity events, $1 vs a $2m home starts to become a rounding error.

I said in a post over a year ago that the Mountain states could easily boom from a little small slice of the California outflow and this did seem to happen.

At the same time I find it sad that the California public schools seem to have declined so much over the years. And what next with this story about stopping advanced math classes? Why can't we be pro-environment AND pro-good schools for all income levels.

A while back I read that at least half of the successful tech companies were founded by immigrants so I guess California can keep being successful for those who move there but seems to fail others reliant on its public schools. What does everyone think? Have a great day!

I love these ideas. Anyone know any part of USA that is more flexible about building codes? 

Good thread -- I've heard that Residential real estate construction is a sector that has changed the least in 100 years so I was intrigued by this development. Looking at a current listing in Austin (MLS number 5473496), this is 3503 E 17th St, Unit B4. List price $450,000, 1,016Sq. Ft. $443 per Sq. Ft. $6,400 a year in property tax and schools with scores from 4 to 6. Is this considered a good deal in the current market?

Thanks for this helpful thread. Regarding reviews, I have found that many providers that other people have referred me to have poor reviews online (BBB and or Google). Also some providers I got personal references for have had lawsuits and or trouble with the SEC in the past. I don't rule them out for that per se but it takes extra work to gain comfort. There is also the issue of fake reviews or "great" profiles on BBB that turn out to be for poor companies (example article at CNN Money "Slammed by the government, A-rated by the BBB). I don't fully trust the government or CNN but it was still a useful article. I know there are huge benefits to SD IRAs but it is starting to feel like a massive project to assuage my fears about these providers. It is a reason why I have also started to lose interest in Amazon, which I know is a super unusual viewpoint. Part of it is because I'm pretty much a minimalist and don't shop much but this issue of fake reviews is a problem there too. Anyway happy to keep receiving tips on these SD IRA providers. Maybe I will get there soon!

@Tom Cvijanovic, actually I realised that @Ben Hart who started this thread, is who I wanted to connect you with. Apologies-I didn't scroll up to see his name. I'm following a few of these threads so didn't notice that. Well in any case hope you two can connect 

@Tess L. thanks for one of best posts I've ever read on BP! If you have taken loans out for your investments, what kind of interest rates were you able to achieve, if you don't mind me asking? If better over PM, happy to communicate that way. I'm doing research to try to get a loan less than 6% interest rate.

@Tom Cvijanovic, that's great news. A few of us had a UK - focussed zoom recently but the consensus was that people wanted to watch and wait. My first priority right now is to secure good financing for something I'm looking at in the USA, so I'm also not rushing into more action in the UK yet. However I'm happy to connect you with someone who's interested in doing more here in the short term. I'll PM you

I'm not sure of their economics, but the people doing Paradise Lot in Holyoke are certainly maximizing their space. Their website says they operate on 1/10 of an acre. Their zoning board may be more amenable to that sort of thing given that there might be "food deserts" over there. If it's South Shore, Mass where your lot is, not sure how modern thinking / into permaculture they might be. Mini Storage may be where it's at for those towns? I watch videos of people doing farming on small spaces and it is fascinating but I do wonder about their PnL. On the other hand, chains like b.good show how their farms are mainly locally based in Mass so maybe there is will be a growing field pardon the pun. 

@Amedeo M. not sure on foreigners getting those rates in the UK. I will let you know what I find out. There is also going to be an additional cost to borrow via an LLC which is needed to be able to deduct mortgage interest.

However, (from memory), currently you can do furnished lettings and get the mortgage interest deduction without an LLC but I wonder how long that will last given the upcoming pressure on government finances.

I might start to look into that opportunity though, since it has become very difficult to travel abroad at the moment. Assuming the lifting of the current lockdowns, people still want some place to get away from time to time. Even for this opportunity though one has to be neutral to positive on the overall UK economy and currency.

@Amedeo M. yes I hear you- numbers are tight everywhere but if I can borrow in the UK at 2-3% (albeit floating) that makes a difference to 6.5-7% for a US loan for US property. If I was based in the US and could access good rates, maybe some off market deals, I'd do US