All Forum Posts by: Joseph Weisenbloom

@Matt R. Agreed individual stocks are too risky for my liking. I like to make investments based on the movement of the market as a whole. I’ve been nibbling on vanguard index funds. This  provides less risk but also allows me to take advantage of the 30% market drop we have just witnessed.

Now is a good time to start buying. Dollar cost averaging is a great approach. Are we at the bottom? Maybe, who knows but I see more upside over the next 2 years than downside. We are a stimulus package away from things turning  around.

Typically the market is ahead of the economy as far as value. Value of market now is based on predicted earnings 3 months from now. During 2008 real estate crash the market went down 40% over 1.5 years. Now we have gone down 30% in a few weeks. My gut tells me this is an overcorrection.

I think we have 10% downside and 30% upside potential. I like that spread. Thats 20% potential gain without the hassle of tenants, repairs, management etc. I will take that all day long. 

Best case scenario buy stock now and sell in a year when it has recovered. Then flip that profit into more real estate!

Enjoying reading these posts! I am somewhat optimistic that the virus will fade as quarantines continue and the summer heat gives us a helping hand. China is our canary in the coal mine and they have already seen decelerating new cases. I see the same trend hitting Europe and the US in 2-3 months time. 

The big fear I have is if this event will set off any other economic ticking time bombs that are on the brink. Industries and companies that are overleveraged or have no reserves can’t wait 3 months and will go belly up causing a domino effect. 

Another factor here is what kind of stimulus will the government pass to shore up overleveraged companies so it doesn’t cause a domino effect.

Coronavirus is just the tip of the iceberg. The real threat is from some type of credit crunch as companies default on loans. That could have an effect on the real estate market as it trickles into real estate loans.

Best case scenario: corona wanes in 2-3 months and after that things return to normal with markets partially recovering by end of year.

Worst case scenario: corona causes a cascade of defaults and this becomes a credit crunch more similar to 2008. Multiyear recovery.

Personally I have started buying stocks and will continue to buy as the market decreases.  I am in it for the long haul so either way I will make money on this!

Austin is a very tough place to invest. Its about as cutthroat as it gets to find a decent deal. It is possible to cashflow but it can seem a herculean effort at times. First you will only have any chance of cashflow if you buy beat up properties at a discount. I bought a fixer upper that was deemed a tear down for $237k and put $120k into it and now it rents for $4600/mo and worth over 500k. It helps if you can do most or all of rehab work yourself. Second the only way to make any cashflow is to rent out bedrooms. Austin has an outdated land code that is a vast majority of single family houses. Don’t even try to mess with multifamily cause there is no inventory. Find your self a 4 or 5 bedroom fixer upper within 4 miles of downtown and rent out the rooms for $700+ each. Thirdly if you are not a cash investor you won’t get anywhere. Any property worth a damn will have multiple cash offers on it within 24 hours. As others have stated if you want an easier approach I would reccommend other markets. If you are a seasoned pro and you live in Austin like me then join the shark infested waters. :) Good luck.

@Larry Alexander From what Ive researched the top brand of composting toilet is the sunmar centex series. It offers a very similar experience to a regular toilet with water flushing. That being said there are some major design flaws. For one it requires someone to crank the composting chamber once a week. Which is complete BS. Why do they have a manual crank when they could have a motor do the crank and have a timer that does it automatically. I also saw that it requires adding sawdust or peat moss once a week. Why not have a hopper full of a years worth of peat moss and distribute it into the chamber automatically. Overall I think its a good design but like I said earlier the technology hasnt come far enough for it to be a legitimate replacement for a standard toilet. Correct me if im wrong. I’d be glad if someone in the forums could chime with some first hand experience.

I was watching that Bill Gates documentary and he was talking about the toilet of the future and how he is funding competitions for university students to design it. It seems like the modern toilet is wasteful of water and expensive to hook up to sewer. Anyone ever use a composting toilet in their personal home or dare I say in a rental? What brand of composting toilet did you use? From some brief research it seems like its a promising area but not sure the technology is there yet to match the ease of use of a standard toilet.

@Scott P. It was a scam. I copy pasted the email into google and other people had been sent the same email. Seems like sort if a stupid scam but hey i guess it works on some people. I have since stopped using Craigslist as a source to find tenants.

@Nik Moushon Got it thanks for the insight!

@Tom Aiello @Nik Moushon Really its cheaper to build with wood? It seems like concrete would be cheaper than wood but what do I know. I would assume one guy could build an entire house by himself by just stacking cinder blocks on top of each other one by one. As opposed to framing where you a need a team of people to hoist large sections. 

So I just got back from Mexico and I noticed nearly all the houses are built with cinder blocks. Which made me think why aren’t many houses in the US built with cinder blocks? 

It seems easier to contruct, less materials needed, potentially cheaper and more durable. I am not well versed on construction and I am sure cinder blocks wouldn’t work in some climates in the US. That being said for example in a city like Houston that gets flooded ever 10-20 years this seems like a no brainer as opposed to wood framing and drywall. 

Maybe a dumb question but why aren’t we building with cinder blocks?