All Forum Posts by: Joshuam R.

 You'd have to be nuts to think people are on this website sharing knowledge without an ulterior motive that benefits them.

What tends to annoy me is when the OPs, posting in an open forum like the ones here on BP, act as if they own the thread, and only contributions that directly address their question should be allowed in the discussion.  As if the thread exists purely and only for one person's benefit.

Especially when the OP has something like a hundred posts and ten likes, as well as a history of posting similar questions in similar ways. That's when I mutter unkind things at the screen involving the OP's lack of capital, lack of vision, lack of IQ, female canines, certain aspects of incest, that sort of thing.

I don't know about all of you, but I will do my best to answer questions that show the OP has made at least a basic effort to find an answer before throwing it out here for the community to answer. Other than that, I'm writing for the community, not one person. I'm no one's monkey.

You want your basic answers, there's a wealth of information out there, and a lot of it is right here on BiggerPockets in the guides and podcasts. You want general cheerleading, invest in a motivational speaker's collection of talks.

I remain convinced that a very large part of doing well in real estate is learning the hard answers to some hard questions by yourself. There is no royal road to success that works for everyone, despite the claims of various gurus and self-promoting experts. In large part, you have to find your own way in this business, and it's not going to be easy. It just isn't.

And yet, the BiggerPockets forums are the one and only place in pretty much all of the REI industry, where you can ask a well-thought-out question and get something other than self-promotion in response by a stranger (and not infrequently a stranger whose net worth and technical know-how is substantial) who's actually been there and done it. I've met people I could barely believe would reach out to me through these forums and then in real life. And then I've done deals with them, and benefited hugely from their experience. Where else does that ever happen?

So that's a large part of what's important to me about these forums.

Haha! 

I totally agree with what's been said here. It's no secret that some people hop onto forums just to boost their stats and get attention with a flashy signature line. Honestly, I never really thought about it that way, but I guess it makes sense to keep answers concise to boost ones stats just for the vanity metrics.

But you know what bugs me? It's when people ask the same old questions or ones they could easily find answers to with a bit of research. You've probably seen it too, like those posts asking about turnkey rentals or whether to buy a house next door without doing any groundwork.

There's a famous saying that goes, "The quality of your answers is directly related to the quality of your questions." And I totally get that, except for questions that have been asked a zillion times before. Still, I think it would be better if we had more back-and-forth discussions here instead of just one-off questions and quick tips. I'll always open to help just as long as someone has done the homework and asking specific questions... the question after the first question basically.

Thanks for the reply, Bill. Good point on the principal part of my mortgage payment. It was $216 this past payment, so looking at it from your perspective, I may be $150 short cash flow-wise, but I'm actually making money when I consider that I'm paying off $216+ each month. (Perspectives like this are why BP is so valuable!!!)

However, with the 2023 tax increase, I'm going to be around $300 short on cash flow each month, unless I can successfully protest some of the tax increase. So let's call it $280 short each month this year. I won't hit that amount on the amortization schedule until year 5. (I just got the loan in January.)

I'm not sure I follow when you said, "Would it really change anything big picture if you had an extra $151/mo coming in? If so, then sell now! Otherwise imagine how many things could cost you more than $1,800/mo."

As for rent increases, a 5% rent increase takes $1625 to $1706 and another 5% increase takes it to $1792. If making positive cash flow is my goal, (and I think you're telling me to look at the bigger picture instead), then I need to be at $2015/month this year just to break even on cash flow. With annual tax increases, I may be chasing positive cash flow for years! And that's my concern.

I feel ya!!  I want to shake people every time they write "get a property manager."  And that's their entire answer.

Well guess what, some of us live in such rural areas that property management companies don't exist in the area.  So unless you want to deal with someone 1+ hours away that doesn't know a darn thing about the community then you're stuck doing it all yourself. 

@Joshuam R. We are all probably aware of a few members whose posts are always just a sentence or maybe 2 at the most. Or those that always use AI or copy and paste..... An obvious attempt to drive up numbers and very little substantive use.

But then there are other members who post a lot, but usually with an intent to be helpful....and even get long-winded at times. I hope you don't object to those people?

Thanks @Joshuam R. avoiding the engineer route. I am waiting on a full replacement estimate to leverage with the seller. The property already has a fairly sizable shed and comps don't support nixing a garage. We also have issues filling SFR in our market without garages. I do appreciate the creative solution and I otherwise like the idea. If I could go that route I probably go with a lattice option to avoid adding extra garden work that future tenants won't handle.

As long as you don't use it on my posts,  I'm okay with it!

 It it doesn't apply to the topic at hand, then it's pretty much just spam. Maybe we could add an "Off Topic" option to that menu.