All Forum Posts by: Joshua Stein

I recently had a sewer line repair that was an emergency, our main line basically disconnected from the city line - full blockage. Fortunately, it was flagged at closing so we already had credits at closing that helped pay for this.

I talked to my insurance agent about submitting a claim, the long and short is that it would be a $500 deductible (specific to that rider) and the payout would be $2,500. My agent also suggested that I not even bother with submitting a claim, as the premium increase would negate the payout in 1-2 years.

I'm sitting here wondering why I even have sewer line insurance if it's such a small amount that they would pay out and I should never submit a claim.

Should I remove this rider from my policy (and subsequently drive down the cost)? Are there other parts of your insurance policy that you specifically exclude?

*My only other experience with submitting a claim was when a tree clipped the corner of one of our properties, that was pretty straightforward.  

Moved from the Midwest recently (to Denver), at a high level everything performs better cashflow-wise in the Midwest.

The appreciation is generally slower, but your properties perform better out of the gate.

Here's a recent BiggerPockets article that highlights up-and-coming markets, this may be helpful: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

My wife and I have bought two duplexes (both house hacks), first one was with a conventional loan with 8-9% down, we used a program called "Home Possible" - you can ask your lender if you qualify, its income-restricted based on county median income I believe. Our second one we used an FHA loan because we no longer qualified for the Home Possible program, but didn't have the cash to for a deposit above 15% (threshold for multi-family properties).

I would recommend attempting to find a Lender who is also an investor or has worked with investors.

Disclaimer: I work for BiggerPockets, we do have some lender partners under the "Build Your Team" tab at the top - these may be helpful.

Scaling, but a bit conservatively. We just bought a duplex that we'll focus on making one side two MTRs (up/down), then the other side another two MTRs or one larger LTR - living in each side as we rehab.

I'm really looking to get more comfortable with larger rehab projects this year

Hi @Jin Lee!

I'm from the BiggerPockets team, we do have a group messaging feature, but it sounds like you're describing something more akin to a private group page / forum.

I'll keep tabs on this thread to see if other investors have use cases you didn't already mention!

Thanks!

Lots of great recommendations here, build a list of 4-5 out of the above - then read all of them over the next 6-12 months.

You'll have a great foundation of personal finance principles by then and can begin to pivot into learning specifically about Real Estate Investing (and other semi-passive income vehicles).

The book that flipped the switch in my head was "Millionaire Next Door" (which a couple of people mentioned above). This really highlights how wealthy individuals live far below their means, and they generally own their own businesses. They're obsessed with the process, and not status. It's helpful to get this drilled into your head early, as you'll build up a mental muscle to avoid spending money on depreciating assets. When you get out of college you'll see some of your friends driving nice cars and living in luxury apartments. It is hard not to fall into the trap of status, but if you can defer that desire (for even just 5-10 years) - you'll be in a much better position long term.

If I was in your shoes, I would actually start with "Set for Life" by Scott Trench (disclaimer: I work at BiggerPockets). It's a bit more oriented to someone who is just getting out of college and in their first career job, but it sounds like you're going to be working as an agent in college - so probably pretty applicable.

My wife and I use @John Woodrich, he services a lot of investors in the area from what I understand (and is also an investor himself).

We just have a small multifamily, so John can tell you if he has experience with commercial RE

Like most have said, finding good contractors is difficult. It's a bit easier when you have a property manager who has a network of contractors already, but still can vary widely in quality level.

What was your experience buying a STR in Maui? It sounded like they were starting to discourage foreign investment and clamp down on stay length.

 Apartments.com acquired Cozy btw, both have worked well for me (for general rent collection and maintenance tickets)