All Forum Posts by: Kevin Yeats

Eddie Ziv wrote: I once worked with a Special effects guy who was a police officer for twenty years in Kentucky prior to become an Effects man on movies. He told me that during his all career as a police officer, he couldn't remember being called for even one act of violence done under the influence of Marijuana. He continue to say that he lost count of those calls regarding violence acts committed under the influence of Alcohol...

So which one should be legal?

So Eddie, you are asking us to base our conclusions in regards to controlled substance policy on the casual observations of ONE law enforcement officer.

Did that law enforcement officer also perform tests on each person to determine that he/she only consumed marijuana or only consumed alcohol and not any other controlled substance?

Would the fact that alcohol is legal and is (unfortunately) sold in bars often to excess to young, testosterone filled males contribute to the violence?

Would you prefer to hire a habitually drunk electrician or one that was habitually stoned?

I feel that we are headed towards some level of decriminalization. Too bad we can't require stoners and drunks to wear a badge that says "I'm stoned (drunk) and my condition will affect my performance and my relationship with those around me."

In the private financing business, there is a Golden Rule.

"He/She that has the Gold makes the Rules."

If you approached me with a request for me th fund your real estate business, I would want to know a lot more about what you were doing and how I would make money --- a LOT of money. I would be taking a lot of risk if thing went south. I would especially like to know what you were putting into the venture, what money, what time, what expertise etc. I would not give you any money until you had found a specific property and knew what you planned to do (wholesale, fix & flip, buy & hold) and how long it would take.

Uwe, Is this a house or an apartment building?

You may also have to build in a "theft factor during rehab" cost.

A friend familiar with Detroit said that some of those houses have been torn apart for wiring, pipes and anything else of value.

As you rehab this building, you will undoutedly incur loss from left (either from the neighborhood or from the workers themselves).

Keep your final outcome in mind. Do you want to fix it and sell it or fix it & rent it out?

By the way, I know a good drywall company in the East side of Cleveland.

The answer, IMO, is both financial and psychological.

On the financial, renting your primary residence would cause you to lose the deductions for home mortgage interest and property taxes and could force you to take the standard deduction instead of itemize on your taxes. You will have to calculate how this affects you. Of course, the tax laws will change - rates, brackets, deductions etc etc.

You would also forego any appreciation that the house you could afford would incur but you would bypass any decline in home value should that happen in that area.

On the psychological side, you can choose to live in an area with other aspects (schools, parks, access to highways) that you may not be able to afford if purchasing a house. You also become more mobile. If you want a change, you simply wait until the end of the lease and move. If you owned the house, the sales cycle could be a lot longer. You could also be forced to make major mark downs in order to sell.

If you hired a plumber, electricial or other tradesperson to work on your property and that person made lots of phone calls talking to people about some juice that made them feel good, ... more energy etc. And then invited the people on the other end of the line to a meeting that night, would you feel that the tradesperson was not devoting the time the job required to be completed?

Either work on RE outside of your other work commitment or work out an arrangement with your supervisor that you will be doing both during the working hours and your supervisor with evaluate you on work completed NOT on hours on the clock.

I added a Halloween photo gallery.

As a recovering insurance agent, I can tell you that the Infinite Banking concept and whole life insurance policies have pluses and minuses. One big factor with whole life policies is that the policyowner has to keep the policy in place until the insured dies or else the money withdrawn (in excess of what is put in) becomes taxable.

The issue of life insurance is really complex in terms of the amount needed and the type of policy that best suits the needs of the individual. I found that a combination of both term and permanent (whole life or universal life or variable universal life) serves most people well.

With regards to Infinite Banking, the policy owner has to fund the policy with a lot of dollars in order to then take the some of the dollars out as a loan. This defeats the purpose. Why put in a lot of money when credit availability is tight?

I thought he didn't clean his room or mow the lawn.

I have several friends who are judges. One of the Dom Rel judges says he is frequently amazed in divorces when the soon to be exs argue over a toaster when each pays their attorney more than $100/hr.

Good points J Scott

There is a long list of activities to do and habits to develop that that we can do to live longer lives.

Using hand santizer & sunscreen
Eating a balanced, heart-healthy diet
Exercise
Brush & floss
Abstain from tobacco
Use alcohol in moderation
etc.

Some people choose to follow what experts agree will extend our lives because they enjoy those activites.

It is wonderful that they have the freedom to choose to do so.

I'll stop there before wandering into politica debate.

When I first read your initial post, I thought he may be suffering from early stages of dementia. If so that may add another layer of difficulty.

I'd have a little fear of someone willing to "close the deal" today and take your check without the usual title searches etc.

Aside from the good advice by others, have you considered offering your payment in two installments ... one at this first signing and the second (the bulk) when he has vacated?