All Forum Posts by: Matt Groth

@Brandon Ingegneri totally agree. One thing that doesn't get discussed enough is to work......a lot. You can have a full time job, and do full time real estate. I have told many people about my sure fire system to double your income, which is to double your hours. You don't need to do it forever, but virtually everyone that had "made it" worked more than 40 hour weeks for an extended period of time. Great post.

@Josh Collins even if you can work out the 401k details, it seems high risk to me. 5 years isn't very long to count on the appreciation. I ran sled dogs for 18 years, and operated a tour business for the last 3 of those years. I have since "retired" from dogs. Adventure tourism is a tough business. I ran trips every day of the winter, but profited very little for the amount of work. Insurance is crazy, and, for most forms of adventure, there is A LOT of overhead. If you go this route, make sure your partners keep a close eye on the budget. It can very easily be lots of money coming in, with even more going out. Good luck!

@Christopher Lane I really appreciate your honesty....read those posts from your wife's perspective. She has some very valid points. Was there a time, even for a second, when you thought about using that heloc for bitcoin? It was a sure thing, right? If she is unsure of 1 unit, she must really freak out if you mention 100! Scaling is great, if it works....if you are wrong, or even if you are right, but the market timing is off, you are risking the family home. My wife and I started off going all in.....fortunately, it was 2012. I am less risk averse, and had debt, while she was more risk averse, but had savings....go figure! We are still really small, but we are learning as we go. Keep reading, stack up cash, and figure out how you can invest, and in what, that makes both of you comfortable. Jay's suggestion of REIT's could be just the thing. Good luck.

@Jay Hinrichs is it just me, or is it impossible to scroll through a thread and NOT read what Jay has to say.....

@Marcos Torres whatever it takes to get rid of that stress! It really isn't all that much money. You could sell the house, but as long as you have some cash reserve, put everything you have at the debt. I have started telling people the quickest way to double your income is work twice as many hours! I would want the loan to be gone in 2 years or less. You need to start making payments of $2200 per month or so. Currently, I would guess, the interest on the loan far outstrips your portion of the cashflow. If you aren't willing to make a time sacrafice to work and make the extra money, sell the house.

@Alyssa K. Cats don't give me any documented comfort either......

@Erik Baumer he did make a profit.....when the house sold. The reason to enter a partnership is you can do more together than alone.

I am a gc. I'm in it to make money. This is different. You are in an equity partnership. Both sides working for the benefit of the whole. There is no need to lose money on a deal such as this, but "at cost" is just that ....the minimum to keep your doors open. Deals like this are funded by the ones that have more profit built in. My partnerships involve total transparency. Every receipt is seen by all of the investors. Why wouldn't they be? I want to work with these people! Otherwise, I would just do it on my own. Had it gone out for bids, could someone else have done as good a job for less money? If so, that would be especially worrisome given the lack of experience of the other partners.

@Jonathan Perez if you know the HVAC guy, can you barter? You might have something to offer that he needs. It won't make it free, but can knock off a chunk of the bill. I am a gc, and am trading the labor for the install of a new boiler at our house.

@Ray Harrell it means you spent too much of your cash to get started. We did the same thing when we started. I advise against it. I understand wanting to get rolling, but you can't get knocked out in the first round. We went all in on our first 2 deals. We had some really stressful moments, and financing repairs crushes returns. I will add, though, that a few sleepless nights build character!