All Forum Posts by: Michael Sjodin

@James Tedrow He can "say" he'll do whatever draws the most voters. In reality something like this would never pass and shouldn't be considered when voting. What should be considered is the large tax cuts that have been made to large corporations that enabled companies to "boost the economy". Does our economy look boosted? Does it seem anti-fragile? No. Instead companies took the greatest portion of the money to buy their own stock at the all time highest valuation. This action disproportionately benefited the C-Suite (who often sell after buybacks). A small sum went to wages and new hires (which have all been cut). Did these companies allocate their new capital in the most effecient manner (like by bolstering reserve funds to weather a black swan)? No. Those who aren't extremely wealthy (100mil+) shouldn't rush to point the finger at hypothetical policies such as these. Neither party has represented the people for decades. We should reform the systems that divide us, not those that distract us from the core issues affecting our society (like corporate lobbying interfering with the free market, civil rights, and the continued recertification of the patriot act)

@Vincent A. Cipollone

Lemon Grove, Vista, and Chula Vista all have great neighboorhoods that are greatly appreciating and have homes that could use a little love next to renovated houses. Just be sure to check out each neighboorhood before you invest. Some of those areas have different conditions a couple blocks away from great locations.

@Axel Meierhoefer I would say to have a interactive question section that will store any questions that have been asked and what answer you gave. That would help a lot. That and add some local RE laws and guidelines as well as rules of thumb for when to consider forming an entity.

@Wade Kulesa I follow a lot of personal finance and investing material and Dave Ramsey is waaayyy better at the personal finance advice part. His investing advice is flawed. He is against passively managed index funds, but his asset allocation has a lower return than the S&P 500 when using backtesting to evaluate his claims. Real Estate often works way better with some leverage.

@Kyle Fadness

I'm no expert, but according to every BP podcast I've listened to: Anytime you can't attract tenants, drop the price. It seems you've eaten 6mo of mortgage by yourself. You can always try to raise the price once the next tenant leaves. Even if you are a bleeding a little bit of cash every month by doing dropping the rent, it would still be less than a vacant property.

Also, as I have heard other people say already, don't say you are the landlord.

I don't believe the decision to sell is as simple as not getting the cashflow you initially suggested, so you should sell. Rents tend to go up over the long-term and so do prices (conditions apply). If you are in an area with favorable population growth then it is reasonable to assume appeciation of ~3% (2% for inflation + 1%) or more annually. It is also reasonable to assume that your rents will go up about 3% a year.

If you factor in principal paydown and that 3% reasonable appreciation in rent and property value would you still see a positive gain to your net worth over time? That is how I would look at it personally, but maybe I am just biased because I live in CA where it often is a requirement to take more factors than just cashflow into account when making investment decisions.

@Tony Blasioli

If your leverage is only 25% on your total portfolio then you might have more options. Have you tried getting a HELOC on your other properties? The HELOC might be enough to bridge you into a post-covid environment where refinances may be easier. I believe you could also possibly cross-colateralize your assets to back a long-term fixed refi on your distressed property. I don't know that much about your specific situation, but when you aren't hyperleveraged you usually have some options available in a pinch.

@Jaden George

Max out the Roth IRA (with index funds). Then save as much as you can out of what is left over. You can buy deals that cashflow with as little as 3% down (+ closing costs). Talk to a broker in your area about how much that would be and then save aggressively towards that target. Another thing to consider: you are basically in the best tax bracket ever at this income level, if you invest in a REIT index fund (VNQ) within a Roth IRA you can get a high dividend yield and never have that money be taxed (REIT dividends are only taxed once they are paid to the shareholder and since you will be holding them in a Roth all those dividends will be completely tax free). M1 finance is a great platform for long term investors.

@Nikki Closser

This is why stimulus should go directly to those who need it. If stimulus goes to the consumer then rent is still paid, the mortgage is still paid, and the note holder is still paid. Anything else is really just screwing 2 groups over for the favor of one group.

@Andy Nathan got a 2.75% rate locked in for a refi.

@Casey Roman

Sounds like you might need a partner