All Forum Posts by: Michael Seeker

Hey @Matt Wingler - I hate to break it to you, but the "Now what?" is go out and invest in something.  Unless your goal is to teach, being educated without taking action is not going to get you very far.

Champaign is a city with great investing dynamics - the best thing to do is get started.

Is there anything stopping you from going out and buying a property?
If so, is there anything stopping you from going out and looking at properties available for sale?

@Jordan Moorhead - we use LandlordLocks for all of our locks.  They have any type of lock you could need and can put everything on a master key.  For this situation, you probably want a gate latch which is a regular style handle that locks automatically when pulled shut (i.e. it cannot be left unlocked by accident).  If you combine that with a closing arm then the doors will always be locked unless somebody with a key opens it or somebody opens from the inside and decides to prop it open.  You may be able to get a locksmith to key one of these for existing locks, but probably not unless all locks are similarly keyed.

I visited the TopGolf in KC and plan to visit the one in St. Louis sometime in 2019.  The concept is amazing and when speaking with people in KC, the place was packed all the time both with tourists and locals.

I haven't been to the Louisville malls in many years (like most people I suspect) and cannot imagine anything ever bringing that much positive traffic to that area.  The argument against it from neighbors due to traffic is laughable...did these people move to that part of town not knowing the traffic is insane?  Were they banking on the malls eventually closing down and traffic to go elsewhere?  They surely haven't considered the impact to their property values and crime rates if/when the malls close down and that property sits vacant.

There are people against every big development and there's no way to get unanimous support from a city/neighborhood.  How review committees rule on these cases are a great insight into the longer-term direction of the city/neighborhood.  Much investment in St. Matthews will follow if this is approved, and I would imagine things will trend the other way or stagnate if denied.  Fortunately review committees are generally staffed with forward looking people that aren't swayed by a few vocal individuals only interested in their own cause.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for approval so I can check it out when I'm back in town on business!

@Steven Perre, you might try reaching out to @Bryan Springhetti if you want to do the Louisville training

@Colin O'Neill - I think it depends on the type of loan you use.  Some commercial lenders may let you do this via them placing a second mortgage on the duplex, but I've not attempted this so not sure what sort of appetite there is for this kind of loan.

If you're going with a commercial lender, just ask them what they can do and they'll tell you. If you'd be using a conventional (i.e. 30 yr) loan, then I don't believe you can do this directly, or at least it would be more hassle than it's worth. Instead, you could either refinance the duplex and pull some cash out, or you could see about getting a HELOC on it. Once completed, you could then use the additional cash towards down payment on the triplex.

@Kris Mo - when you refinance and take cash out, this is not considered profit (i.e. you are not paying taxes on it at all).  Using your assumptions, you've correctly outlined the mechanics of a cash-out refinance.  The big thing to be aware of is that if/when you go to sell the property, you have to pay taxes on your paper gain at the time of sale and pay depreciation recapture.  Your taxes on sale are NOT based on the cash received at the time of sale.

Continuing with your example, lets say that you've also taken $100K of depreciation.  Your current basis in the property is $100K.  If you decided to sell in 5 years, it might look like this (using simple round numbers):

Sale: $350K
Debt: $250K
Basis: $50K
Depreciation Recapture (25% on $150K): $37.5K
Tax Liability (20% on $150K): $30K
Cash Proceeds: $100K
Net Proceeds: $100K - $37.5K - $30K = $32.5K

This is a lot less net cash from the sale than if you expected to just pay 20% on the $100K proceeds.

Hope this helps

@Tracy Streich's advice is spot on!  We ended up doing Antique White paint from Sherwin Williams for close to 10 years after reviewing a list of their top selling colors.  The list changes a bit each year and from a quick glance obviously grays are in right now.  About a year ago we shifted all of our new paint jobs to Mindful Gray.

Regardless of the exact color, I'd say go with something popular and be consistent.  This is a decision that should be made once every decade or less.

We've tried various sheens, but have never successfully touched up paint.  So as Tracy suggested, just plan on doing a whole wall at a time when needed and nobody will ever notice.

Hey @Peter Bui - typically when utilizing seller financing the buyer (i.e. new owner) is responsible for the taxes and typically will save up the funds to pay the whole tax bill each year.  I've not heard of a situation where the financer would do an escrow and frankly I wouldn't want to have to depend on them to pay it.  If it doesn't get paid, you are the one that can end up losing the property.

@Allison Nog, like most cities it really depends on where it is.  Some areas are better than others, but it can be very hit or miss.

@Micah Mcarthur, I've used Jay Jackson with SafeAtHome inspections for a number of years.  He can do a full blown inspection or just focus on major systems/items if you prefer.  PM me for his contact info