All Forum Posts by: Nicholas Earls

@Richard Lundy Jr

I have had a good experience with Busy Bee Property Management.

Your Money or Your Life It is getting a little long in the tooth and probably could have been about half the length but this book really changed the way I looked at how working a job was trading my finite time on earth for money and to look at purchases as time.  Buy this $100 doodad or have an extra 5 hours to spend with people really changes the calculus of these decisions. There is one section where it talked about making a graph of your expenses vs your passive earnings and when the two cross you are "financially free" that really kicked me in the gut since it was the first time I really came across the idea. They did a sequel or rewrite of the book recently but I heard it wasn't nearly as good.  Set for Life is my quicker, more modern replacement for YMoYL that I send to people now but it certainly didn't have as much of an impact on me personally.

Something that is hard to swallow but very necessary to learn is that the list price is completely meaningless. The house is worth what it is worth and that is determined by what people are willing to pay for it. Some sellers intentionally list their property low to drum up interest, knowing that it will go for way more than list. Especially with how hot the market is now most things are going first more than list so they need to get used to that.

Comingling of personal and business funds is a big no no. Definitely want to separate those. Strongly consider a separate credit card for your business transactions as well.

I'm looking at an older property that will need far more renovation than I have ever done before so I'm looking for someone with a good construction track record to team up with.  I will likely need to go hard money on this property so having someone with experience is going to be required.  This property is from the 20s so probably looking at asbestos and lead-based paint, removing the boiler and radiator, adding central heat and air, as well as some excavation work where an in-ground pool was taken out but not filled in.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I'm any field there are annoying things that clients do constantly that seem like common sense to people in that field. What area of real estate do you work in and what are some common faux pas that new (or experienced) investors do that drive you nuts?

We've been good.  The house you got for us has been doing really well. We took some time off for a round-the-world trip but COVID put a stop to that. We're up in Indianapolis now to be closer to family.  How have you guys been holding up?

Really depends on what you want to do.  The northwest area is close to Fort Campbell so a good rental base there but not much above B class properties and a good amount of turnover. Downtown has a college for student housing. There are a number of large manufacturing plants moving in on the east side of town. Sango has A class properties if you want to do something higher end.  Prices are going up massively as a lot of Nashville investors are turning to Clarksville for a lower price point.  If you have a more specific question I might be able to help or @Ron Dayley is a good resource if you are looking for an agent.

I'm actually up in Indiana now but I was in central TN before.  Gatlinburg is on the far east side of the state so a few hours away from where I was at.  I've been to Gatlinburg several times but I don't have any experience with investing in Gatlinburg but I know you can do pretty well with it.  That area is actually holding up pretty well with tourism during COVID because there are a lot of little cabins up in the mountains so you can social distance well there while enjoying the mountains.

Even if not commissioned lenders don’t like to see earned income going down over time.