All Forum Posts by: Natalia Collini

Thanks @Sebby Gabre Madhin!

Hello Bigger Pockets! 

I'm currently in the process of buying a HUD home in Orlando. The home is FHA insured with a repair escrow. The appraisal came back last week as needing flooring replaced in a couple rooms of the house, so now I need an estimate for the repairs from a licensed flooring installer.

Does anyone know an investor friendly licensed flooring installer in the Orlando area? I appreciate any directions you can point me towards. 

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas to one and all!!!

~Natalia

Is that credit card debt holding you back? Is it lowering your credit score and keeping you from being able to get a loan? Are the monthly payments unmanageable? Is it the only debt you have? Are you looking to househack or is this strictly an investment property?

There are lots of different scenarios that could be played out depending on the answers to those questions. The right answer for a bachelor living in an apartment might be different than for a family living in a small apartment. Likewise the answer would be different for someone living in an apartment looking to live in their own home vs. someone who already has a primary residence. Or someone who is weighted down with lots of debt and barely able to handle all the minimum monthly payments may benefit more from getting rid of some of that debt first as opposed to someone who just has one credit card balance and has no trouble handling the monthly minimum +extra and wants to jump in on their first sound investment. 

So I would recommend you take some time and balance your checkbooks and evaluate your budgets and figure out what scenario is best for you with this money that is coming in. And ask more questions as they come up while you are going through this exercise. 

Good luck! And I look forward to seeing you around the forums. Have a great day. :-)

So I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom to five kids 6 and under. In order to make time for ANYTHING that isn't directly related to taking care of those 5 kids I have to keep a very strict morning ritual. 

Every morning I wake up at 4 am, I go through my Morning Miracle routine and then I sit down and work on my office and my business until the kids wake up. Then I switch into mom mode and go through my day with the kids, and then at night we all settle down together at go to sleep at 9 pm. I know the oldest especially would love to stay up later, but I need to be asleep by then so that I can again wake up at 4 am the next morning ready to do it all over again.  I've been doing this for about 6 months now. 

I was inspired to attempt this after listening to BP podcast 157 with Hal Elrod about The Miracle Morning. After I heard it I went out and got the audiobook and began waking up a little earlier than the kids to start playing around with The Miracle Morning and listen to the audiobook. I slowly developed a good routine for myself which I continue to alter as I hit my goals and set new ones. It hasn't always been easy (or fun) but slowly I have come to enjoy waking up at 4 am. I find myself frustrated on mornings when I sleep in, or if I get sick and make myself take a day or two off, and I even wish it were possible for me to wake up even earlier to get more done (but I need to get enough sleep or else I'm useless as a mom once I crash). 

My business ritual starts with checking all my accounts to make sure our finances are on track, then heading over to BP to socialize a bit on the forums, and then taking a couple minutes to make sure the family and business organization is caught up. We use Evernote to keep track of all our paperwork and important files so I make sure to stay on top of it daily, so that it doesn't ever get overwhelming. After that I start working on actionable steps towards completing my next goals, whatever they may be at the time. 

What keeps me fueled and on track is my children. Everything I do, every goal I set is first: so that my children can live a wonderful life full of travel and adventure and being able to experience and see everything they desire, second: so that they can learn how to be successful and live in the real world, so that they aren't floundering in their young adulthood like I was, third: so that after they have everything they need and want, there is plenty left over for my husband and I to have our dreams fulfilled, and fourth: after all that to have the means to help others who are less fortunate than us, and to empower them to be able to rise up and make a wonderful life for themselves as well. 

Visualizing all those things in detail on a daily basis keeps me going even when I feel too tired to go another day. Closing my eyes and seeing my future gives me the energy to finish the next task, because the only way to get to that future in my mind is to keep plugging away at today and taking those steps to get there. 

Hope that helps give you some ideas for your own morning routine! Have a great weekend. :-)

Hey there! I live in Florida. How's it going? What kind of deal are you looking to do? What are you looking for in a business partner?

I believe in scheduling in time to just relax and catch up on rest regularly. 5-6 days I week I wake up at 4 and go to bed at 9:30 and during that time I focus on business until the kids are up and then I'm a full time mom for the rest of the day. If I didn't take that day or two off then I would hit the wall regularly, but by scheduling it in I can make sure I do light house keeping or scheduled outings with the kids while resting and then things don't just hit to a dead stop (when they collide with that wall) and I have to start back up once I'm recovered. 

As @Anthony Gayden, I also eat a mostly whole foods diet. I cook from scratch most of the time to feed my monstrous family with 5 young kids. I have noticed that sugar has a large impact not only on attitude, but also on energy levels. If I binge on sugar (my largest vice sadly) then I wake up feeling exhausted and not rested. Sugar hangover I call it. Keeping it out of the house and out of our diets means that everyone is less cranky and more able to stay on top of tasks. 

Hmm. That's a toughie. It really boils down to what you think would be best for you. Yes, it is much more expensive in Anchorage (I lived in Alaska for 4 years until less than a year ago), but people are used to that up there and if the place you have available is quality with good, responsible property management you should have no trouble keeping your unit rented. My experience with rentals in Alaska was that the housing was typically substandard but you still had the very high rents. If you were providing clean, standard housing with competitive rates then you should be all set!  

That's my 2 cents. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!! :-)

That really depends on your comfort level. Many houses are worth investing in if the price is right. It will come down to whether the numbers work, and whether you feel comfortable taking on a property that requires the extensive rehab that an unsafe house will have. 

Have a great week! :-)

I'm not exactly sure about light rehab, I suppose it depends on what kind of rehab. Are you improving the common areas? Will there be a higher curb appeal? Other ways to increase value would be to find places to cut or lower expenses (laying off bad maintenance or property management or renegotiating cable or landscaping services lower or even taking water or other expenses and making the tenant pay for them if that's common in your area) and finding ways to add income besides raising rent (putting in vending machines or coin laundry, storage units or parking spots). If your net income is higher that will raise the appraised value of the property. 

Hope you're enjoying your weekend. Have a great day!
~Natalia

@Karen Sanders that's good info to know about the 35k max for repairs. Thanks!

As far as your rebate, in what form is it coming in? Is it a credit on your account, a tax credit, or maybe cash? I wouldn't think the rebates have to go towards the rehab fund, but don't quote me on that.