All Forum Posts by: Paul Smythe

@Bob H. What type of railings would you recommend?

@Will Fraser is there a cedar "wrap" I can buy for the beams, or do I have to buy individual cedar planks? Not something I've done before.

I would love to get the BP Community's opinion on how to spruce up the porch area of a duplex of mine. I am far from an expert and figured the community would be better than me at coming up with ideas. I'll add a picture below.

Any ideas would be welcome. I was wondering about somehow updating the three beams to look nicer. Also maybe changing the vinyl cover on the horizontal support beam. I don't think I'll be adding shutters to these windows, though my plan is to add them to other windows on the front (not pictured here). Maybe staining the concrete. Front porch railings seem unnecessary, but maybe they'd help?

I have enough trouble with personal investments that are two hours away. I can't imagine trying to invest in another country with a 15-hour time difference.

Each investor is unique, and maybe it's right for you, but it seems like there's a lot more opportunities for things to go wrong without you being there to address. Maybe if you can build a really good team, but it just seems risky.

Finally, the perfect topic for me!

My bachelor's is in Real Estate (University of South Carolina). It was part of the finance arm of the business school. It was extremely useful and taught me quite a lot (it extended past just the financial aspect). My program (and I'd assume other similar programs) was specifically tailored to the commercial side of real estate. The only "residential" we touched was multifamily, but those are still considered commercial investments.

What I would say is, if you want a career on the commercial side of real estate, obviously it's going to give you a great start. If you just want to be an individual investor buying primarily residential properties, I don't think you need a degree. There will definitely be some overlap between what you learn in school and your personal investments, but you won't be at a disadvantage in your personal investments if you don't have the degree.

To me, if you (1) definitely want to be in real estate and (2) need to build a career for financial stability, it makes a lot of sense.

Happy to answer any questions.

I've got what seems like a mostly accounting/tax question for the BP community. When doing "make-ready" work on a unit between renters, is it reasonable/allowed to just lump it all in as a capital expenditure, or does it typically count as regular maintenance (or is it somewhere in the middle depending on the work performed)?

To me this question also extends to how it should look from a P&L perspective. Is it a capital expenditure or a regular maintenance item?

Thoughts?

@Arn Cenedella props for getting to where you are. Why not look at notes? Might give you the passive returns you're looking for.

EDIT: Didn't think about the tax angle, which might be an issue with the notes.

Greenville is a good city, can't say you'll be disappointed if you invest here. That said, Seattle is about as long distance as you can get from Greenville. Is there a reason you're looking so far away?

I'll put in a good word for Andrew Howard with KW. He's an investor himself, also has a lending background, so very well-rounded.

https://andrew-howard.kw.com/

@Ian Brower Check out the Upstate CREIA website. They have the upcoming meeting schedule on the home page, which I believe has information on how to register.