All Forum Posts by: Michael Hassell

Looks great!  

Just FYI that I recently found out, the black mastic for those 50's and 60's era vinyl tiles often have small amounts of asbestos...definitely stuff that calls for respiratory protection at the least.

Would love to hear about the numbers as well as the neighborhood.

Nice renovation! :)

I think it's important to understand the cyclical nature of real estate. I recall reading about a guy in maybe 2007 who was doing hundreds of rehabs fro banks via their REO departments. The guys thing was to maximize the economies of scale and keep the pipeline full. He met this by buying the same appliances for every house, doing the same paint color, everything...in this way he always had stock ready and he could estimate jobs with relative ease. Through the mid 2000's everything climbed, he couldn't go wrong, it almost always appeared that his "remodels" were profitable...almost everything proved profitable....until it didn't. Not to argue that a profitable rehab business is a bad plan, but it is one where you have to really understand and watch the market. Building sidelines in addition to the rehabbing is critical for long term success. Of course, if this guy banked 50% of everything he made it may not have mattered what the market did.

The other thing is that real estate is such a local game.  It's possible to invest in multiple markets, even desirable from a diversification standpoint, but taking it nationwide would require an experienced and nimble crew for sure...and global would be a whole different ballgame.  The US market is quite distinct from most of the rest of the world.  Russians still live in socialist style apartments, the Japanese regard a rehabbed house as a "used house".  Those are just buyers perspectives.  Heck, I used to have trouble getting the drywall guy to show up on time and sober...and you want to run a crew across the country or across the world...has to be an easier way to make a living.  :)

There have always been people who don't pay their bills and won't clean up their properties...heck, this fact has produced a couple of great deals for me in the past!  That has NOTHING to do with making up new search and seizure regulations and tracking who is living where.  Such an ordinance is bad for landlords certainly, but that pales in importance to the overriding free society issue s this brings up.

WRONG WRONG WRONG on so many levels!

And rest assured that if this passes in Lakeland the rest of the po-dunk little cities in Polk will jump right on this.

My local REIA (PCREIA) just sent out an email detailing significant and onerous proposed regulations for landlords. I can't recall ever seeing such onerous requirements for rentals. I'm wondering if anyone else has, and then how best to fight this. #2, the "administrative search warrant" actually sounds unconstitutional...can they even do such a thing?

Here are just a few items you will see in the draft proposal of the ordinance and resolution:

1) They will "require that we provide the city with a list of the names of all tenants in each unit"

2) They will "require that the owner agrees to allow inspection of the interior and exterior of the unit at any reasonable time..." and they can even enter your property with something called "an administrative search warrant"...what the heck is an administrative search warrant? Is code enforcement now going to be allowed to create a search warrant and enter any property they want?

3) They require that the owner or designated property manager be available and can be contacted 24 hrs per day, 7 days per week regarding the rental unit

4) They can deny issuance of or revoke your registration application so that you cannot rent your property

5) The fee for one unit starts at $100 per unit per year and can go up to $2000 per unit if you ever have code citations...please see the fee schedule.....  

http://files.constantcontact.com/55290476001/e40f2...

Thoughts?  Advice?

Id recommend you be on speaking terms with several and have a couple in mind that will like your deal (pre approval would be great).  ive made the mistake of thinking I had funding only to have my single hard money guy waffle....choices and options are part of what makes RE investing fun....so build relationships and keep your options open.

I would urge you to get the degree (and more importantly the knowledge that should come with it).  

Do you know if you qualify for financial aid?  Find our by applying at

https://fafsa.ed.gov/

Here is my biggest concern....in this day and age there is NO NEED to take on significant student debt.  Student loans are the modern Siren call...and they can dash your financial future before you start.  There are other ways...find one of them.

The simplest is to start at the website above, see what if anything you qualify for.  That link is the Government website where just about everyone begins their financial aid / college journey.  A full Pell grant (which is what you are hoping for...sort of) will pay up to $5600/year and it never needs to be repaid...it a grant.  That amount is just about enough money for many state degree programs and it is definitely enough to nearly cover the full cost of some reputable online programs like this one:

http://www.wgu.edu/degrees_and_programs  (I have my MBA from there)

WGU has a cool model.  you pay for access over a period of time.  For $2500 you get 6 months...you can complete as many courses as you want/can in that period.  So if a class is easy for you, you can breeze through in a few weeks, if it's more difficult, you can take your time.  A full year is only $5000 and that includes all books and study material.  

Your local Community College is another great place to start...and is likely very affordable.  If they are not a good bargain, you might consider an out of state affordable option.  New Mexico for example has some incredibly cheap community colleges and universities.  NMJC for example will take federal financial aid and 12-15 credit hours (that's full time) only runs about $1200/semester.  

http://www.nmjc.edu/tuitionandfees/

NMJC is a bargain even if you pay out of pocket.

I can actually talk about this all day, alternative higher education is my hobby.  PM me if you like, I'd be happy to discuss it with you.

Remember these two things.....

TAKE ON NO SIGNIFICANT DEBT (really, take on NO debt...there is no need)

Choose a REGIONALLY accredited college (accept no other accreditation) All of your state schools, Harvard, Yale.....those guys are all Regionally accredited.

Inheritance

Seriously, I think the most important thing is an adequate education then take the leap.  Action is the most efficient way into real estate (but don't be stupid).  A mentor who has done some deals can be a tremendous asset, finding one can be tough.  Once your educated well in the fundamentals (like reading everything you can here on BP), set out to get some advice (also available here on BP).  

I want to find part 2!