All Forum Posts by: Ross Bowman

The future of bitcoin is in LENDING and decentralized finance.

Example: using platforms like BlockFi, you can literally borrow USD against the BTC you hold, or lend your BTC to other people in a P2P way. You can also earn very competitive interest on crypto, which I'm experimenting with now (8.6% APY on USDC, for example).

While this is still early, and there are some logistics to work out, I'm sure any real estate investor will understand how disruptive this truly is.

My original plan for this bull run was to take profits closer to the top of the cycle, but things like this make me question that. Why not just hold indefinitely and borrow against it?

Imagine mortgages and lines of credit without traditional fiat banks. It's huge.

3 Votes

Originally posted by @Dave Foster:

@Salvatore Lentini, Love that - "just a tool, not a rule"... I'm gonna borrow it!!! @Ross Bowman, The whole power of the 1031 is the compounding effect of using deferred tax dollars to purchase more real estate producing more gain and tax letting you use the tax to buy more..... You get it.

For you the numbers aren't so great. BTW - $1500 for an exchange like you're envisioning is way high above norm. The national average is around $850. But that aside you're still only talking about $3K of savings. And while I'm never a fan of taxes, this is a small enough amount that you're not going to really hurt. yourself letting this one go - especially if you don't want to buy back in now.

If the tax was as much as a big chunk of a down payment my answer would be very different.

Or as I've been known to say - no one ever went broke paying tax on profit. It just feels like it!

Really appreciate the insight Dave - thank you sir! Also, did not realize how expensive the fee I was looking at was. I guess I'll have to shop around different QIs for when I actually plan to do one with a bigger tax burden.

You are a QI, right? I know this isn't the "self promotion" section of the forum but I assume its okay since I'm the one asking!

1 Vote

I'm selling a property and I'll only owe approximately $4k in taxes on it.

I spoke to a QI who quoted me around $1500 to do a 1031.

I generally try to *legally* avoid giving the government tax money, whenever I can avoid it.

But I'm actually not crazy about buying anything right now or pressuring myself to pick up a so-so deal. Our market is very hot and margins are thin here. I could try and find something off market, but I'm not full time in RE yet, so it's 50/50 I'd even find one in time. I still have a full time W2 job, and I'm not sure I want to box myself in.

Even though paying taxes unnecessarily is almost sacrilege in real estate, is it bad if I just eat the tax? I'd still be in the green. This was my first property and really just a learning experience.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Matt R.:

Originally posted by @Ross Bowman:

I love Bitcoin. I also love investing in real estate.

Would some type of Bitcoin Q&A be good for the investor community on here? I think we're too often "real estate vs X". In reality, all different types of investments are good.

There is a ton of misinformation about Bitcoin here, both on the forum and published in the biggerpockets blog itself. There's also a lot of hostility and dismissive attitudes about it; just like there was about the internet when it was first invented. And now, here we are!

To clarify - I'm not painting myself as a Bitcoin expert. I've been in the space since 2014, and my day job involved it at one point, but I'm no expert. The learning never stops in Bitcoin.

But some kind of community Q&A might be cool - anyone can ask, and anyone can answer. I'm sure I'm not the only bitcoiner here, as bitcoin is very analogous to digital real estate, so it's the same type of investor profile.

What do you guys think?

I think there needs to be some info on how to bank with bitcoin. Use bitcoin loans to buy RE and refi as to avoid tax hits. Loans are not taxable so one could get a loan on the BTC , buy RE outright, then refi with regular bank. This could be the move eventually for some. It is likely still too early for most on this but once btc hits 100k this could be very popular move.

Totally agree man. The future of BTC is truly lending and borrowing. While it already exists, its just very new and the rates aren't great yet.

But I think once RE people realize you can actually lend your BTC and borrow against your own BTC, without a bank, it's going to be a game changer for some.

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Jack Medford:

I've been in Bitcoin since 2015. I initially bought into the "revolutionary tech" narrative, but I'm starting to sour on the community. If you're active on Twitter you'll probably be familiar with the HaVe FuN sTaYiNg PoOr crowd. The speculators and influence peddlers seem to have taken over the space.

I do still own Bitcoin because I'm playing with house money at this point. (Cashed out in 2017 before the burst. Attempting the same this bull run.)

That said, even if Bitcoin pops and the price begins to fall below previous support levels I expect the community to keep it afloat. It has created a religious-like following and some of the smartest techies in Silicon Valley are convinced of its long-term viability.

My final thoughts... Bitcoin (and crypto in general) need a crash similar to the dot com era. Shake out the speculators and let the good projects survive while the ****** ones fall away. Then the space can build back up from the ashes, much like the era that followed the dot com crash.

Similar to you, I don't consider myself an expert. These are just the ramblings of an amateur stock/crypto investor. Happy to be proven wrong and see BTC rise to $200k+.

Totally understand that. One point I'll make, is that the twitter crowd is dramatically different than where the real bitcoiners are. The chatter is way more intelligent on the Bitcoin Talk forums or even the Reddit.

I do think we'll see a surge like the one you mentioned, and then it will "crash/die" back to the new level.

As you and I both know, bitcoin does the same thing every four years. It's way more predictable than people think, as it's baked into the protocol.

I def think we need a "purge" of all the altcoins and shilling out there. There's a lot of pump-and-dump schemes and hype/speculation.

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Jason Merchey:

I do not know that dollar cost averaging reduces one's basis below market value. By definition if you buy a publicly traded asset like cryptocurrency, you are buying for market value.

It might not be tulips, which were a hard asset that was speculated on until it reached a frenzy, but bitcoin is a non-hard asset that is a very iffy "investment". I would say it is NOTHING like real estate

Never invested in crypto directly yet. It's just too new and unstable and unpredictable I think. I do invest in ETFs like BLOK and LEGR because it's a way to put some money toward companies that are "crypto-adjacent" but not actually speculating on the market for the [whatever you can call cryptocurrency].

I'm all for disruptive stuff, so maybe there should be a segment of BP dedicated to cryptocurrency. But isn't there already enough of a craze going on in stuff like that and with the whole Robin Hood mentality that we should have little interest in encouraging bright-eyed and busy-tailed amateurs from speculating on such stuff?

Real estate is part of the mentality that can be described as ideally a way to potentially -- with skill and luck and time -- get rich slowly. S L O W L Y.

I wouldn't put bitcoin in the category of robinhood speculators.

It only seems that way if one is unfamiliar with it. The more you know about it, the more you realize - "wow, this thing actually makes sense."

The internet seemed crazy when it first came out - but for those who took time to learn it, rather than dismiss and ignore, the rewards were pretty significant.

I think one challenge is that there's so many seasoned investors on BP, and the more seasoned one is, the harder it is to be open minded about new and disruptive things (ex: Warren Buffet passing on Amazon because it didn't fit his paradigm).

That said, crypto has been around for like 20 years. Bitcoin is 10 years old. It's not really new and it isn't going away.

1 Vote

How does someone buy bitcoin below market price?

A. dollar cost averaging

How does someone improve a bitcoin so that it is more valuable to the next buyer?

A. good point - there's no rehab analogy here, that I know of

Are there numerous ways to finance bitcoin purchases?

A. Yes

Can you take depreciation expenses for holding bitcoin?

A. No

I'm not against people discussing bitcoin, but bitcoin is to real estate about the same as real estate is to gold, stocks, bonds, or tulip bulbs.

I don't really want to get tangled up here majoring in the minors, but I wasn't trying to say it's *entirely* similar to real estate. Maybe digital land would be a better analog.

It ain't no tulips though, with all due respect.

1 Vote

I love Bitcoin. I also love investing in real estate.

6 Votes

Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

I'm surprised there's not a category for self storage. In my opinion, it's as lucrative as mobile home parks and easier to come by.

I would love to connect with others that are investing in self storage facilities.

Not yet but I'd love to. It's on my list, as it really fits my investor profile.

I love real estate, but kinda hate houses.

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Colin Wyatt:

Originally posted by @Adam Christopher Zaleski:

I've noticed more "gurus" predicting a crash. No offense, but Josh has been predicting a housing crash since 2015. In almost all of his podcasts in 2015, he talked about the housing market to feel "a little top heavy". His comments are more specific to Denver. After a quick search, Denver housing went up 58% from 2015 to 2019.

I ignore the noise and buy when the numbers make sense. If there is a market correction, I welcome the opportunity to buy rental #4 at a discount.

You know the old saying, the ___________ (insert "stock market", "media", "gurus") have predicted 9 of the last 5 recessions. Am I having a harder time finding a deal than a year ago? I'm not rooting for depreciation, but if I buy right, I'll still build wealth in today's market.

Totally agree - money can be made in any market.

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Ross Bowman

Ross Bowman has started 20 posts and replied 108 times.

Post: Bitcoin

Post: I don't really want to 1031. Am I wrong?

Post: I don't really want to 1031. Am I wrong?

Post: Possibly Unpopular Opinion - BP needs a Bitcoin Q&A

Post: Possibly Unpopular Opinion - BP needs a Bitcoin Q&A

Post: Possibly Unpopular Opinion - BP needs a Bitcoin Q&A

Post: Possibly Unpopular Opinion - BP needs a Bitcoin Q&A

Post: Possibly Unpopular Opinion - BP needs a Bitcoin Q&A

Post: Are you investing in self storage?

Post: Peak of the market: gurus everywhere