All Forum Posts by: Scott Mac

Hi Ryan,

A business plan is probably overkill for a lot of people.

"Goals, Mission statement, a strategy and specific outline" those are framework items.

Instead of trying to get a formal written document together for this, pretend you had $200,000 cash in the bank and wanted to use it as minimally as possible to make ONE deal in the next 2 years.

Then ask yourself can you verbalize:

1.  what you want to do, specifically. (for example, flip a down and out house in a marginal part of your town, or buy a turn-key in Moonshineville Alaska, etc...) You should have a concrete idea of what you want to do with the money.
2. What price point do you want to buy, and what numbers do you want to get on the deal.
3. How you are going to find a property that meets your qualification, and is  finding one that meets your criteria going to be a long shot or easy pickings. (how much will this cost, if it costs at all)
4. Who will you need to help you. A contractor, an investors realtor, etc...
5. What are YOUR weak points that you need to shore up before RISKING the money on a purchase. (What do you need to learn, what do you need to do in your personal life, what do you need to buy).
6. What are the holes in your plan. (what do you need to get, or who do you need to hire to reduce the risk that this will fail).

Once you know those things, maybe make a sample deal and print it out and use that to TALK TO possible interested partners. 

Those are my thoughts on this.

Good Luck!

Hi Kurt,

I understand your feelings on this 100%.

I know this man who went from rags to unbelievable riches, and has similar feelings about many things.

Here is how he handles it. Rather than try to fight the way things work (everything has downsides and you can't protect people from every possible harm that may come there way), use "the system" to make a profit for yourself, and give back where you feel it will do the most good (and there is never enough, there never will be).

For instance, in this case it might mean making as much as you possibly can (in an ethical manner) and steering a percentage of those profits into something that helps what you feel about.

Now you might say that's sideways logic, but really, you can't stop the way things work (they work that way for a reason that generally involves the greater good in some way, such as preventing slums) and those who would benefit from the percentage donation (even if it's not tax deductible, such as a homeless shelter) would never get that money if you had not made a profit. The more you make the more you can give back.

So when you really look at it this way, because you can make a profit and the can not (for many reasons) doing your best to make the most you can (ethically) accomplishes the greatest good for the greatest many.

It's called being able to give back (not everyone can), and doing that is a good thing for everyone.

Just my thoughts on this.

Scott...

Hi James,

Since it is personal, you could decide by "Math" or by "Feel" on this one.

By Math.  You could easily figure out how much extra loan you would qualify for, based on the payments not being there, and the increase of your credit score/lower interest rate (if applicable) if paid off. (Is that important to you?)

By Feel.  Extinguishing debt may make you feel free. Although you will replace it with other debt. (Is that important to you?)

Then if you decide to extinguish it early, the question then becomes how fast do you want to pay it off. Ripping off a Band-Aid or pouring molasses.

For instance if you wanted to do it fast, you might want to look into a weekend temporary job from a temporary service and steer all of the extra money into that debt.

 Just my thoughts,

Good Luck!

Hi Chris,

First, they will need food and water while they are in there.

Second, if you have an emergency contact for the resident, call that them and say there are cats in there can they come take care of them until the resident can reclaim them.

Third, (fallback) for Highland Park = https://www.nokillnetwork.org/d/New-Jersey/Cattitude

Or they could be yours.

Pets are tenants too, they are in the lease.

But the responsible thing to do (if the resident is not in jail or simply missing) would be to discuss the cat concerns with the residents before the lockout, and to ask them to please make sure the cats are not inside when this happens.  

Scott...

Hi Jodi,

You might want to try calling an exterminator who is not on the bill and paying him to meet you there and look it over with you. 

Tell him it has a past history of this type of pest, and you are looking for a current assessment and a quote.

I know if they are there, they can get on your clothes (hide in the seams), and then end up in your car, and then in your own home. Talk to the exterminator about that too.

If they find bedbugs in a unit, they will probably recommend de-bugging every unit with a touching wall, ceiling or floor.

Good Luck!

Hi Marie,

Sell it to a family member, or a group of family members.

That's my thought.

Good Luck!

Hi Michael,

You could draw up a scope of work to let contractors bid from.

List things as specific as you can and assume what's not specific will be done their way, and that there will be mistakes that need correction.

Such as: 

• Demo kitchen to include X, contractor to provide dumpster and haul away.
• Install Kitchen Cabinets - Merillat xxxx-xxx color xxxxx, Contractor to provide (or will be provided at job site)
• Install kitchen cabinet pulls brand X, model Y  at marked spots on drawers and doors. Contractor to provide (or will be provided at job site)
• etc...

The more specific you can be the closer they will be able to get it to what you want.

If it's not on the bid they won't do it for the price they quote. So be ready for that.

Also sometimes they find things wrong once they open things up, that will costs extra to fix too.

Good Luck!

Hi John,

Maybe talk to your Attorney about having the utilities put in your name and then turned off, and having an electrician physical cut the electric feed line from the power pole and the home and take the wire.

It may be legal in your area to do this. It's not in all areas.

So talk to an attorney before doing anything like this, you don't want to break any laws or incur any civil or criminal liability. You don't want to cut off electrical service to someone with an iron lung or anything like that.

Good Luck!

Hi Bob,

You might want to check with an attorney and see if co-mingling the books for the LLC's will have any effect on the legal protection of the LLC.

Good Luck!

Hi David,

As far as timing goes, you might want to find out when the cheapest labor season is to replace it.

Then when you decide to do it, you can get the best price.

Just my thoughts on this.

Good Luck!