All Forum Posts by: Stefan D.

Student loan debt is out of control.  So do we blame the individuals choosing over priced degrees, or is this a public policy problem?  Usually the answer depends on if you're red or blue - but I'd say there's definitely a bit of both going on.  Most of the people on this forum have their sh*t together enough to choose a good degree (or no degree) and manage their finances.  If you have a kid/nephew/friend about to pay too much for a degree you can and should talk them out of it.

But at the same time, public policy changes are important.  One obvious problem is that it's impossible to get rid of student loan debt, even in bankruptcy.  If we changed that so that schools and lenders lost money when ex-students go bankrupt then schools would end up offering less overpriced/worthless degrees to 17 and 18 year olds who often don't know enough to make a good decision.

@Kate Hopkins Thanks! I ended up doing the BRRRR in Pittsburgh. KC seems like a great place to invest though, maybe I will at some point down the road.

Well, I've completed my first long distance BRRRR. And while I hate to be self congratulatory, it was a success. Not only do I have a nice free house in a decent area, I'll be able to pull an extra 8k out of the deal if I want to. I guess the one weakness of this deal is that my forecasted cashflow isn't wonderful, it doesn't hit the 1% rule. I suppose I focused too much on being able to get my money out of the deal. Oh well, I'll try to do better next time.

I figured I'd post this update since there was some concern for how risky this was - and all your concern did make me tread a little more carefully, (and work extra hard to prove you wrong :) ).  So, I do want to offer a sincere thanks for your words of caution. 

@Mike D'Arrigo @Jonathan Oh @Nicholas Parish

Hey BP Posters -

Just wanted to let everyone know what I ended up doing. I went against the majority of you suggested and did upgrade the kitchen. I wasn't worried about finding renters, my PM thought it was just fine for the B- area, however I wanted the house to appraise well when I refinanced. (This is a BRRRR deal)

I put in backsplash, painted the walls, new blinds, new laminate floor and hardware.  I did NOT box in the vent, touch the cabinets (besides hardware) or counter tops.

The house did appraise well, and my first BRRRR was a success! Of course, I'll never know if the upgraded kitchen is what lead to the high appraisal, but that's the game we play with REI. Thank you all who contributed to this!

@Marcony Simoes I recently called about a dozen banks for this kind of product, since I needed something with a seasoning period shorter than 6 months for a refi. Finance of America had the best product, and works with LLC's. If they aren't a good fit and you want a list of other banks that had similar products PM me

@Ali Groat - Chris from West Hills Roofing, PM me if you want his cell. But also, you might want to check out Thumbtack, I got 3 bids the day I posted, and it was the Friday before Labor Day

@Sara C. @Linda S.  Great ideas, thanks!

@Syed H.  You hit on an important point: the appraisal.  That's the main reason I would try to spruce up the kitchen

@Keith A. Thanks Keith, unfortunately there's not much room for a dishwasher

Thanks everybody - that's pretty unanimous, don't do much besides paint, hardware and the vent (that I hadn't even thought to do anything about, good eye @Scott Mac)