All Forum Posts by: Steven Lacy

Its a basic loc with a 7.25% APR...

I have a line of credit and would like to know if it is smart to use this line of credit for a down payment on my first investment property?

@K. Marie Poe What everyone is saying is correct to some point. All I will tell you from being an experienced licensed plumbing contractor is process of elimination. 1st turn off the angle stop (valve to the toilet). 2nd disconnect the supply line from the toilet tank only leaving the connection on the valve. 3rd go get a pot (deep) and position the end of the supply line that you disconnected from the toilet tank and put the end into the pot (your going to have to hold it there by hand). Last turn on the toilet angle stop while supply line is pointed into the pot and let it fill, if you get hot water then you have a crossed line and you will have to remedy the problem. 

     It works much better than flushing the toilet over and over again until you get hot water in the tank. Also make sure your cold water on your Lav (sink in the bathroom) is cold and not hot ( hot is on the left and cold on the right). 

     If the water is coming into the toilet tank is cold and the water heater is still doing the same crackling noise, you should check the water heater, people don't know but you as a homeowner are suppose to drain and flush your tanked (not tankless) water heater every 6 months.

    Hope this helps!

@Jay Hinrichs,

Thank you for your reply and I agree with you about investing in the Bay Area. The problem I have is, I don't have enough money to invest in the Bay Area. I have family in Phoenix and from what I can see (loopnet.com) I can afford (later this year) a 4-plex there. I would like your opinion....should I go ahead and invest in Phoenix to get my portfolio started or wait (a year or two) to invest in the Bay Area? I've been told properties will be going down again, in the next couple years which makes me think I will be able to buy at that time. Thoughts?

Thank you everyone for your input, I found it very useful.

   Hello, I'm a 38 year old new construction plumber who has just moved back to CA from Hawaii. I lost my house in '08 and have started completely over. I live in Santa Rosa CA. and have almost paid all of my debt off.  I feel that I need to invest in property this year (2015) so that I don't get killed with taxes. I have been told by a few people to buy a house first and then work on investment property later on in life. 

    Also, I am interested in buying property in the Phoenix area. The reason why is that multifamily properties in Phoenix are much more affordable than here in the Bay Area  I have a brother-in-law who lives there and he can look at properties on my behalf.

I would like to know what the BP family has to say about 1) buying a house first and investing in property later on and 2) buying an investment property (i.e., multi family unit) in the Phoenix area.  

Any and all input would be appreciated.  Thank you!

Thank you for that Jeff, I will think on that and figure out what I have to offer for there time. That is a very good point and I thank you for the reply.

Hello, My name is Steven Lacy and I'm new to the BP forum. I've been listening to the podcasts for some time now and from what I'm gathering is that I need to get a good mentor to learn from. I'm a 38 year old New Construction Plumber (24yrs) and I live in Santa Rosa Ca. I have a mentor in mind that I've only met once but we have the same mutual acquaintances  for the past 25yrs. I have a wife and two children (7 yrs and 1 yr old) and I am the only one working. 

My question to my Bigger Pockets family is what are some of the things I should do before I go and talk to this person. I am as green as they come when it comes to real estate (except for the BP podcasts) so I'm not sure where to begin. I have a short term plan (10 yr) but I haven't come up with a long term plan.

I know real estate is where I belong (even though my whole life I was told to stay away from owning property), I've been around it my entire career. I wasn't ready to get into real estate at that time in my life because I didn't know what I wanted. I know what I want, I just don't know how to get it. The main thing I would like to do is provide for my family and spend more time with them. I've always thought flipping was awesome because thats what I have been around due to my trade but lately I've been thinking about buying and holding. 

This is where I will start, all the podcasts I've listen to have told me to get on the forum and type in my questions and there will be people to answer them for me. Sooooooo, these are my questions and I hope YOU....my BP family can help me out, point me in the right direction, get me started on the right path....

Thank You very much, everyone!

Here's  to a great forum and many more questions.