All Forum Posts by: Steve Richardson

We are preparing for a cash out refi. 3 of our majors (furnace,a/c, hot water heater) are all beyond their life expectancy, however, they are all currently functioning. Should we go ahead and replace them before the refi to add value or should we just let them run until they die? If we opt to replace them all I was thinking about just financing the purchase and paying it off over a longer time period. This should also reduce the likelihood of getting an emergency call from a tenant in the near future. The other part of me wants to use the items until they die and then replace them. All thoughts are greatly appreciated!

(Update: furnace and a/c are from 1993 or 1998. It’s difficult to make out)

I have been fortunate enough to find two mentors whom each provide a wealth of information to guide me as I embark on my REI journey. One of them had a scheduled move out for this evening with new tenants scheduled to move in on Saturday. Overall, the place was left in decent condition, but many of the rooms need paint. He began painting with the same color paint (so we thought) and he was able to get quite a bit finished. As the paint began to dry he realized that it wasn't the correct color at all! The local hardware store added the amount of die needed for a quart as opposed to a gallon.

With his work schedule tomorrow he has very little time to work on the project. However, I work a split shift and I let him know he didn't need to worry and I will come over tomorrow morning and help paint over the areas that were painted today so it all matches. I could tell by the look on his face that it was a HUGE relief! 

I share this to say, when starting out sometimes it can be difficult to find a mentor who is willing to take the time to invest in you. When we first met we had a brief lunch and he gave me a book (Set for Life; Scott Trench). I promptly read the book and afterwards reached out to him to talk about the book AND to show I was serious. Since then he has continued to teach me about REI. When he encountered the paint disaster today, I found it as a great opportunity to give back to someone who has done so much to help me when I first got started. I didn't ask to be compensated, and even if he tries to pay me tomorrow I will humbly reject his offer.

Based on my experience I think that 1) there are many great mentors who are willing to help IF you show them that their time spent with you is an investment, not a waste of time. If someone spends "X" amount of time answering your questions and then you do nothing with the information, it may seem like a slap in the face to them. So yeah, be actionable.  2) find ways of giving back. I happen to enjoy painting so I may be slightly more excited about painting tomorrow than he is! :)  I imagine in every city, and every town, there is a great mentor who is willing to help each of us. Kicking off those relationships with dedication and by adding value seems to make things flow smoothly. 

@Jaron Walling I've used The Window Source before. I want to say I paid $1600 for 3 double hung and 1 slider (opt'd for a slider to replace the original casement window). Their windows are decent quality for a rental. I will add, the installation time was less than ideal. It took 2 complete days to install 4 windows. I'm sure each installer is different though. 

@Karen Lipa I would simply let them know their application has been denied and leave it at that.

Based on what you’ve shared, you probably aren’t the only one who has denied their application. He/She will continue to apply until they find a desperate landlord who is willing to make a costly mistake 😉

@Anne Smith if a 3 day response was promised, they should get an answer by that 3rd day regardless of what is decided. That has more to do with business integrity

I am closing on a SFR (as a primary residence) next week and have another scheduled to close in February. I would like to know if anyone has been able to use an 80/10/10 for an investment property. This would be ideal for the second property and would allow me to keep a bit more in reserve as well as complete some tasks at the first property. Also, the 2nd property is owned free & clear, so is it possible that the owner (if willing) could provide the other 10%? Open to advice and other strategies that I can use for the second property.

@Mikhail Katz I drove by and took a look at those some time ago. It's not a bad area at all. In fact, many people who move to the Washington Twp school district do it just for the schools (they are all IB schools).  That being said, most people who move to the area will have children. A one bed one bath isn't a good option for most people who have children. 

I also looked at a house not far from there. If you look on Google maps you see how the ground is dug up all the way down the street? I think that is from when they were running the city sewer lines. "If" that property isn't already hooked up to city sewer there is a really good chance that they will force you to tie in to it. That can get costly pretty quick. 

Again, it's been awhile so I can't remember all of the exact reasons that I lost interest in that property, but the numbers didn't make sense for me.

I am in the process of purchasing a home (conv. 30yr) and have met with one lender thus far. I notice that it is frequently recommended to shop around to get the best rate possible.  I realize that may make the most sense financially, but here are a few thoughts that are directly impacting my decisions going forward. 

1) the individual I recently met with is someone that I have known professionally for about 4 years now. I know him well enough to know that he is a pretty straight forward person and isn't afraid to lay out all the details and options available. I've even known him to tell someone that there are better options with other companies. 

2) the last time my wife and I went through this process we had to wait 5-6 days for our pre-approval. Not only that, but the guy who did it refused to send us a pre-approval letter until we found a specific property and were ready to make a bid (I'm not sure if this is industry standard or not, as I am new to REI). On one property the delay in waiting for a letter from him may have been why we didn't get it. The other lender (guy I've known for years) met with us and we were in and out of his office in less than an hour with a hard copy pre-approval letter.

3)  I think it is important to build a circle of people who we know well,  who work efficiently, and who we trust. 

So, experienced investors, would you recommend that I still visit other lenders or brokers in attempt to find better rates? or should I prioritize continuing to build off the relationship that we have already been nurturing for the last few years? I do understand that I may be possibly leaving some money on the table, but will that amount be trivial in comparison to having a long term business partner?

You can’t always make decisions based on location here. For example, on Sutherland Ave. there are houses in the range of 300-500k. Two streets over, but still in the same neighborhood, houses are 40-80k. 

That being said, some oareas that you will typically do well in are Broad Ripple, Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Zionsville.

If you ever want general feedback about a specific address feel free to shoot me a PM

This episode brought tears of hope to my eyes. I enjoy the other episodes as well, but this one definitely has a special place in my life