All Forum Posts by: Freddy C.

I don't escrow my rental or my home property taxes. For me, it is a control thing because I got hosed on my very 1st mortgage when the escrow kept swinging between $100 - $300 during those 1st six months. Talk about headaches. I forget why that occured because it was a long time ago and the chnaces of it happening again are slim. Still, I like the sense that I am "locking in" my payment to the bank, which allows me to manage my CF's a little better. I found the variability from the yearly escrow analysis annoying, basically.

Hey Oscar. I am meeting Michael Plaks this evening for a consulation. He's a CPA that deals with a lot of real estate business but located more on the SW side, though. Google him for his website.

Who have you dealt with so far? Feel free to PM.

Looks like I may be overpaying. Here in the suburbs of Houston, I will be paying 100% of the 1st month's rent. We are asking $1,400, and our Realtor will list it in the MLS.

I have been out of pocket on these forums so I should just chalk this up to a learning experience.

I have not thought about this in great detail but I have found myself complaining recently why I can't send my daughter (who hasn't started school yet) to whatever public school I want.

Totally agree with another poster who mentioned the need for a vocational track. Not everyone is cut-out for or cares about college and most would rather learn a trade of some sort. I think the Europeans do this.

Glad to see BP getting more exposure.

I will add this too: my lender forwarded a BP article to me a few weeks ago regarding how to negotiate REO purchases from Freddie Mac. It was a great article and really shed some light into that process!

Charles: hmmmm, or would that be a 33.33% increase based on a 5%/ 15% change? :)

Dunno, but I like this thread. I have a rough idea of what our BS looks like and it is simple enough to do without Quiken or anything like that. As my knowledge increases and I begin to make RE deals, this will change of course.

I agree that this will vary state by state so one will need to take that into account when comparing. I am on the Texas gulfcoast and the quotes that I have received have had high premiums for wind & hail coverage. It is the cost of doing business here I suppose.

State Farm is not accepting new policies in our area, either.

Hi Bryan, that is an excellent question and I would like to offer my $0.02.

Generally, I am ok with diversification since I am pretty much “locked-in†to the market via 401(k) at work, so I have a significant portion of my family’s portfolio tied to the market. I started saving when I was about 21 yrs old so there is not much I can do about that now, even if I wanted to. IMHO, diversification is a good strategy to follow if you are not an expert or, at the very least, not adept at investing in a particular asset class. Of course, this certainly beats socking money away into a savings account every paycheck.

I will try and boil this down (and I know that is a risky proposition, lol) and say that for the active investor, it really comes down to knowledge and risk tolerance. I think that in order to make money over and above the average investor and to pursue the “alphaâ€, one must take on risk and that will eliminate diversification as an overall strategy, in general. If you have an advantage, you should capitalize on it as best you can. For example, if you are a Technician, then you should spend the bulk of your time and financial resources making money in that arena.

Good question Katrina, I hope others chime in as well. I hope to rent-out my SFR in the next couple of months and I am looking for insurance quotes, too. I can't believe how little attention I paid to my homeowners insurance policy in the past, and now I am trying to educate myself so I'm not so ignorant on this subject. I still have much to learn...

I received a Rental Dwelling quote from my current insurance provider just yesterday. My home was built in 1987, and is about 2,067 sq/ft. In brief: Dwelling coverage = $179K, Business liability each occurence = $300K, Business liability annual aggregate = $600K. Total annual premium = $1,975.

Wow...that's what I pay right now while I live there.

Thanks for the welcome, Bryan, Jackie, Charles, and heffinsd! There is so much content on this site, and I hope to learn as well as participate as often as I can.

Always a pleasure to meet a fellow accountant, Mr. Perkins.