All Forum Posts by: Tom Kastorff

Very well said Matt. Similar air to my response, didn't see yours before hitting post on mine. 

 +1 post this question on WCI or Bogleheads forum. You will get skewered, is what she is saying. Badly. This smells like a 30 year old who feels he "made it" out of dental school, and because of his 140k income (solid for LCOL area but peanuts for most dentists/doctors/tech people in CA) wants to blow a wad on a depreciating asset to reward himself. You pulled all your investment money out fearing the market? This is called market timing and can drastically cut your returns over time. To me you don't sound all that financially smart or educated. Many doctors and dentists and high earners have gone broke because they are smart in their day job and tremendously horrible with money. Spend hours on WCI and you'll get it. 

YOLO man. I wrote a much longer reply but won't post it. PM me if you want more hard truth. I have had a P-car on my wall for 30+ years, and still haven't pulled the trigger and I make much more than you. Had an S2000 to scratch the itch when I was your age, and it did the trick. Drive a 400hp Tundra today so I can get to my mountain ski condo investment property. To me, buying a $75k sports car while earning $140k, all your friends and neighbors will snicker at you as "that kid" who thinks he arrived but is far from "having made it" yet. Long road ahead man. There is a balance between overspending and being a miser, I fully agree (I have nice vehicles, 2 homes, been to Maui 2x in 12 months), but you cannot afford a car of this caliber. Imagine the insurance and maintenance on a garage queen. And you want to take a loan for it!! Lord. Post this in WCI please, and link it back here. I think you know the answer, and that is why you posted it here, for some sort of validation. You are getting a lot of "go for it" validation, but this is a real estate forum, not a financial advising forum. This is not the smart thing to do, but it's your money. 

Good luck. Congrats on the DDS. Get to work tripling your income then buy the expensive garage queen. And please buy a P-car, not that Alfa junk (IMO). 

I'll leave this here from consumer reports: "The Alfa sedan and SUV have high owner satisfaction and low predicted reliability. Alfa Romeo is part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles conglomerate."

Chris: for the newbs, are there any specific cash-out refi rules for CA in similar situation? I'm hunting for a prop currently and will BRRRR afterwards, and not aware of any 6-12 month delays like OP is stating? Thx

Nuhan and Brant nailed it. You are thinking correctly but letting the emotion of money and action get the best of you. This is not a race, there is a lot of money and variables involved. The paragraph in your OP that starts "I'm overwhelmed by "options" says it all right there. If you're already overwhelmed by options, just wait until you move, are struggling to find a job and income, and trying to balance one or more properties, decide to become a Nashville party animal and don't have time anymore, who knows what else. You need 6-12 months to move, settle, find steady income, get to know the market, get to know realtors and contractors, etc. Then make a calculated move. Unless you have significant cash reserves to handle mistakes, no income, bad investments, bad contractors, "surprises" on a fixer home you find, etc, you are making a big rush mistake. The buying / renovation / maintenance / carrying costs of every property must be accounted for. Unless you're not telling us something, you don't have the cash reserve nor future steady income to handle any mistakes, your margin for error sounds thin. GL