All Forum Posts by: Trevor Kolb

I worked with @Colin Smith and was very pleased with the service and attention! I'd also second @Norberto Villanueva after having the opportunity to discuss REI with him last year. Both very knowledgeable!

Wow! I'm loving all the advice people are bringing to the discussion! Sounds like most investors are fragile in the common areas of reducing their take-out spending, driving older vehicles, and practice budgeting their finances very well.

@Jerry W. That's some amazing frugality and great advice on the appliance side of things! Though what do you think your lost opportunity cost is by sitting on the additional inventory? Couldn't you find a better investment for the time you wait to fix that water heater? Also, if they are improving the efficiency of most appliances, would the future costs not be deferred by the future savings of such appliances?

@Adam Christopher Zaleski: For a 12 y/o to consider buying stock, I'm very impressed by your ability to delay gratification for 10 years and save for a nice surfing trip! Has this helped in your adult life in continuing a pattern of frugality?

@Joshua D. That is definitely quite the little list! 9 deals is very impressive in 4 years with that income. Add in that I share about the same about of annual income ($37k before taxes), so your story definitely resonates with me that frugality will make REI possible. Sadly, my choice in having a TV and Cable in the house is primarily due to hosting for vacation rentals, but I have found myself avoiding the TV whenever possible. As you're well aware, it is possible to live frugal and still be considered a success :)

@Jeff Brower I was once that friend holding up the keys to shiny new cars, beginning with a Jeep, then a Subaru WRX, Dodge Charger, & Jeep SRT8 Grand Cherokee...from a $3k loan all the way up to $24k for cars that I no longer own. Truthfully though, I did get more money for the SRT8 when it was destroyed from my car accident than when it was purchased as there weren't any within 500 miles for sale when the adjuster cut the check. Aside from that, each one was a money pit that cost way more than they were truly worth. Now, my 2nd Mercury Grand Marquee (1st one rusted dangerously on the frame in 6 months) for under $1700 has lasted me a year now and even being the ugliest car at the stop light doesn't bother me anymore. Saving $$$ by not paying for Full Coverage makes me very happy as well! :)

@Elizabeth Colegrove Thank you for sharing your frugality! That's quite the accomplishment in being able to save $60,000 for 2 properties right off deployment. I'm assuming the decision to leave an easy job to work a better paying & closer to home position was a very easy one to make. Have you transitioned to a more REI focused career yet?

@Adam Christopher Zaleski Home cooking is one of the easiest, healthiest and best ways to be frugal! Although, it was only recently that I've challenged myself to avoid eating out this month. How has cooking your meals in advance, worked for you as far as savings? 

Personally, I've always had the worst spending habits. Since the days of being a paper boy, I've worked most of my life, aside from 3 unemployed months and until recently "Savings" was just another fancy word rich folks used (or so it seemed). It was only recently, when listening to the audio book "The Compound Effect" did I truly grasp how much I required immediate gratification. 

"Paycheck deposited? Yup! Now what to buy?" had always been the immediate response to payday. Though Bills were always paid first, the rest was typically spent on fast-food until the next payday. Instead of saving every spare dollar, I even decided a nice car was more important, failing to realize the lost opportunities of each dollar being flushed away.

This month, I've been frugal by not eating out and cooking more home-cooked meals. The money I've saved doing so has been spent on a few, small investment opportunities. One opportunity is to utilize my spare time in the mornings to operate a small roadside service business in my area as a means to obtain additional investment income. This is also going to be used as a method to obtain the 6-month cash reserves I'd like to have in savings. 

To my knowledge, purchasing a home 'Subject to' does not allow for a refinance since the home is still owned and in the name of the current owner. You are merely purchasing the home, subject to the existing loan balance, plus any additional agreements made. This technique is primarily used for investors to control a property via contract, while not having to obtain a loan in their name. 

To complete your purchase as you've described, it would make more sense in applying for a home loan in your name to obtain a lower monthly payment. If not, you'll be completing the 'subject to' agreement, and likely need to do a 'Lease option' for a potential buyer to rent the property until they can complete the home loan process to exercise a purchase agreement.

Please note, I am not an attorney and this advice is the product of my Novice education of REI techniques, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Good Day/Evening Bigger Pockets!

Tonight, I wrote down a goal: Save $10,000 to invest before Oct. 7th.

As I began thinking of ways to accomplish my goal, a thought about how investors are being frugal came to mind. Please take a moment, and think about what you've done today to be frugal.

In what ways, do you find yourself saving the most time/money? Do you spend all day obtaining comparative prices? Do you feel the savings you find outweigh the time invested? Do you prefer to shop online for the best price, or do you look locally at the best price for an immediate return? How much time do you spend being frugal? Do you feel your frugality provides enough return for the time invested?

Besides the HOW you are frugal, WHAT do you do with those savings? i.e. The $20 you saved on buying a years supply of Toilet Paper, did you put that in a separate account or spend it on the next purchase?

A Monday meetup I can actually attend without work conflicts?! Although I'm likely to be tired from flying in from Vegas that day, the opportunity of networking with everyone is too good to pass up! Hope to see you all there! :)

Decided to read the first few suggestions and then went about my day, while still thinking about the purpose of this post. To narrow down some of the FAQ's and provide a better user experience. 

After a few different ideals had passed my mind, I circled back to an analogy that I felt worked perfectly for this moment. Bigger pockets is an Ocean of information and we as investors, wholesalers, etc. are the fishermen. We use our Nets, or our ability to decipher through what is available to us, while hunting for Fish sized pieces of information that will help us succeed. You may try to change the direction of the current, but without knowledge, experience, time, and patience, you will never catch enough Fish to feed your family and build your financial future. :) 

Have a great day everyone!

@Colin Reid It sounds like you made a very wise decision and handled the situation pretty fairly. Glad to see you've stood your ground on ensuring your PM is doing the work. Hopefully they can find a tenant quickly and you'll be on to getting more deals!

I'm very interested in learning more about this new program, please PM the info to me as well @Jason Bott. Much appreciated!