All Forum Posts by: Shanti S.

6. Tax benefits - how might they compare, since the tenants own their units in the MH park so you don't get the depreciation but perhaps more landscaping or different kinds of improvements make up for it?

What kind of investing interests you, or do you feel suited for?

My job takes me 50-60 hours per week and is mentally exhausting - business analysis and computer stuff. So when I get home I don't feel like doing anything, even though I could.

I found it helpful to partner up so some tasks could be shared. Instead of spending hours mailing and calling for motivated sellers, we bought a contract from someone who had done that piece already (we were wholesaled to). We still got the house cheap enough so we could pay contractors to do the bulk of the work, while we put in the time we could afford on weekends to keep the contractor bills down a bit. Google docs allow us to share notes and keep updated and organized on costs, quotes, tasks...

I just try to take breaks of 5-15 minutes at a time and make phone calls and accomplish what I can during the day before my energy is drained.

And listening to investing podcasts and such on my commute, plus reading bigger pockets, books, and other sources, keeps me motivated and aware that many other people are finding success, and many starting out with less time or resources than myself!

Originally posted by Jon Holdman:

I see a lot of 100 YO "mansions" near downtown that have been converted to half a dozen small apartments or condos. Wonder if we'll see another round of conversions on the McMansions?

I'm sure people will try whatever they can to unload them. But from a design and energy efficiency standpoint, it will be nearly impossible to compete with manufactured homes and multis designed from the ground up for efficiency.

I'm excited about the future of manufactured homes - many of them look like custom homes already, not trailers. And the construction methods can so easily make them stronger, tighter, customizable, and cheaper compared to a custom.

This may be wishful thinking because I have a stage I, II, III vision for growing my business - and stage III is new construction of very small, highly efficient, completely or nearly self sufficient, and well designed homes. Stages I and II will produce the capital to fund III.

But I see the market changing towards smaller and smarter is better as energy costs continue to rise and 'green' just gets more and more fashionable.

Instead of 4,ooo+ sf homes with indoor pools and such, I can see people and agents hyping homes' efficiency ratings, low energy costs, solar panels, gardening space, and safe (chemical free) environments for your kids (low VOC paints, more natural building materials, etc). I can see a lot of unhappy people stuck with unsellable McMansions heated with $4 a gallon oil and paying new luxury taxes due to their inefficiency.

Out of curiosity, is there a ballpark figure in the current economy for self storage constrxn costs per unit?

Any good reading on self storage investing to recommend? Seeing what has happened with them in my area in the last decade, looks like a great business to me!

Give more info if you have it - do you have a specific property in mind, with a certain amount of work that is needed? Do you know how much you will acquire the property for, how much you can 'definitely' sell it for (priced below market value), and so how much you can afford to spend on rehab?

On a short-term deal, if I was putting up the $, I'd want at least 15% return, the shorter the term the higher return I'd want.

How many flips has your friend done, and how recently? He could have managed quite a few projects but still not be the best guy for this particular scenario - for instance, if his experience is in managing rehabs and upgrades for homeowners rather than for profit flips...

I'm working on a flip right now. Meeting with several contractors myself and totalling up the jobs I want done resulted in around $35k total budget. Meeting with a GC 'manager' who has connections with all the local contractors and who just wants a 10% fee to choose and manage them resulted in a $70k plus total budget. We'll see how it works out but looks like I'll be managing the contractors myself :-)

+1 vote. Great post - if anyone thinks this is too lofty a goal to set then they need help!

I think where some gurus/coaches/programs fail is in getting you really pumped up and setting yourself goals which are not realistic in terms of your life thus far - setting yourself up to feel like a failure when you don't change into an overnight success.

One property a year should be achievable for anyone, even a complete newbie with no money and bad credit. Besides, it will only get easier after the first one.

Showing that it can clearly be done in a 20 year span with a simple plan should make it obvious that with some more action and less patience the whole thing could be accelerated significantly. YMMV!

Watch the nasty fumes and wear gloves with that acetone - it's nasty stuff.

Powerscraper? I just bought a Dremel multi-max - bet the scraper would get these up pretty quickly.

I was watching the Fein version for a long time but couldn't cough up the $300+ for one, the patent finally expired and there are going to be a bunch of cheap knockoffs on the market. That dremel will pay for itself pretty quickly even with occasional use.

I've done a bit of rehab linoleum scraping and some test plunge cuts in wood - amazing tool.

If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't go to college this time 'round. Right now I'm feeling like I'm 20 years late to an education in basic business and entrepreneurial skills and trying to catch up fast.

If my kid was in high school, a dedicated student, and they had a dream to pursue a certain course of study in college, then I'd cough up the dough as long as they maintained their GPA.

For most, I think it's a waste of $ to go right from high school to college. There are other ways to socialize and get some life experience.

I think I'd be light years ahead of where I am today, financially, if I'd had a good mentor years ago instead of a college education.

That's interesting - here in MA I can't mailorder ammunition. And since just before the new administration came in, shelves have been bare.

I still go into the store a couple times a month hoping to get lucky, but they're basically permanently sold out. Several Wal-marts have chosen not to renew their licenses and no longer carry ammunition at all. I've heard several theories for the shortage from people hoarding, to the administration banning the military from funneling their used brass back into the civilian supply as they always have, creating a shortage for the manufacturers.

In any case, even if you can get it, prices have at least doubled in the last 10 years. At least you can still reload for the time being...

Anyone else remember the Chris Rock routine - no need for gun control, just make bullets cost $5,000 each? :-)

Back to topic; anyone have some favorite ways to save tomatoes? We've been drying like crazy and vacuum bagging them, blanching/peeling/freezing them. Don't really want to bother with canning - anyone have good results from just pureeing and freezing or some such simple thing? Just plain went overboard on planting tomatoes this year!