All Forum Posts by: Shanti S.

Rich, curious about the bulk food purchase too - are you talking BJ's and Costco, bulk 'health foods' like beans and such where you fill your own bags and pay by the pound? Any sources that are not so commercial or well known?

How do you store it and do you have a system for eating the oldest stock first?

I'm interested in the security and moneysaving aspects, although the biggest benefit recently has been the health benefit for me....

Things I DON'T buy, in order to save money - extended warranties, bottled water, books I can get at the library, dvd's, and things "in season" - I try to buy winter clothes and firewood in spring or summer clearance for example

I improved my diet starting March 1, now the major portion of my meal is bulk bought beans, grains, veggies, home cooked. Most of my meals aren't much over a buck! Before I was buying breakfast and lunch out often and spending $4-20 per meal for salty, high calorie food. Not to mention I lost 15lbs so far this month and feel better! Still eating meat and stuff I crave, just in smaller quantities....

Have a veggie garden in the summer, amazing how little space you actually need.

I've only driven used cars for the past 21 years - paying cash and doing almost all maintenance myself. No car payment, no stress about getting it scratched or stolen, and cheaper insurance.

And I buy doodads used on craig's list or ebay at huge discounts. I can often enjoy them for a few months or years and resell at the same price.

Impressive results with the coupons Mike!

I'd also add - before I bought my first home, people were telling me left and right that I HAD to buy a home, the tax advantages are tremendous. Rent is like throwing your money away!

Sound familiar?

Well, while you can take deductions on your mortgage interest, it doesn't amount to that much.

I used to pay $475 a month for an apt, heat and hot water included. Add on electric and cable tv and renter's insurance, not much more.

My mortgage is around $1100 a month for my home. BUT, it probably costs me around $2000 a month after adding in insurance, taxes, electricity, fuel oil, dump fees, cable tv, plus maintenance costs, plus maintenance and yardwork time, plus owning lawnmowers and tools, blah blah blah....

I love my home and it's a big step up in privacy and luxury from my apt but it was a LOT cheaper to live in the apt :-)

Investment properties, bought and managed properly, are investments. Your own home is a luxury, not an investment.

Partnering can be great if you otherwise could not do the deal.

Discuss everything beforehand - what are your goals and expectations, what are your concerns, what will the profit and investment split be, how will you handle it if one of you wants out of the deal earlier than agreed, who will be handling what investment activities, etc. Once you're sure you are on the same page, put it in WRITING in something like a joint venture agreement and sign it together with a witness - you may want to have an attorney do this for you.

I am in a deal with a partner right now, we take turns covering meetings and phone calls when the other does not have the time. We have shared Google docs for recordkeeping so they're always accessible and can be updated by either partner.

Neither of us could have done the deal alone so it's a win/win as long as we communicate well and have the same goals. The written agreement protects both of us if there is any kind of falling out or conflict.

Why do you feel you need a partner for a wholesale?

Jason - there is a MassREIA meeting in Springfield and in Worcester on different days. There's one in Leominster area, one in South Shore, one in Boston, one in Nashua, and I'm sure I'm missing one or two!

Welcome to the site Michael, I've lived in Scituate AND Worcester....currently out in Western MA but just finished a rehab in Westborough, so I'm all over the state :-)

The associated REIAS here are good to join - one membership fee for 8 groups. If you'd like to tag along with my partner and I some time to check them out, let me know!

The bottom of the market in Worcester seems to have been about a year ago, 3 families were going for 100k that had previously sold for 300-400k. Those are now going for 200k or so from what I've seen...

Hopefully you won't have to educate your fiance in the winter Worcester tradition of staking out your shovelled winter parking space with lawn chairs and drywall buckets haha

This website kicks butt. Read on and save your $ for investing instead of guru courses and seminars.

Do not assume that because your contractors are experienced, licensed, and insured etc that the local building inspector is going to be happy with their work.

The next time I start any rehab work in a new town I am going to take a little time at the beginning to introduce myself to the local inspector and begin building some rapport with them, letting them know my goal of cleaning up that local eyesore and trying to feel out how they run their little fiefdom :-)

This would have saved me a few weeks and a few thou$and on my most recent rehab. It felt a few times like getting pulled over on the highway by a statie - even if they're unreasonable jerks there's not much you can do but agree that you're a moron and apologize. Some battles are not worth fighting.

Get pulled over by a statie that you know personally and it's a much different situation!

It's a local private agency but the policy was through Phoenix Insurance

Just completed a rehab, the insurance company gave me an investment policy for about what I pay for my owner occupied SFR - with the understanding that it would only be vacant for a few months, not for the full year of the policy.

I was upfront with them and told them I may resell or choose to rent/lease option once rehab was completed - the alternate strategy...

In addition to the wave of upcoming foreclosures being talked about, I've been hearing more about the "shadow" foreclosed homes as well - getting close to a million homes that have already been foreclosed upon, but have been held off the market.

So this would be for the same reason - once they're sold, the bank takes the hit in its assets? But foreclose and let it rot, and their assets are unaffected in the short term? What a system!

If they were to dump these shadow homes into the REO system, yuk.

I'm planning on selling my primary res SFR this spring if possible - yes I'll take a hit but I can find a bigger bargain that's a better fit, so it should at the worst be a wash :-|