All Forum Posts by: Sheree H.

Thanks for the update, Todd! This thread is like chocolate. I need my Pop-top fixes. :)

I have a couple questions, please excuse me if they're very basic:

Multiple showerheads - I think I see two, will there be more?

Low volt - for doorbells and alarms right? Do you need a separate permit for that?

I've never heard of "In wall pest control." What is it, and is it a necessity or a good selling point?

Heather, CHEERS! to your current and future success!

It's been a pleasure knowing you and learning from our conversations. I hope we have many more. :) I'd LOVE to hear that mentally rehearsed speech of yours... I'm still rehearsing.

And I join you in a big Thank You to Bigger Pockets! I would forever be that frog at the bottom of the well if it weren't for all the people I've met here who constantly challenge me to step outside my provincial mindset. 

@Azeez K. Any updates on the date and time? I'll be arranging my schedule so I can be there. Looking forward to meeting everyone!

 @Okenna Oparah  @Roger Herring  

@Azeez K. Would love to attend! But I'm watching for the date/time also. The 20th would be difficult for me to make. Thanks Azeez!

@Rick Baggenstoss  That was incredibly helpful. I want to develop the kind of insight towards people, experiences, and even houses that you have. This is exactly what I needed, clarity on my past with direction for the future. Thank you!!

What do you mean by "set up year 3"?

@Dawn Anastasi thank you. It's always good to be reminded. I do have a wealth of good in my life to be thankful for, that I hope I never take for granted!!

@Dawn Anastasi I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. Must be those trees again. Are you saying I should be content with the properties and/or income I have already?

@Elizabeth Colegrove I had family in the military also. Please thank him (and you!!) for his service and sacrifice.

Less stress and work is a good ruler. 

Thanks @Elizabeth Colegrove . Those trees!! :) My husband is in med school so we hardly see him. He's supportive but not very helpful.

"Does this get me to my final goal" - what a great question to keep in front of me at all times. All my options seem to get me to my goals, at varying degrees of speed vs. risk. What is better? Are there other options I'm not seeing? 

Yes, it's definitely an evolving process! This entire year was a nonstop cycle of assessing and reassessing. I didn't expect that at all, but I've thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to continuing.

Hello BP! 

I'm sitting here with a sprained ankle, Business Planning for Dummies, and nothing to do but think. 

It's nearing one year since I joined BP, and so much has happened. I feel like I'm a different person. In fact, I KNOW I am. I actually answer phone calls now, and I don't dread it. :D

I started with 100k in January, and in my naive optimism I was planning to have it all back by December to recycle and reuse. Instead I've flipped one easy property, successfully held a small HML for another investor, messed up a second flip and turned it into my ugly baby rental with decent cash flow, bought a third in a war zone, rehabbed it with an XL side of drama, and rented it, working on my fourth flip with a partner, and waiting anxiously about my offer on the fifth, a personal home/quad. And I've learned a mind-boggling amount about houses, running a business, the process of buy/rehab/sell, the nature of contractors, humanity, and most importantly, what I'm capable of, what I like and don't like, and very specific positive and negative aspects in my personality in relation to REI. Far from a financial success story, but I feel moderately successful just by the fact that I'm not digging myself out of a hole.

Now I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. My goal is to be financially independent by 2016 but I've hit a mental block regarding a plan and I'm out of funds (outside of my reserves). My options as I see them:

1) Refinance #2 and #3 at the 6-month mark (Dec), get about 30-40k out of it, and find another flip / rental to work on. It would reduce my cash flow significantly.

2) I have a little under 6 digits in credit that I never use, and they're all begging me to take it out at 2-3% for 21 months with no fee. Dangerous, I know, but it's an option. 

2) Stop investing, take care of my current properties, and keep working my day job until I save enough for another project (1-2 years?). Which, to me, is such a shame considering all I've learned, how much I enjoy doing this, and the money I've spent on business resources, marketing, and mentoring. 

I've always been someone who missed the forest for the trees and this dummy business planning is not dummy enough for me. I thought I'd put my experience out there, and if anyone wants to weigh in, I'd love to hear it!

Thanks,

Sheree

Thanks to EVERYONE for your replies. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Athens is an hour drive away for me so it puts a kink in things, but I did put the quit or pay letters in the mail this morning. No more annoying partial payments allowed, even if its $0.01 less!!

We had a PM in place, but there was too much mutual dislike between the PM and tenants so the PM quit. And the PM was more lenient than I would have liked; yes, the tenants have "trained" us instead of the other way around. This is the first month I'm handling this myself.

@Gerald K. It's a 12-month lease that started August 1. Rent is $1k and late fee is $38 + $5/day, but they've basically ignored that part of the lease.

@Bobby C. It's in the University Heights area right between UGA main campus and the new Vet school, definitely not a bad area but most of the houses are rentals to students. Dealing with students, wandering artists, and the sort that Athens GA attracts just comes with the territory.

@Rob K Hey, I love that! I didn't notice our contract saying anything like it, but I'm going over it again and you can be sure it will be on our future contracts.

@Darrell Shepherd The two tenants are both working. There is no way they can't afford the rent. I just don't understand these people - if they can pay $970, what is an extra $30?

@Jack Tucker Good quality PM in Athens? Does that even exist?