All Forum Posts by: Chris Gawlik

@Joe Splitrock My primary is sold and living with parents also another controversial post. haha.

People Think we're Nuts

But yea I did this before covid even happened down sizing and planning on buying more rentals. Then got caught in the middle of covid. My rental is listed as we speak. Going to take a 15% capital gains hit on that one, but I wanted to learn more about 1031 exchanges so here I am. Also wanted to learn more about solo 401k investing. Thanks for the advice Joe.   

@Scott Passman Thanks for the reply. It was a very strange post to begin with I didn't even think I would get a reply. BE, DO, HAVE. I love it man. That article really puts my feelings into perspective. The funny thing is I know that its me holding myself up to become successful. Fear, doubt, depression, stress, anxiety. What if, what if, what if. That article was really good though. Who do I need to be. Not what do I need to do. Good stuff. Thanks Scott.

My post was basically how I have felt about investing and risk taking my entire life. All my failures and successes that I have had I still don't truly feel satisfied with were I am at. I'm hoping I can change that in the next 10 years or so. Any way weird to post something so abstract on BP. Just wondered if anyone has felt the same and overcome to become really successful or satisfied with where there at in life. Thanks.  

@Dave Foster Hi Dave anything to add to this. Thanks for your help. 

@Andrey Y. Okay you may be right, but look at it from my perspective. What will 6 months mean to me over the next 20 years to wait it out and be cautious. I'm not sure what your financial situation is, but I will prob only be able to buy 1 rental and a primary to live in. I'm just a middle class guy. Many bullish people posting are veterans here. You have 1.8k posts here. You are obviously very interested in RE and just guessing here have done quite well for your self in RE. I wish I would have been smarter when I was in my 20's or even 30's but I wasn't. I didn't really start becoming really interested in RE and seeing the error of my ways until I was around 35. So buying now for me is not the same as buying for others on the site. Everyone is in a different financial situation and a downturn could hurt me really bad. It only take a few missed payments and there goes my life savings. Wow that would really hurt. I'ts not like I'm saying I'm not going to buy any deals until the market drops 50%. All I'm saying is I don't know whats going to happen and want to play it safe. At the start of this post I stated that everyone has there own strategy and risk tolerance. My risk tolerance is pretty low. 

Starting over again at 40 sounds daunting. I am trying to reset my life now and retire early and help my kids get through school. I know what I need to do now, but don't know if I have enough time to let the investments grow and become passive enough to do it. Once your in a hole its hard to dig your self out of it.  

This is going to be a strange post but wanted to give it a shot and see if I get any replies at all. I have always wanted to be successful. Its something I wanted my entire life. I wanted people to look up to me and say man that guy made it. I want my family to be proud of me and look at me as being a financially independent person. I am still striving to become this successful person. I have always wondered around the internet looking for new opportunity or quicker ways to make money in RE or the next big thing. I jump from one thing to the other looking for THE ANSWER. The answer is an exact blue print to follow. This blue print is the exact path and plan to follow to become the person I have wanted to be my entire life. The answer will show me the way and take away my fear to make me the person I have always wanted to become. I believe many people on this site have that blueprint. And if I asked them to give me the blueprint they would. They would tell me exactly what they did that made them the person that I want to become. But when they hand me the blueprint, I get scared and I don't know what to do with it. Its everything I ever wanted but I'm to scared to use it and run away and fail. Again and again I run away and fail and fail again. I can never quite become that person that I have always wanted to be. Even though the answer and blueprint was right in front of me the entire time I was searching for it. Thanks guys Chris Gawlik.  

@Henry Lazerow I know at least 10 people on unemployment or furloughed, thats beside every poker room employee were I work. I am a poker dealer, and have been furloughed for the last 4 months, but like I said before im just a middle class guy. I know alot of middle class people who are unemployed and furloughed. They have also cut the hours of many people I know as well. 

Its what happens after the stimulus and bonus unemployment benefits dry up. Maybe they never will and I can stay on unemployment forever. Ill sit around and play video games in my underwear all day and get paid for it. I'm making more on unemployment than I was dealing poker at the casino. Why would I want to go back to work? Can you see why they can't keep paying people forever.

I live in a small suburb. Businesses are dying here. You live in a giant city. Things are different for local businesses. Look at it from there perspective and you will see pain, and that pain is going to get worse. CA shut down again for the 2nd time. There not going to make the same mistake twice. The numbers are going to have to trend down for much longer this time. The impact its going to have on the little guy will have an effect on the entire economy.

A huge majority of the country are not bigger pockets type people. There are not going to be interested in reading how to become financially independent or how to start a new business. There playing XBOX and recording there favorite shows on TV and netflix. They have no savings and live paycheck to paycheck, but they still pay mortgage or rent. Its one or the other. I just don't think its possible for this to have no effect at all on the US economy.  

Can you 1031 exchange a property owned by an LLC? Can you 1031 exchange 2 properties for 1 property. For example if I had 2 rentals and wanted to 1031 exchange them into a 10 unit property is that allowed? How long do you have to find a new property once you sell?

Do you have to exchange a property that is worth more than what you sold your property for or just more than the profit you make from a sales? For example I sold my home for 300K but profited only 30k , do I have to buy a property for 300k+ or can I just find a property equal or above the amount of profit I made? 30k+

Are there tax consequences if you don't find a property in the allotted time period? Can you request more time to find a new property? Sorry for all the questions if you only know the answer to one of them feel free thanks in advance for the advise. Also if you have any other advise please share.

@James Hamling How much skin do you have in the game? Sounds like you have quite a bit. For those of you who have millions of dollars in assets, if theirs a downturn it may not effect you in the same way it will effect others or ME. Think of a real world view of this and not from a university economics degree standpoint. If I have a mortgage payment due and don't have a job how am I going to pay. If I have rent due how am I going to pay. If I'm an investor and rely heavily on paying mortgages with rent how can I pay. You really think covid is having no effect on businesses right now. How is that possible. 3 local businesses in my town have already closed there doors in the last month. Sounds like a simple example of something really complex, but if thats going on in my small city don't you think this is happening across the country. I guess they could bail out people with stimulus forever. We'll never have to work again. Its really hard to believe that some of you think that there will be no correction or any repercussions from a global pandemic at all. Why are banks doing this then?

Banks say they are tightening lending standards even as demand for money falls    

How is this going to help the economy. Look I'm no economist and don't have an economics degree like some of you posting. I'm not some mega rich investor who has 100 doors or flips 10-20 deals a months either. I'm just a 40 year old middle class guy who is trying to help out with my retirement or hopefully retire early. I'm just trying to use common sense to see what happens to the market in the next 6 months. There will always be another deal or beatup house to buy. I'm saving a ton of money right now anyway. Not the kind of money you ballers out there make, but for us middle class people its going to help out quite a bit with retirement and kids college funds. 

@Account Closed You said that much better than I ever could. Some people are on the fence about this, but I totally agree. The time is coming to make a ton of cash. I am not only talking about this I took action and am gathering as much cash as I can to buy great RE deals and great stock market deals when the markets start to correct. The only problem with that is theirs going to be so much pain we have to go through, and so many people sick dead and broke its pretty depressing at the same time. On a side note my CPA just got covid. He exercised regularly and was a bit on the older side at 51, but in perfect health. He survived the disease, but for a few days there said he felt like he was going to die. It took him a month to fight it off and a couple trips to the ER. Worse than the flu. Be careful. You don't know if you are one of the unlucky people that could have severe side effects. Stay safe.   

@Joe Splitrock I am betting all on this down turn. I have sold my primary and taken out all the equity and my other real estate investments are currently on the market. We are saving every penny we have and believe it or not will be saving 100k in cash in 2020. I am not rich. My wife and I both work 9-5's. I am a regular middle class guy, but I am trying to change that and become financially free. I believe that this can be done in the next 10 years and this downturn will give us an amazing start. Why would you want to buy a deal now when you can get the same deal for 50% less 2021. Yes timing the market is impossible and you can never buy at the dead bottom, but this is just my opinion. We are at the top of the cycle right now and covid is going to correct the stock market and the real estate market in the next year. Every one has there own opinion, but 10% does not even scratch the surface of whats about to happen. If Im wrong then Im wrong Im going to wait it out and see what happens for the next 6 months or so. If the economic data or more stimulus changes things, then I will have to readjust my plans and move forward.