All Forum Posts by: Laurie Williamson

Y'all, thanks for validating me and my whining! I guess I just really wanted to complain to a group of people who could empathize. :) @Daria B., that must have been so frustrating! My real estate agent mentioned that the listing I looked at had been a prior foreclosure and also was bank-owned. She said the listing agents probably were not getting much of a commission on it, so they did the bare minimum. Sounds like your situation might have been similar. @Don Johnston, thanks for joining the club! ;) Yes, you would think that someone on BP would know what investors are looking for — but it seems like either a case of laziness/disinterest at best, or intentional dishonesty/withholding information at worst. I feel like, as an investor, I am going to do my due diligence and any issues will be exposed in that process. Just because I discover a problem, that is not going to mean I'm not interested in a deal. I just might want to negotiate based on the situation. An investor with deeper pockets might want the complex I looked at today, and including the information that it had been in a fire might attract the right kind of investor. For me, though, I want something with minor / cosmetic repairs. So it was just a total waste of time! Appreciate you both and good luck on your next purchases!

Ugh. I just drove an hour out of town, and back, to look at a fourplex, and didn't realize until I got there that it had been in a fire. The interior of one of the units was completely covered in black soot. This was not mentioned in the listing. The other 3 units were not available for viewing — they only put a lockbox on the extra tasty crispy burned one, so I just looked in the windows. That makes it super hard to evaluate the property... but based on the fire, it's a no-go anyway. Also, it was one of ten fourplexes for sale, and all ten were completely vacant. That was also a surprise. I've been trying to evaluate multifamily properties in the Dallas area for purchase, and I've noticed that a lot of the listings are just so vague. Some properties don't have photos. Some have only one photo of the exterior, with no interior photos. Many are missing most or all of the financials. My real estate agent tried to call the listing agent for more information, but he didn't answer his phone or call back. There was another property I had found on LoopNet, but when I emailed to ask for more information, the agent wanted proof of financial performance before sharing any details. Anyone know why listing agents and/or owners hold back so much information that's crucial to making a decision on buying a property? It's so frustrating. I thought I had found a smoking hot deal, but this is not what I had in mind. Lost a day's work, with nothing to show, and it could have been avoided if they just disclosed the fire in the listing. Many investors might still be interested; I just don't have the cash for that type of rehab right now.

@ShawnDandridge, glad to hear that it is working out for you. Hope you like Fort Worth. It's a fun place; I am a fan. 

@jerrypadilla, I never considered a refinance or HELOC until I started this thread, but I am looking into it now. I need to educate myself about those products and how they work. Interesting idea.

Whoops, I meant to say they are better for buying houses than for putting money in a savings account. 

@AndresMirza, thank you for the feedback! That is a very good point. Interest rates are much better for buying than selling right now. 

@SteveVaughan, Thanks for your thoughtful reply and questions! I guess the degree to which I want to move up vs. not worth like crazy is a 5? I want to have my cake, and eat a little bit of it, too. The good news is I don't give a crap about what people think about the car I drive, so I will keep rolling in this boring Honda, and I don't overspend in other areas of life. I do understand your point about having an amazing home and not being able to enjoy it, and that is definitely something I want to avoid. I work from home, so I'm home all day — which is part of the reason that a newer, nicer home appeals to me so much! I like my job, and it pays well enough that I will keep doing it as long as I need to in order to afford my dream home and build a decent real estate portfolio. And while I'm not super-young, I'm young enough that I have some time to build that portfolio. (I'm 35.) But I do look forward to the day that I can quit working and retire, with income-producing properties! 

As to whether I have seen the same, with friends who live in nice houses and work all the time, I do believe you that it is true, but I haven't seen it much, simply because I don't know a lot of people who have waterfront homes or lovely hillside homes. I would like to meet those people. They are not living in my neighborhood! Among my friends and peer group, I seem to be kind of an anomaly. I have a lot of mom friends right now since my kids are so little. The stay-at-home moms are mostly in comfortable suburban neighborhoods, but nothing fancy. For those that live in nicer homes, it is the husbands that are at work all the time, so I guess you are right about that. The moms are working their butts off raising small children, but that job does not pay as well as it should. 

Most of the working moms I know are in a house comparable to mine, but they are maxed out with no savings, and living month to month. It is probably just the stage of life we are all in. Having kids is expensive!

@CarolMartin, yes – doing research and taking small steps is key. I will read and try to learn as much as I can before I decide which strategy to pursue. Thanks for your feedback.

@DavidStefanovic, Thank you so much for that brilliant idea. Again, this is something I would not have thought of on my own. Now that you mention it, I am reminded of a house I looked at recently, in a very desirable Dallas neighborhood. Its retail value was listed by Zillow at over a million, but the sale history indicated it had gone into foreclosure and sold for around $300,000. I am not sure how accurate their estimates are (probably not very accurate), but it definitely piqued my interest. Something more for me to research. Thank you!!

@George P., I understand and respect your point of view, and I was kind of expecting to hear that! You are absolutely right that if I make more money, I will be able to afford what I want -- and yes, that is why I started looking into real estate in the first place. Because I wanted to make more money. 

I am a freelance writer, and about 8 years ago, I figured out how to increase my personal income and savings by becoming self-employed. However, I've just about maxed out the amount of money that I can make in my career, without hiring someone else (which I don't want to do right now.) 

I like to motivate myself by setting goals, and because I live in Texas and my hubby does not want to move, my dream is to buy a lake house, and get a boat. I started looking into what that costs, and the house I would love to have, lakeside, was about $1.5 million. When I calculated how long it would take me to afford that, at my current salary, my first reaction was to laugh. Then I started googling "how to double your income" and stumbled upon real estate. ANYWAY, I'm obviously a long way away from the $1.5 million mansion on the lake, but I am beginning to see how it is possible.

The house I'm thinking of moving to in the next couple of years would NOT be the million-and-a-half dollar house. It would, however, be the nicest house we could comfortably afford, while still investing and saving for the future.

You are also correct that we could get there much faster if we stayed in the house in which we live right now. However, it is not just about the end goal for me. It is also about being happy right now, without being ridiculous and overspending. In general, I am pretty fiscally conservative. I drive a paid-off, boring Honda Accord, and my house is paid off, and we pay off our credit cards completely every month. The only debt I currently have is the rental I just bought. So I don't want to spend beyond my means; I just want to enjoy life as much as I can while I am alive. 

Yes, I could spend the next 20 years building wealth while living in our current house, and be plenty happy with what I have. But I could kick the bucket tomorrow, and never get to enjoy the fruits of my labor. What is the point of working and earning money if I don't get to enjoy it? That is why I would rather take some incremental steps now, and live in a nicer house, even if it means I won't be a millionaire as quickly. The nicer house is the whole reason I became interested in real estate in the first place. Plus, if I wait 20 years to buy my lake house and my boat, I'm not going to look very good in a bikini any more. (I'm already pushing it with two kids...)