hey guys my name is shawn jarman, i am a 23 year old welder that lives in ventura county, ca. it kind of goes without saying that if you are young, there's no way of breaking into real estate unless you inherit property or a sum of money. spent 5 years in phoenix arizona for school and ended up buying one side of a duplex for a whomping 50,000. 2 bed, 2 bath, 20% down, occupied for 800/month, monthly payment of 319/month. finally got a renter since i moved back home, and stopped hemorrhaging money. i suppose im currently buying and holding, but where to go from here to get out of the rat race further. i have a construction background and love working with my hands, just not for someone else, interested in possibilities of flipping. my renter is a family man with a son, and coincidentally does my contracting and handyman work. all in all i see possibilities, but 40 hours/ week is kind of a hindrance when investing out of state it seems. excited to hear from you guys and connecting with a community of people who want to own their own futures, rather than home town friends

How much do you pay for sheet rock, tape, bed, and texture?

Now when I contacted the owner of property (found out was dead and now the daughter is "executor" of the home) she told me that the home actually has 6 beds, 4 baths (2 beds in basement along with the sauna, steam shower, furnace, water heater, 4 sump pumps and living room area down there).

I would take an additional $2k and furnish the entire home with beds for all rooms, desks, TVs and dressers and put a lock on all rooms and rent each room out.

We had a flood from the supply line to the toilet and our floating bamboo floor was trashed.

I have been told that you are supposed to get similar properties within the neighborhood that have same or similar square feet, bed and bathrooms that have sold within a 6 month period.

And yeah, someone told me yesterday that they listen to me in bed every night- I made some fun jokes about that!

One  2 bed/2 bath condo in particular they own outright and we have discussed them leaving money in the deal, something like a 60/40 scenario, where I can take a traditional loan out for the remaining purchase price. 

After sitting in bed last night browsing the local Craigslist ads I found some locals that were upgrading the standard builder grade toilets with nicer pieces.I picked up an American Standard toilet for example @ $20 and even if it needs a flush kit it will still be less than the lowest grade they sell at my local Lowes.

Some people wake up complaining, complain all day and go to bed complaining nothing you can do will change them.Two Great reads, these books will be a huge help to you.