All Forum Posts by: Tim E.

I lived in Jax for 4 years.  Great place with a large military influence (which means a steady turnover of people who are there for short durations = renters) and a great beach community.  

I'd be all over #3.

@Darrin Carey pretty well nailed it.  That's known as the Hilltop area.  Not a complete war zone, but it can be a tough area nonetheless.  

Sounds like your only option is a sludge pump or similar.  Not sure whether the muni will frown upon pumping into the street.

I'm going through a similar experience now.  Numerous extended and close family members have run/owned their own businesses over the years, including owning rental properties.  I'm constantly told "Ah, why?  Trust me, you don't want to be a landlord!".  

However, I don't plan to be a landlord as they were - part time, picked up a property with no real plan nor strategy which barely cash flowed, and didn't want to deal with the "hassle".  None of them used property managers nor really understood more than the basics.

I have a plan.  Being a landlord one of the pieces of executing that plan.  Going into it knowing the downside helps.....

@Wendell De Guzman  Thanks for the play-by-play.  For someone like me who's starting out, but aspiring to be where you're at, the information is invaluable.  Well done and thank you.

As an out of town investor, I'd say anything south and west is your safest bet - no guarantees, of course.  Unless you have someone guiding you that you absolutely trust and who has a very firm understanding of east Cleveland, you'll want to steer clear.

To expand on my previous post, I came across some information which showed that less than 16% of employers will allow an "in-service" rollover.  So the rollover to avoid additional employer tax withholding is an unlikely scenario.

I've been researching the same approach for some time (liquidating part of my 401k).  Something to keep in mind (which I believe you already know):  it's an expensive way to tap into money.  I will exhaust all other options before taking this approach. 

In addition to the 10% early withdrawal penalty, I've found that many employers will also hold another 10% for the taxes (federal only).  That's 20% off the top (loan shark rate!) and taxed on the entire amount.  You could get some of that additional 10% back (or pay more).  Of course, that all depends on where your effective tax rate falls after distribution.

I've read that you can avoid the second 10% tax withholding (from the employer) by transferring the 401k into a self-directed traditional IRA. The early withdrawal penalty is withheld under both scenarios - there's no way to avoid it - but there would be no employer to remove the second 10% tax, leaving you with more money in-hand. For full disclosure, I haven't done this myself. Although I am looking deeper. If there's a way to avoid an additional 10% tax (on top of the withdrawal penalty), it's fairly easy to make a transfer nowadays.

The tax man cometh under any scenario, but more upfront cash would be the most optimal approach.

Bought my hard copy today!  Looking forward to the read.

By and large, I agree with you.  I believe the biggest risk is people.  With a buy and hold, you'll be dealing with people.  And people, as a whole, are unpredictable.  As an investor, you have to reduce that unpredictability by controlling for everything that's within your control.  But you can still get burned.