All Forum Posts by: Alvin Sylvain

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

 It wont cost anything to  a look

It won't cost anything to send out my daughter, who lives in Maplewood. (Except probably she'll want a favor in return! No worries, I helped her buy her house! That's what dads do, isn't it?)

Me, it would cost several hundreds to fly out from LA, plus vacation time, plus car, plus hotel (I can't stay with my daughter, I'm allergic to that mutt of hers).

 You are too cheap.   Is your lovely girl a RE appraiser? You should concentrate in your area,  Brandon Turner says.............................

Yes, I am too cheap.

No ( ---- puts on his bragging suit ---- ) my daughter knows very little about RE, she's a PhD graduate in some nerosciency stuff that's way over my head. She did however buy her first house in Maplewood at the ripe old age of 29. ( ---- takes off bragging suit ---- )

I can't invest too much in my area. We're talking $385K for a 12 unit apartment in St. Louis. I can afford a regular 25% down for an investment costing that much. In Los Angeles, $385K won't even get you a 1 bedroom condo with a caved-in roof and negative cash-flow.

It was bad enough 2 years ago, but now with the Rams moving back and the new stadium under construction, things have gotten bat guano insane. (and you know there's something else I wanted to say other than "guano", right?)

@Mike Hoefling Are you prepared to accept rents in cash only? One big impediment to the marijuana business in general is that it's still against federal law, and banks are not allowed to touch it. They even need to pay their licensing and city taxes with bundles of cash. So guess what? They'll be handing over their rent in bundles of cash, too.

Originally posted by @Jim C.:

 It wont cost anything to  a look

It won't cost anything to send out my daughter, who lives in Maplewood. (Except probably she'll want a favor in return! No worries, I helped her buy her house! That's what dads do, isn't it?)

Me, it would cost several hundreds to fly out from LA, plus vacation time, plus car, plus hotel (I can't stay with my daughter, I'm allergic to that mutt of hers).

Originally posted by @Sean Buchner:

... Would take up most of my weekend for me to “check in” once a week for 2 months  ...

Oh, boo hoo!

(can you see me crying for your pain? no? just as well, coz I'm not)

You're young. 2 months must seem like FOREVER. I'm almost 65, and believe me, 2 months goes by in the blink of an eye. Snap your fingers ...  whoa! it's December already!

OK, so "check in" once every 2 weeks or 3 weeks. Three week-ends shot to hell, and you're done.

My point is, I'm assuming you've done your due diligence and have determined that you're getting Killer Deal on this property with help from the FHA. Pounce on it! If you are required to live there for 12 months, and it's only convenient to live there for 10 months, then inconveniently live there for 2 months. Problem solved.

Oh my god, TWO MONTHS! Oh the humanity!

And congratulations on getting the job in Civil Engineering! I know I won't have to tell you to double-check your numbers to be sure this (and future) investment is a good one. Numbers should be second nature to you by now.

Best of luck!

I have a rewards credit card that I use for EVERYTHING. Then I use the points to buy goodies on Amazon.

The secret though, is to pay it off 100% each and every billing cycle. Banks hate that! It basically means they're carrying 15 to 25 days of loan for you free of charge. So, just to keep on their good side, every now and then I'll pay it off minus a hundred dollars, so the next cycle they'll get some interest payment.

I have heard that paying your credit cards off 100% each and every month can actually lower your credit score, since the banks aren't making as much money from your credit activities. I don't know for certain if that's true, but you know, the banks aren't in it for charity.

I also make certain to have the online account auto-pay the minimum, just in case I happen to forget, and, unfortunately, sometimes I do forget. But I'd rather pay some small interest penalty than a late-payment penalty. The late payment penalty is not only larger, it also negatively impacts your credit score.

Originally posted by @Philip Williams:

People scoff at these deals and while I admit the good ones aren't often on loopnet for 500 days they are around. I purchased an 11 unit for 340k that cashflows between your 1600-2400 a month. In all fairness with the amount we are saving for reserves and cap ex it is closer to 2000 a month but it was a killer deal. Oh and it was not in st louis so defintely not apples to apples just more of a example for all those there are no good deals around people lol. 

 OH I am so jealous!

Congratulations on getting a "Killer Deal"!

Thanks, @Scott Moulton, @Perron Riley, for your replies.

I've PM'd you the address if you're interested.

Would it kill you to "live" there an extra 2 months? You don't have bless the doorstep with your physical presence to claim the place as your permanent residence. Just drop by once a week or so to get your mail.

Pay the electric bill online.

Work the numbers, see if they make sense.

What were you planning to do with the property after the 10 (or 12) months is up? I would suggest those plans should be considered in your decision. You might want to continue living there for another few years, renting out part of it for cash-flow. Or you might want to sell the place and move on.

You know, it might take 60 days to sell the place, and in the mean-time, you have to live somewhere.

Or for that matter, just move in for those 2 months. I'm sure your family can be made to understand.

Originally posted by @Eli Rollins:

Guys.. this was just a joke. I never meant to strike up a conversation about marriage 

You forgot to include the smiley! :-)

Always include a smiley when posting a joke online! Nobody can tell you're being sarcastic from the tone of your voice, coz on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog! (quoth Snoopy)

Originally posted by @David Ware:

May depend on where it is located. St. Louis has a lot of war zone. 

Thanks for the reply. The local area crime rate is low according to Trulia.com, but I've also heard many realtors laugh out loud at some of the information available on the popular web-sites. (e.g., the "z-estimate" of market value)

Ferguson is a 15 minute drive to the west, which may have something to do with it. I can't say whether the mess that happened there recently is a counter-balance to the apparent low local crime rate or not.

That's one big problem with investing at a distance. You really do need to get some trusted local experts on your team so you don't snap up something that looks like a great deal and end up getting "snapped" yourself!