All Forum Posts by: Alvin Sylvain

Originally posted by @Jim C.:

500 days??? 

I'd go look at it, at the very least it will be a learning experience to why its been sitting so long

Thanks for the reply. I worry about "learning experiences" as they often can be quite expensive! I think I'll see if I can learn from somebody else's experience where possible.

But at least now I know I'm not the only one who thinks 500 days is an awfully long time.

I think just about any credit card company will allow you to make any legal purchase within your credit limit.

Two things to be wary of: 1) you'll need either One Card with a HUGE limit ($100k? wow!) or several cards that add up to a huge limit. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the days of banks mailing out credit cards to everybody with a pulse and all you needed to do was sign on the line are over. Banks today will check your credit, and the higher your existing limits are, the less likely they're going to be to underwrite another one.

and 2) your interest rate is going to be MASSIVE. Be ready to refinance with more traditional methods or flip as soon as possible.

Yes, people did used to do that, but I doubt if that technique is still much in use today. It might be possible to get $100K limit on one, maybe two cards, but after that, banks would be morons to issue you a third card with any respectable limit.

And I say this as the former holder of a card with a $39K limit (boy, the horror stories I could tell you on that mess!). It may be possible to accumulate $100K in readily available credit cards, but I'd have to say it's rather unlikely.

Of course it will be cheaper, but don't forget, sometimes you get what you pay for.

I'm not going to advise you to find a licensed, bonded contractor to do the kind of work a cave-man can do. But I will point out that, if anything goes wrong, your cave-man might disappear into the woods, leaving you with all of the liability.

And lets not forget, sometimes you'll hire a licensed, bonded contractor, and all he's going to do is hire a cave-man to do the work. But you know what? If that cave-man "effs" up something, and disappears into the woods, you still have the contractor's bond to cover the liability.

At the end of the day, you have to assess the risks. There are jobs I'll do myself. There are jobs that I wouldn't mind grabbing somebody standing around the Home Depot parking lot for. And there are jobs I want to see the bond and the license number.

I think in the process of being the Older Wiser More Experienced Investors out there, the literal original question has gotten lost in the smog.

To wit: What IS real estate?

If I may, let me take a stab at answering that literal question.

"Estate" basically means "property". When your Dear Old Great Granma goes off to her Final Reward, she will typically leave behind a house chock full of mementos, from the basement to the rafters. Electronics (TV, radio, etc), furniture (sofas, beds, night-stands, etc.), knick-knacks of every possible variety and more.

SO -- the next of kin doesn't need all of this . . . stuff.

They'll go through it for anything of value, be that something they think is worth a lot, or just something to remember her by. For everything remaining, it is time for a -- wait for it -- ESTATE SALE.

You've seen plenty of these. They are selling off Granny's STUFF. Her PROPERTY. Her ESTATE. Most of it is useless and valueless, but one man's junk is another man's -- well, it's still junk, but he might be able to get a few bucks for it.

Then, you have the house itself, or perhaps more importantly, the land it sits upon. You know, that stuff they aren't making any more of.

THAT, my friend is REAL. Out of all the junk and stuff and (insert word here, you know what it is) that Granny owns, only the land is -- well -- real.

You can build little ceramic figurines of cows and ballerinas until doomsday. You can fill the Grand Canyon with knitted doilies and antique-looking lamps. But you can not build any more land. More so than Bitcoin can ever aspire to be, there is a fixed, extremely limited quantity of land.

Property holders divvy it up among themselves in exchange for "valuable consideration".

Thus, the term, Real Estate. Land, and by some extension the improvements built upon it, are the only kind of property in this world that is really real.

Any thoughts, ladies and gentlemen?

I am in California, but I have a daughter who lives in St. Louis, so I might ask her to bird-dog for me.

I found this 2 building, 12 unit apartment on Loopnet.com for $385K. Current rents total to $6600/month. Each unit is 2x1 and from the description, it would seem it needs little or no rehab work. Every way I work the numbers, it comes out smelling like roses, anywhere between $1600 to $2400 monthly cash-flow, depending on unknowns like maintenance, taxes, insurance, and assumed-knowns like property management and capital reserves.

Now, here in California, $350K will hardly buy a 2 br SFR, nevermind an apartment. And I'm noticing even in the St Louis area, multi-unit apartments usually price at million on up.

SO -- am I looking at a misprint? A scam? A money-pit? Or a golden opportunity that somehow nobody but me has noticed? (despite having been on Trulia.com for over 500 days)

@Matt Michaelson I suggest keeping your options open. Since the other unit is already independent, you can sell it all independently to different buyers. Or if somebody wants them all together, sell them as a "portfolio". Let the buyer worry over the legals of connecting them into a single property *after* the sale, if that's what they prefer.

@Jean Joseph I don't know how much you're investing, but since you're already investing out of state, try finding a 2-4 plex as your FIRST investment. I'm thinking you might find a plex in a different state for a similar price as that condo. Then you're already up 2-4 doors. The only reason (to me) to get a condo is because they're local and cheap. Once you're not concerned with being local, you ought to be able find something better cheap.

@Jordan Akins All things being equal, you would be correct. The more units you have, the more you get economies of scale. But clearly all things are NOT equal. For example, if the local jurisdiction makes you jump thru hoops for a 4-plex, maybe you're better off with 2 duplexes.

@Terri David Add: I wish I could remember the author's name (if anyone's interested I'll look it up), but he described SFR's not as "real estate", but rather, "FEEL estate". The house is designed to FEEL like Home. They are not built and sold so investors can profit (altho often they can). They're built and sold as a place to raise a family. They're priced based on comparables. Multi-Family units are designed from the begining, from inception to construction to sales, as a means to generate passive income. They're priced based on ROI.

Originally posted by @Jeff Bridges:

I'd ask for vet documentation for proof pet has received all state required vaccines. This will get you the name on the dog on record designating that specific animal as their ESA.

Good idea -- AND ask for additional rent/deposit, unless there is some legislation forbidding it for a properly registered service animal.

My humble opinion, all this "emotional support" stuff is simply BS so they can take their precious animals everywhere they go and not have pay extra. A mere "pet" must either stay home or charged extra for.

 Thus, an entire scam industry has arisen where, for a few bucks, you too can have your very own "emotional support peacock".