All Forum Posts by: Ann North

@Carla Carvalho and @Account Closed Thank you for connecting, I just sent you each a PM. I appreciate you reaching out and would be glad to answer any questions you have!

Minnesota has the most beautiful summers.

There are some great incredible up and coming neighborhoods! I found one last weekend!

@John Moorhouse there is lots of great advice on here,  just asking the question is commendable, that trait will help you in life. Never be afraid to ask questions~ 

1. Do not drop out of school because it is a STIGMA. You don't want to start life with a stigma, rightly or wrongly society labels and you will have the label "high school dropout." No. If you're smart you are better than that.

2. Do NOT take on student loan debt. Debt overall is bad (unless it's strategic) and I would try to avoid college debt at all costs.

3. Find a way to make your HS experience better -- join a club, START an investing club! Find a teacher who "gets" you and you like and set up an internship. Be proactive. Don't be afraid to have an adult contact the school and maybe set up an independent study. Find a mentor. Maybe on BP. Find a real estate company with a savvy President/CEO in any area of real estate and ask them if they can mentor you on an independent study. Go do an independent study. You could do that for your junior and senior years. BE PROACTIVE

The lesson here is your drive is great - being smart is great - now you have to take the gifts you have and make them work for you not against you.

Also, don't believe the hype about "online education" it is not the same.

HOPE THAT HELPS! GOOD LUCK!

No, just no.

Terrible idea.

@Tyler Frost

Congrats! It's wise, I think, to take your time and educate yourself because there is a lot of different areas of RE and a lot to sort through. I don't think you will ever regret learning and starting to trying to grow your money! Good luck!

Insanity. Terrible idea. What are they thinking? Oh wait, I can't say on here but look who is behind the bill. {insert eyeroll} and I thought California was bad! And I am sort of pro rent-control in certain places like Los Angeles because I lived through the condo conversion craze. This is insanity.

On a side note, I'm like 100% certain the photo of the apartment on MinnPost is my old apartment at the U!

https://www.minnpost.com/glean/2019/06/minneapolis-landlords-organize-against-proposed-tenant-screening-ordinance/

@Jacob Hanson

@Stephen Richerson it looks amazing! Great job!

We had to move out of Southern California due to a job relocation and built our place in 2016 in Los Angeles, it's really nice in gated community with a pool, 5 bedroom 4 bath with a main level suite and full bath (a second master, an in-law suite, a home office) appx 2600 square feet. We are looking for an exit on our property. We have equity and just want our equity out. We had a tenant who loved it for 3 years because they got a huge deal. It's all upgraded and about 2600 sq feet. It is a great rental and our mortgage is assumable. We will configure anything to get some cash out of the deal. I have a neighbor offering me cash for a lease option to buy and/or assume our mortgage in 6 months (because they're in the middle of a divorce) but I thought I'd come on here because that situation seems like it could get sticky. We have all stainless steel appliances and could consider leaving the washer and dryer but we might want to ship it back. Our tenant is currently moving out. We had terrible realtors (one tried to pressure us into a short sale but we are not upside down!) It is just too hard to manage from a different state. It would be a great place fro someone staying in SoCal or if someone wants to rent it out. We have a PM company in place too.

Like I said, we are seriously considering an exit out of property. 

@Josh Howard

@Jennifer Logan

Good schools are everything. In California where I lived and currently where I reside, it dictates everything, especially home prices. 

@Shiloh Lundahl

I get what the OP is trying to get at -- parents are becoming more empowered in their choices but at the root of those choices is finding the best schools for their kids and the family, what works the best and what schools are most aligned with their family's values. Saying it's not a factor is not helping yourself when analyzing areas. However, it depends on who the potential market is -- young parents with pre-school kids or seniors? Maybe not as much a factor but people think about it and look at it in terms of resale value too.

Perception is also part of this. There are ratings that go into it and online ratings that aren't always accurate but it doesn't matter because the perception alone (of desirable schools) can drive up home values.

Also, teachers are very important. Hey, be nice to your kids teacher today! Send them a Starbucks gift card. Most people don't know it but teachers spend something like $800-$1200 a year out of their own pocket for supplies. There are more options and it behooves the investor to at least know a bit about schools in the area, what the perception/reputation is and options. A good place to start is online rankings.

@Owen Dashner Thank you! That is very helpful. I didn't even know these types of loans existed until today. I even spent time researching and calling around when I was trying to refi our property in California that we ended up having to rent it out. We couldn't refi because it was built new and so the LTV wasn't there yet. It's almost there now. Thx!