All Forum Posts by: Anthony H.

The vehicle you can find in that budget that offers the best combination of fuel efficiency, low mileage, high reliability reputation, low cost to repair/maintain, low cost insurance you can find. That's the criteria I would use. 

If you're thinking like an investor, the cosmetics don't matter all that much.

And consider a bike for your non car necessary transportation. 

Good luck and I hope you get some great deals out of your efforts. So far so good.

I don't think legit seminars have to be free. I also don't think they need to be exorbitantly expensive, either. 

I've been to one seminar, free, which was merely a basic info, get 'em salivating upsell to  a crowd of wide eyed hopefuls with eager pen and pad. Funneling them into the "real" seminar with the "really good info" was the only goal. Which is all one can expect when it's free I suppose...

For beginners (which I am), I think the best place to start are trustworthy books that are highly recommended here on bp and other places online. The staples. Not the get rich quick books. Not the guru books with huge, confident, smiling faces plastered on the covers. Once one has a decent foundation of rei knowledge, then they can consider any appropriate, legit seminars. But the thing is, for beginners at least, until there is that sound foundation, you don't really know which seminars are legit and which are just massive upsells/waste of time.  They can all look good and necessary. The problem with seminars is that they prey on the naive and ignorant. What seasoned, successful, 30 yr re investor goes to some guru seminar? I suspect none. 

For the experienced investors... I think they're in a better position to know what a good seminar actually is and one just trying to take advantage. It's the newbies that get taken which is my issue with them. Seminars are not inherently bad in and of themselves and the good ones deserve fair compensation. They just attract a slimey crowd of snake oil salesman who know how to sell the dream.

I'll preface this by saying I've yet to flip a property so this is purely my opinion and not based on experience. But going on gut alone...

I'd take out the bushes by the street as well as the ones in front of the house. They add nothing and look dated. The ones near the house are almost blocking part of the window. I'd replace them with some lower to the ground perennial color. 

Consider replacing the door to something with some color/character. 

That cement path that wraps around the prop and the walk way toward the door... if you have enough, perhaps brick those. Could look real classy and give the house more character. 

Color on the trim of the house would help a lot. 

Get rid of the metal awning on the back door. 

A gorgeous, fairly mature crape myrtle (not sure its the right zone for it) placed in the center of the front yard would be gorgeous and add a needed pop of color when in bloom. Give it that "cute" factor. 

And maybe some nice planters under the bottom windows.

Obviously a ton of great advice here that should be enough to help you make your decision. My opinion on it though is to go with your gut. I totally understand just flat saying "no". It is a risk and why bother with the potential hassle? I don't think anyone gets into rei to take on headaches and time wasters. But at the same time this is America and everyone deserves a second chance if they're trying to do things the right way. Some are in a position to offer that second chance. Some aren't. Depends on your personal situation. But if you can and if it appears on all accounts tangible and intangible that they are trustworthy, responsible, and able and willing to pay on time... I would seriously consider it. And there are ways mentioned by others to help protect against your nightmare coming true. It's a bit of a roll of the dice but it could easily work out in your favor. 

 Excellent info. I'll be doing a lot more research on LED's. Thanks. 

Hey Loren,

Appreciate you answering all these questions. I'm curious, if you were supplying a rental property today, lets say a single family home, with new lighting from top to bottom, what lamps would you use and why? What brand, wattage and type?

Thanks, Braden. Appreciate it. 

That I don't know. I'm sure there are lots of investors here on BP that are very experienced and knowledgeable on the California market. 

And while you guys may have uber friendly tenant laws in Cali, perhaps more so than many other states, it seems tenants are generally given an upper hand anyway no matter where one is. Im just saying, if the math works, no matter where you are, it works. And maybe you would be rewarded for a more difficult search with better returns than say in Michigan or elsewhere. Just my opinion. From a total newbie.

(Disclaimer: I'm very new to rei myself.) But in my opinion you shouldn't totally write off socal, even if you do invest out of state. It's more expensive, yes, but the rents you could command are higher as well. It may be a lot more difficult than in other parts of the country but if you could find the right deal, even just one, it could work out very well for you.