All Forum Posts by: Chris John

"Should my mom co-sign for my mortgage loan?"

Only if she's willing and able to pay it if things go south.

@Jack B.

haha.  Good times!  Man, you really do meet all kinds...  Good on you for dodging that bullet.

People will go nuts wanting to mentor a 16 year old that gives a damn.  As @Account Closed points out, find those people locally and absorb everything you can.

"Quantity has a quality all its own". 

I'm not sure I even agree with it in this context, but it is one of my favorite quotes.  haha.

Seriously, this is exactly the same internal conversation I'm having with myself right now.  I need clarity...

I used to teach business classes but became dismayed at the students' lack of interest in the subject, so I switched to math thinking that at least we can all be miserable together. (Mission accomplie) While teaching math classes, I always beat the drum of investing and financial literacy.  I have a lending library, a "stock" club, and drone on and on.  I even taught a mini-course to the senior class the past couple of years.

My stock club consisted of 3 white kids, 1 Portuguese kid, and 5 Mexican kids.  We're a largely agrarian community without a large population of any other race/ethnicity.  Long story short, those are the people that show interest, so those are the people that get my time.  I drive a lot of kids away because I don't "tell them" what they want to hear.  I suggest they read books which we discuss.  We play Cashflow 101 and 202.  I've been told many times that my club would be more popular if I wasn't so annoying about making them do research and work, but the kids seemed genuinely confused when I point out that I don't want them there if they won't do the work. 

If I have a point (and I'm not sure that I do), it's that you can only provide the opportunity.  You can't do it for anyone.  Has that opportunity always been there for everyone?  Of course not.  That's shameful, but I didn't do it and I can't change it.  I can only provide help to those around me from this point forward.  I overcame my life setbacks and they'll have to as well.  Maybe their setbacks are bigger, maybe mine were, but in the end you only go around once so you better figure them out.

By the way, my mentor is Indian (Sikh specifically) and my property manager is black.  My tenants are white, black, Mexican, gay, and straight and the only color that matters is green.

@Destiny Bullington

I sent you a pm.

@Destiny Bullington

I'd also heard something in regards to Tennessee property taxes going up dramatically.  Are you hearing anything in those regards?

@Destiny Bullington

Nashville struck me as pretty expensive when we were there.  Are there opportunities to cashflow?  I've got all the opportunities I could ever want in California to lose money every month but hope for capital appreciation!  haha.

Correction.  Middle Tennessee...  I sound like such a Californian, I'm sure.  haha.

@Destiny Bullington

I'm actually in California, but was in Tennessee a few years ago on a family vacation.  We thought Memphis and Nashville were cool, but we really enjoyed the time we spent at a lake house in Lexington.  Does that area count as Central Tennessee?  It's kind of a smaller town, but I was wondering what the rental prospects in that neck of the woods might be.  I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Thank you.