All Forum Posts by: Christie Gahan

Hi Grant:

Ignore everyone else.  

We have come out of a period of velocity that was crazy.  Cheap money, multiple offers.  Economic conditions have changed. 

Let's be clear.  Folks that made a lot of money from 2019 to 2023 had Perfect Economic conditions.  They made money and I am happy for them.  But, that is not a flex.  It is so cringe.  

People have made some "Change Your Life " money.  But, it only changes your life if you keep it!  

Listen carefully to what people say.  " My portfolio is worth ten million" does not mean the same thing as " I manage a portfolio worth ten million dollars."  This does not mean "My net worth is ten million dollars".   

"My portfolio is worth ten million."  Okay.  This could be true.  At the same time, it could also be true that your portfolio is worth ten million and you owe twelve million.  This would mean you are negative two million.  Not good.  Or it could have negative cash flow.

"I manage a portfolio worth ten million."  Okay.  This could be true.  At the same time, do you own any of it?  "I manage" does not mean that you own anything.

"My net worth is ten million."  Okay. This could be true.  This would mean that all of your assets ( stocks, bonds, real estate) is worth A.  Subtract all debt. ( IRS debt, mortgage debt, student loans)  If the amount left over is ten million then you would have a net worth of ten million.  Great!  But, can they prove it?  

Focus on the Quality of the Deal not the number of deals.

Best of Luck!

Hi John McDonald: I notice you are a flipper.  I guess you are looking at residential growth from job growth?

Thanks.

Hey, Brittany.  Sorry about your situation.

Do you have an umbrella policy?  They are super cheap and might give you a bit more peace of mind.

 You have 3 kids under 3!!!!    Good Grief!  How stressful do you want your life to be?  Get out of this and get your money back too.  You just got a free semester of your real estate MBA.  Be happy with that you learned and go on.  

"When a man shows you who he really is, Believe him."   I think you know enough about the seller and his realtor.  This is not someone you want to work with.  If you feel cranky, go to the realtors broker and complain.  The comment about closing with out the permits being closed or getting the CO is unprofessional to me.  I think it creates liability issues that there Broker will not be happy about.

Do you have your own realtor?  Did I miss that ?  Maybe look for a new one.  I have a good relationship with my realtor.  He would have been solving some of these problems before I heard about them.  Your realtor should be running interference for you.  Good Luck.

Hi Ya!  Anybody tracking the CHIPS money in Oregon?  I have some ideas about the Intel plant in Hillsboro and there's something going in Beaverton too.   ( Chips is a Biden program to bring computer chip manufacturing away from China and back in to the US.  Billions of dollars going out thru the states to local areas.)

Quote from @Account Closed:

I have been obsessed with shipping containers homes and apartments for the last 15 years. I am now in the position to build my first small apartment complex and I want to use prefab shipping container studios to do so. Each unit is made from a 20' shipping container and consists of a full bathroom, kitchenette, mini split, and vinyl flooring. These units are "plug and play" essentially and hook right up to your plumbing and electrical onsite. The total cost for 10 of these units is around $250K, but I am working on getting a bulk discount from the company that builds them. Each unit is just shy of 160 sqft. 

What are the chances that a builder would be able to build a 1,600sqft building consisting of 10 studio apartments for that same price? I own a couple of homes, but this will be my first big kid project. I have a ton to learn and I am open to suggestions. I would think that land development, rough grading, wet utilities, dry utilities etc should all be comparable either way I build so in my mind it comes down to permits possibly being a lot higher with the prefab units???? 

Looking to network and build a team, I have already met a great lender from my first post who is extremely knowledgeable. If you're a Project Manager, General Contractor, Architect, Land Developer etc I would love to chat.

I will attach a rough drawing I did using SketchUp. This shows the units broken up into two seperate 5-plex units just as an example. 

 Well, don't bother with Hillsboro.  They aren't gonna go for it.  Ha Ha

 There was a small (8? ) development in St Helens about 2 years ago.  4 up and 4 down.  The lower units are wheel chair accesible.  I went up to see them out of curiousity.  They were all for sale as condos.  I think they were on the market for 18 mos with out buyers?  Nice finishes.  I hated the interior units w/0ut enough windows for me.   Gotta be what Jay Hinrichs mentioned.  Glad to hear he is still in a good place financially. 

Akshay: I own property in a self directed roth.  msg me if you have questions.

Do you have a good tax planner?  Not somebody that prepares your returns.  You need an experienced accountant that will strategize with you. 

Just a friendly reminder, get a professional inspection.  I'd insist on an invasive inspection if needed.  ( In my area, inspections are just what is seen to the eye.  An invasive inspection, with approval, is cutting the hole in the drywall if that is what is needed to get to the root of a problem.)  Also, check the electrical panel and amt of juice per unit.  That can be an expensive and time consuming project. 

If I am understanding your data ...  The property was bought in Feb 2023 for $525k and sold in Sept for $540k.  They didn't really make any money.  Ten months of carrying costs and then realtor fees.  They probably lost money.