All Forum Posts by: Neil Schoepp

@Michael Siciliano welcome aboard.  You found the right place.  You should start with reading everything you can here and listen to every podcast.  It is amazing the wealth of knowledge you will pick up.  I went out and purchased 2 SFR (Single Family Residence) over a few years.  Then found biggerpockets and the strategy of house hacking. That's when you rent a portion of the property your living at to someone and they pay your mortage.  Most commonly you buy a duplex live in one unit rent the other. I'm not sure if it was Josh or Brandon that rented their bedroom out and slept on the couch.  House hacking just works.  Especially in the beginning. I wish I would have done it. Your defiantly on the right track to invest your money in real estate. Remember your best asset right now is your age.  Take Brandon Hicks advice and try to hook up with someone close to where you live and basically say I can give you leg work running to the courthouse, painting units, checking on properties etc. in exchange for letting me watch how you do things.  

Remember each no you get just means your one step closer to getting a yes.

@Jon Adams 

@Steve Babiak  has it right it is 21 years. You need to look at PA Code 42-5530.

The school of hard knocks.  We have all attended it at one time or another.  The main objective here it to get rid of your tenant as quickly and with as little damage to your property as possible.  If you get your property "back" in good shape then did you really loose that $500.  After this is all over do an after action recap of what happen what  you could have done differently.  Use this as an experience to help you bulletproof your business.  You will bounce back from this.

@Derek Helm I just came across This post and thought it would be good reading.  Please remember that frugal does not mean cheap.  Frugal means smart. Do I need that nice SUV for 10k or can I get by with a civic for 5k. I then have 5k to put towards real estate. I recently was paying over a hundred dollars for my cell phone. Two lines 750 minutes and 500 text. How dumb was I being. I now get unlimited calls and text on two lines for $20.  The trade off is in my area (non major city) the cell reception can be spotty sometimes, especially indoors.  But I haven't had a problem in over two months.  Another great place to read is Mr. Money Mustache. Another blog that just talks about being smart with your money and not wasting it.  Now get reading :)

Derek,

        Start socking away 50% of your income.  You will be surprise how quick it adds up.  Read, read and read some more.  Listen to the podcast here on bigger pockets. At the end of each one are book suggestions the beauty is these suggestions are coming from real life investors that are successful and use these some books. That's a beautiful thing. Some books right of the top of my head are rich dad poor dad and the cashflow quadrant these are very easy read and explains a lot.  The Ultimate buyers guide from biggerpockets is awesome also and you can start right now. That last tidbit I will chime in with is you set your goal (that you want to start investing) now devote a portion of each day getting there. Each day I ask myself if what I am doing is getting me closer to my goal if it is great if not then i begin doing something that is. Good luck. And don't ever be afraid of asking questions.

@Jeremy Peters  thanks for the list. I especially like #1 and will be using it. 

@David Doyle  thanks for the nuggets of advice. I will be using most of them.

@Douglas Larson I know it's late, I just read the post.  Cryo-tek is an additive you use in place of water for a hot water heating system. It comes in 5 gallon pails. A good plumbing supply should have it. I had 15 splits and 3" of ice back in '02. Haven't had a problem since.  I have a crawl space with a section of heating pipe that runs through it.  In the winter I would heat the house with a wood stove, so no hot water traveling through that pipe for weeks and never had a problem. Sometimes the temp would be -5 overnight. 

If by historic you mean "old" then you can disregard this.  There are special rules by me. Historic means you can not change the look of the building. As a quick example no vinyl siding, or you have to use a certain type of roof shingle. One guy had a problem because he used the same shingles as he had before just a different color. Windows and doors seem to be a problem also.  Just some food for thought.  Good luck.

I'm not sure how practical it would be for a yard but I have used moth balls in the past.  I once, actually I still do, had a cat that liked to use the large planter in my foyer.  Moth balls took care of it.  I have also used the wooden/spring type mouse traps to discourage my pup from jumping up into the couch. The snap scares them off.  Good luck.

@Ron Averill  see I told you I don't write well that sums it up very nicely.  

Take peace in knowing that you will pass on deals because of something that seemed like a big deal at the time and turned not to be. The point isn't that it turned out not to be.  The point IS that at the time you made the decision it WAS a big deal.

@Dawn Anastasi I agree with your take on capital.  That in part is what has lead me here. I want to become a bit more aggressive in my ventures. 

@Arnie Guida any chance you would be willing to share your story.  If not no worries. Why did you pass on the 8plex?  In hindsight what would you have done differently?