All Forum Posts by: John Whittle

Yeah I'm single so the one bed one bath trailer would be fine.  The garage situation on the other hand would be terrible.  I have a large 2 car detached right now and still use my spare van as a shed.  I have a little over 1000 sq ft 2 bed one bath in a decent neighborhood. I got for 42k put close to 15k into it.  The 10 - 30k rentals arn't too far from me, I'll be buying a few before too long.

I was just kidding I have a good little business going, it'd be tough to leave behind and start over.  I do however have some credit card sign up bonus points to use.  I checked flights out and they'd be cheap enough. I just might have to take a trip to LA. I've always wanted to.  I've only been west of the Mississippi once to DFW for work for a few weeks.  I liked it down there.

 You got me curious so I started looking in compton theres a nice little trailer on east compton blvd. for 36k.  Lot rent is 630/month though.  Now I'm taking a stroll through the neighborhood on google maps.  Doesn't seem bad, 20 minutes from the beach.  Now you not only have me procrastinating doing invoices/bids but contemplating visiting/moving to California. 

The answer is D people are weird. A might think there 75% is worth 125% and won't settle, B will agree on a price but won't move because they can't find the perfect house and C Might just sit there on there happy butt until foreclosure just because.  

As others said thats a decent price for a whole system.  I'm actually heading out to do the same for the same price today.  If its only the outside part of the a/c system it won't be a good match with the old furnace/air handler.  Which will lead to nothing but problems.  I wouldn't put a new compressor in a 31 year old unit.  As in I wouldn't even give you the option but might throw out an unreasonable price if you insisted.  $1500 is reasonable but would be a waste of money. 

I realize in LA you make most of your money on appreciation so I suppose the slight cash flow isn't necessarily a problem.  You seem to only be taking the mortgage into account though.  What about taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, evictions, utilities, etc.?

That won't effect rent if the heat isn't free anymore? 

It could be a nightmare with that many of them, good techs and parts for those things could be few and far between.  If you don't mind tenants complaining while your waiting on a part from asia, to find out the tech got the wrong part, it won't be that bad.  Even if the tech is good those things are complicated...

What kind of radiators? A new condensing boiler may be your best option.

Mini splits are cheap enough and easy to install. They are terrible to repair and maintain.  One on the second floor of a poorly ducted home sure but I wouldn't want 10 of them in an apartment building.  If you do them get Mitsubishi they are not cheap but reliable.  A lot of the other brands are junk.

Since this will be the house you live in take advantage of a regular mortgage and use the rest to buy an investment property. At 65k with taxes and insurance you should be under $500 a month you can't beat a cheap place to live. My income averaged 20k and I bought a house for 42k. Switching jobs is fine especially if its in the same line of work. Do you know your DTI? Any car loans or anything out? You just have to show you can reasonably afford to pay the loan, they'll love seeing all the cash in the bank.

What do you mean by paying the loan off on the sale? BRRRR is buy rehab rent refi repeat. Your credit will take a hit for 6 months or so after the refi. After you prove you can pay it, it will go back up.

 Here we slam em in as soon as we apply for the permit.  We're not supposed to but you can't wait weeks much less months for a permit to come in when people need ac, heat, electric and plumbing.  

I've got an electric permit out, works been done for 6 weeks, new owners already moved in.  I don't think I'm ever going to see a permit unless I call.  They were happy to take my money though.