All Forum Posts by: David S.

Just stole this off of @Austin Fruechting's blog but it's a very good one and something we've had a lot of from my wife's side of the family. (Amazing how your own parents would rather you not succeed at times! Nobody likes competition ;)

To Avoid Criticism:

Say Nothing

Do Nothing

Be Nothing

 It's taken me a while to realize that this is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. I have started doing this and can already see doors opening and ideas flourishing. 

yep, it works! Bought mine on Amzn for $70

Photos don't even do it justice.

Well, if you can stand out without being a sore thumb then stand out. Everybody wants to own the "cute" home or for that matter a recognizable home so long it's not because it's ugly. Psychology is huge in this business. If there's another rental or 2, 3 on the same street and they all look the same or very similar, why would somebody want to see yours over one that's $100 less a month? Especially if you plan to have a fresh interior anyway, sell the whole package. 

We just repainted an old farm house. Was all white, we turned it into a two tone with grey siding and white trim. I'm telling you, that one change added 5-10% to the property because it pops now and has tons of charm. 

One other thing to consider; profit is relative. Sometimes it's ok to take a hit, so long you're not the guy holding the shortest straw. Look for stable assets; basic housing will always be desired, high end luxury not always. 

I'm uncomfortable to admit it but I'm with @Joe Villeneuve on this one. (I kid Joe) If you're looking for market commentary on a catalyst for the next recession you're wasting your time. There's some good names out there to read up on like John Hussman, Roubini, etc who have a lot more depth to give on such catalysts, but even they're wrong most of the time (but still worth a read!)

I will say there's plenty of catalysts out there; Stretched labor market, high corporate debt, overvalued assets, massive government debt on almost all levels, geopolitical instability, failing pension funds, political uncertainty, and on it goes. Not sure why you're looking for the last catalyst to trigger the next round of contraction... that's usually not the case.

@Austin Tam What's your reason to believe these are toilet flushes? Unless you actually called your tenant to ask about their potty routines, you're making a pretty big assumption. 

The meter will "click" up 0.001 MCF every time 7.5 gallons has gone through. So where you see no usage at 10 and 11, they very well may have used the toilet or cleaned some dishes by hand, etc, but until the unit measures another 7.5 gallons total nothing more will register. 

In theory they could use one drop of water and trigger another 7.5 on the chart, or use 7.4 gallons and not trigger a reading at all. Make sense? 

Everything is so interconnected these days, you don't have to see a catalyst for there to be one. Simple example: ETF's. It used to be mutual funds where there was a day long redemption period, now it's effectively real time. It only takes so much selling pressure to trigger stops, spill to margin calls, reduce consumer confidence, and on it goes. Typically bear markets on Wall Street start before there's an obvious catalyst. That to say, you don't need an obvious one at all. 

What I do know is that historically economic expansions don't tend to last as long as this one already has; there always seems to be a significant pull back. Could it be different this time? I do suppose it could, but I do think it's wise to stay nimble and not lever up too much at this point in time. I wouldn't want to fully finance a turn key property here but would rather buy with 30% down and make sure it has at least 10% easy equity. 

Windows! Single? Double? Serviceable or not? Rot? Moisture between panes? 

How old is the place?