All Forum Posts by: David C.

You need to work both ends against the middle.

Strive for above average earnings and a large savings/investment rate.

Scrimping while earning 50,000 is not going to produce life changing results.

making 150,000 and living a nice american lifestyle can allow you to save or invest 30,000/year. Re-Run Duncan's math with 20,000/year or 30,000/year and see what I mean.

make 200,000 and lease new cars, go on fly vacations and live in 6,000 sqft in expensive areas, and you can end up broke.

The only thing I'm jealous of other people for is their youth.

Anything else they have I can get if I want it bad enough by hard work.

I don't like the island sideways, and where you can only get to 3 sides.

I'd make these changes:

1. bigger doorway - remove the cabinet to the left of the range.

2. face the fridge toward the range, rather than 'away from the living area'

3. rotate the island and plonk it in the middle of the room, if possible, make it mobile and just have non-specific lighting - 4 recessed lights or something.

Rotating the island makes it a work surface for the sink/range area.

Have seating 'over hang' on the non-work side, and both ends.

Were we off on measurements?

My in-laws have an island that you can slide around, its on those 'moving men' things or something. It gives her a working area but can be moved if they want room for a table. Of course that means no power or appliances, also I guess it can't be too big. I'm not sure how people would know it slid if you weren't there to tell them. If that door in the upper left is infrequenly used, they could leave it blocking that a lot of the time.

I don't see your layout attached.

I use something cheaper. Afraid to mention it due to forum rules. I can also get a kickback if I give you a referral link - so contact me outside the forum. I think $15/month is easily achieved.

@Damien Clark

I expect some after pictures in this thread when you are done!

Would you post some before pictures?

A risk-free 7.9% return is hard to come by these days. If it won't impact your next investment and you have emergency funds, I'd pay it off.

updated:

Even if you are 'net positive' and must pay taxes, you have a benefit from depreciation that year, because you still got to offset the income from the property with the 'non-cash' expense.

If you had chosen non-real-estate investments, and generated a similar return, you would not have the depreciation to offset it. For instance if you bought a million dollar temporary staffing business, and had a 30,000 profit, you would pay taxes on all the profit.

@Thomas Williamson

is brilliant. Don't even call back.

I'm not being a wise-guy - I would not have thought of that. I'd be wracking my brain for ways to explain them away. But he's right - you can't possibly have a duty to talk to those people.

Follow your normal eviction procedures, deal with him and the court.