All Forum Posts by: Dan D.

My best advice would be to buy a house and don't move into it.  Rent it out and keep living at home.  Get the cash flow started before you start adding any expenses to yourself.

It's better than the "buy a duplex and rent half" because you can start getting cashflow and you can choose to live someplace else after you accumulate a property or two, or ten!

We are kind of talking apples and oranges.

In an area like LA, I could understand moving downtown more than some "suburbs".

In Minnesota, (near the Twin Cities), new condo projects are taking place downtown, but people with kids and some money still seem to want to live 30-45 minutes away from downtown and have a half acre lot and their own space.

One thing to keep in mind that will help more rural location is the changes happening in the work place.

1.  More full-time jobs are providing more work from home opportunities than ever before.  This trend will only continue because it minimizes the needed office space.  Co-work locations are helping out with this as well.

2.  More and more of the workforce are becoming freelancers / independent contractors.  People in business for themselves.  This is going to soar over the next decade or two.  There is very little reason to work for a company when you can make more and be more flexible in controlling your life as a freelancer.

One thing I think that will hurt suburbs is the reliance on the automobile.  Someone else stated earlier that more mixed-development is what people are seeking, so they can walk to a sandwich / coffee shop and socialize with others without having to tow a 3,000 lb vehicle with them wherever they go.

Forward looking small communities that are on the edge of suburbs could really gain from this if planned correctly.  As real estate investors, we can help develop small communities that people want to live in.

I find the value of the loan not so much for leverage as a hedge against inflation.

My goal is to tie up as much money in the next couple years at current mortgage rates and hold for 30 years.

Every $1000 mortgage payment now will seem like a $500 payment in 25 years from now.

Dawn has great advice.

No need to beat yourself up when the rest of the world is standing by to do it.

Eat right, create good habits.  Find the smallest parcel of real estate you can buy and find a roommate and charge rent.

Then move up from there.

I've looked into REIT's and I have a small amount invested with them, but here are the disadvantages.

You don't have the control. REIT's are basically businesses, and part of the appeal of real estate over investments is that you actually know what's going on, versus the "sales speak" and "marketing propaganda" most businesses release as quarterly reports.

On the other hand, REIT's can be better than sticking your money in a mattress and you can get into the market for less than buying your own property.

I'm hoping to get to financial independence for the flexibility.

So much of my life is structured around a full time job and growing up on a farm, this seems unnatural to me.

My goal is to provide my kids with the mindset so they don't end up working for someone else unless they really want to do something they love.

When updating a property for a rental, what do you feel is a reasonable time frame to get back your improvement investment.

Example:

If I have a property that I can rent for $1,000 a month, but by spending a bit more, I could raise the rent to $1,100 per month, what amount is reasonable to spend to get that extra $100 per month ($1,000-$1,200 per year) of extra income?

If I spend an extra $1,000 for a $100 per month increase, within 12 months I should have my investment back.  What do most of you do?

Thanks for the feedback.  I appreciate it.

This might be a dumb question, but if it is double-pane, is it one "piece" of glass manufactured with the two panes, or does the window itself actually have two separate panes sandwiched together.  (where I am replacing two sheets of glass instead of one combined/manufactured double pane).

I feel dumb asking because normally I'm pretty handy, I just haven't done windows before.  (About the only thing I haven't done).

Thanks i wasn't sure who to contact. I will check with a glass and mirror company.