All Forum Posts by: David Zheng

so.....what are you the yellow people? :D

Hey all,

so as I build a team of contractors, handymen, electricians, etc. etc. I'm trying to get a feel of how to pay them and how much to pay them.

I understand that different regions require different pay scales but lets see if we can get ballpark numbers to help each other?

do you pay by hour? by job? part time salary? bids before the work or just let them do it and hope they don't charge a leg, etc.

I'll start.

properties are all in the Midwest

electrician- currently paid $45/hour + materials
plumber- $156 for the first hour and $30/15 minutes after that (through a company as I haven't found a licensed self employed plumber)
handyman- does some fixes or simple upgrades ($17.50/hour)
Lawn Guy - $30 per property lawn regardless of size (all the same size) will also weed while he mows

@Jeff Gates But it was an apartment basement that's not even a legal living environment. So if a guy sleeps in my detached garage and I don't find him until the morning, he could technically claim some rights?

@Chris Mason

3.875% for a 30 year fixed conventional Non-owner property?! can you please let me know what kind of qualifications I need to get that kind of rate haha

I was going to say...fine new friends. Not only are they going to try to bring you down, they obviously have nothing to bring you up .

lets see...when I first started investing 1.5 years ago I wanted to simply replace my income at 75k/year from rental cashflow.

well  I beat that number in 9 months, so naturally I set my goals higher. 

 next goal or 250k annual: buy as many properties and self manage as many as possible before Im so overloaded I have to take a part time position
2nd goal or 350k annual: continue buying and managing until I have to quit job to go full time REI
3rd goal or 750k annual: continue to invest until I have to hire 2-3 full time people

as far fetched as it sounds (reach high right?), I really want to make 110k+/month. this comes with pretty cars, private jet charters, etc... hehe..

should probably get rid of the specific address. who knows how many hungry investors WITH money and are ready to pounce on it.

season the investments for 2 months. most banks won't look further than that to let you claim the money as "yours"

otherwise most banks won't let you use money that isn't yours to fund an investment

If you have done several deals in the past, it might not be bad to write your own offer.

I did 7 deals through agents, watched, and asked a lot of questions. My 8th deal I did completely on my own through a private sale and yes it was financed. It went swimmingly well and I was able to drop the price from 330k to 250k on my own negotiating terms.

the biggest potential headache is with title and luckily the title company takes care of all of that, so you shouldn't really need to worry.

and the sales contract? that little $10 3 pager from Office Depot served me well :). (and it comes with 10 copies heh)

Hey guys,

just wanting to leave a tip for those out there....Slow down and enjoy your life and your personal health

so a lot of people know I'm gungho about investing and attaining higher and higher goals. Well since I started 1.5 years, ago I would consistently pull 15 hour days between REI and my full time and my other nightlife business.

 I booked a 2 week trip to Asia to see family and relax. Well I've been so busy with tenant turnover (I deal with student rentals mostly no way around it) I completely neglected to check my Visa, which expired last month...

Had to cancel the trip and pay over $800 in cancellation fees and only got trip credit which I don't know if I can use. Most disheartening is that this was the first time my family was getting together in years along with my ailing grandparents. I would have paid thousands more just to be able to go, but I literally cannot do anything with an expired visa and a passport set to expire next month.

This happened a week after a primary home purchase failed for me due to the worst lender in the world, which lost me $2000 in earnest money and over $800 in inspections/appraisal.

I always labeled those who couldn't commit to something 24/7 or those who "stopped to smell the roses" as weak or unmotivated. Well, I am sorry and I hope myself and whoever reads this to learn from my mistakes.

I've just been trying to work so hard and fast I completely neglected my physical health, my relationships, and my sanity. I've hit one of the darkest points of my life and not one day in may has passed where I questioned "is this worth it."

Don't get caught up in success so much you forget about life.