All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I struggled with student loan debt for about 20 years.  I was on the income based repayment program for years at $720/month and they were earning more interest than what I was paying down.  It ballooned to $113,000.

Pay off the student loan debt

Here's the thing - the student loan debt is not forgivable in bankruptcy and if/when times get hard, the first thing most folks do (like myself) is request a deferment, forbearance, or take some community college courses at night when those two aren't available.  I have been there.  I have done that.  It will haunt you.

Being on a plan that promises forgiveness is also no guarantee.  I thought I was all set with loan forgiveness based on the original loan origination date, but then I learned that because I consolidated loans a few years after graduating to take advantage of lower rates, the clock restarted.

I also learned that the "income based" repayment program is a scam.  They advertise you can use your 1040 "adjusted gross" income or if it "isn't representative", you can use your W-2 income.  That works well if you consistently have a job and don't get paid a severance after getting laid off.  I got laid off...and was paid a 9 month severance which inflated my 1040 adjusted gross income.  I tried to adjust the following year to my W-2 income...they look at gross wages on your W-2, not net (net of 401(k), net of before tax health insurance, etc.) which is what your 1040 adjusted gross income is based on it.  I appealed it...and I lost.

Pay off the student loan debt

El Paso County is the fastest growing area in Colorado at the moment.  Houses in Pueblo are cheap and there are opportunities - Pueblo West is a good area as well.  Stay west of I-25 if you can.  East of I-25 has opportunities but they won't flourish for quite a few years - there aren't any jobs out there yet.  Stay away from the Superfund site.

I would like to buy land as well.  Wiggins and Dear Trail (East of Aurora) are what I was seeing in Elizabeth and Parker 10 years ago.  You can still find a decent house on 20-40 acres for $350 - $400k.  Yoder (east of Colorado Springs) still has 40 acre lots (without a structure) for under $100k...it's because you can't get the water rights for commercial farming or agriculture.  I saw water rights (no land) for sale on 40 acres near Greeley being sold for $1.6 million earlier this week.

Folks don't agree with me, but Denver Metro is tough to make money on at the moment - it's like squeezing blood from a turnip.

I bought a house about two years ago in Fort Morgan - bank foreclosure for $22,500.  I put about another $22,500 into it.  At the time, I wasn't sure if I wanted to flip it or rent it.  I rented it at $725/month after renovation...my tenant gave notice he's moving out May 5.  The house next door just went on the market for $190/sq ft.  I talked to my property manager/real estate agent this afternoon and we're going to list mine for sale as well - listing price will be around $115,000. (NO ADVERTISEMENT INTENDED OR IMPLIED IN THIS RESPONSE)

I have two others in "in the middle of the country".  One I bought for $7,000 and put about another $10,000 into and another that I paid $4,000 for and put about another $40,000 into.  Both are rented - one at $600 and the other at $795.  The first house is valued at $48,000 and the second is valued at $65,000.  I will more than likely take the money from the house that's for sale and buy two or three more for the cash flow.

You can buy decent homes in places like Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee for under $50k all day long and cash flow well after repairs/reserves. If you have $1 mil liquid cash, I would look to the Midwest and PAY CASH for those homes. Stay away from the homes in Memphis that are listed for $6,000 - $7,000 on the MLS and that are currently rented at $190 per month. You may be able to buy these homes cheap, but the rent won't cover your expenses over the long term.

I am not a fan of multi-family or commercial.  I like single family because they are more liquid and there are more buyers (especially during a downturn).

Relax - I listen to the environment around me.  Sometimes I'll sit in my backyard with a beer and just sit (and drink the beer). 

Learn - I listen to the people around me.  There are a lot of folks that know a little bit about a lot of things and if you listen to these folks, you can formulate some strategies and ideas from them.

Grow - Lately I've been listening to the Jocko Podcast.  I sat through a talk with one of his cohorts and I was hooked. I also recently bought his book "Discipline Equals Freedom" and can't agree more with his thoughts.

I've just painted right over them in the past.  No issues.  I have heard some of these contain asbestos...

Before you put a "trailer" or a prefabricated home on it, check with the local building department.  I once had a property in a jurisdiction where the standard lot size was 25' wide by 100' long.  It also had 5 foot setbacks so essentially, on one city lot, you could have a house that was only 15 feet wide.  They didn't allow mobile homes or trailers.  Luckily, I had three lots next to each other...and sold them in that fashion.

You might also consider selling them on a seller financed mortgage.  Many land sales occur in this manner.

I would talk to a lawyer about legality/arms length rules.

With relation to a loan servicer - in our area, I believe the best option is SLS Loan Servicing but I have never used them and can't provide an opinion either way.

I'm up at 3:30am.  Get out of bed, shower, shave, hit the gym for at least an hour (two if I can).  I go from there.

This is only successful if you also go to bed at 7pm and make sleep a priority.  Everything in between will fall into place if you do both.

NO.  Not unless you know what you're doing from a construction perspective.  Flooded homes can have foundation issues, mold issues, electrical issues, plumbing issues, etc., etc., etc.  I would not advise this as a first purchase. 

I have a Network Attached Server (RAID enabled with 5 hard drives) with 10GB of space.  I have other business ventures that take up a lot of that space.  It's backed up to Google Drive.  That's how I store my stuff.

With relation to how to store receipts, I scan them in as a PDF file and then name the file by date and vendor.  As an example, if I had to pay a plumber on March 18, 2018, the file name would be '20180318 XYZ Plumbing.pdf'

I also use Xero as accounting software....I upload a copy of the pdf and attach it to the transaction in Xero.

...this leaves me with three copies of the receipt, a way to retrieve the receipt by data and by vendor, and a system that works for me.

Put your reserves in a savings account so they earn interest. Capex Reserves are balance sheet items. Your Tax Return reflects profit and loss. Essentially, all you're doing from an accounting entry perspective is moving cash from your checking account to a capex reserve account (I keep a separate savings account at the bank for this...and earn pennies of interest income on it every month).