All Forum Posts by: Andrew Faukner

Like Cassi Justiz said, "It depends on your goals."  One lesson I have learned over the years is that some types of debt are not bad, as long as you are earning a reasonable amount of cash flow. My wife used to be a big proponent of paying down those mortgages, but then you end up property rich, but cash poor. The only way to get money out of your mortgage free property is to do a cash out re-fi, or sell the property. If I were able to do it over again, I wouldn't put extra money into the mortgage, I would invest the extra money, BUT like Cassi said, "It depends on your goals".

I've just tried a couple, but didn't have any success. I know to be successful you have to try lots more. One interesting aspect I've noticed is that the information about the homeowner varies quite a bit by county. In one county, the information was easily accessible online, but in the county next door, you would have to go to the county clerk recorder and request the information. It would be great to hear what happens in your "driving for dollars". Good luck!

Talk to your realtor, and or a loan officer at your bank. Like Michael said, it depends on your area. My realtor in California told me the other day that you have to have floor coverings, like carpet, vinyl, etc., and you have to have smoke detectors. Good luck!

One tip that I found on Bigger Pockets that helps me, is to make a couple of videos as you check out the properties. First walk around the outside with your phone recording, look up and down, and mention any abnormalities you see so that it is recorded. If the inside is vacant, walk through recording again. This has really helped me when working on the numbers, for example, how many windows did it have? What did that fireplace look like? Sometimes you notice things in the video that you didn't notice when you were there.

Also, keep track of your expenses for tax time!

This is a little out of date, but 20 years ago when we bought our home we had a policy with American Home Shield. Our heater went out in December. They kept telling their repairman to make small changes. Nothing worked. We were without heat for 3 weeks. One day I came home from work, and a neighbor told me that the repairmen had been on the roof, working on the unit again. I didn't know they were coming out. Since they had been out, we tried the unit that night, and it caught on fire. Not a big fire, just contained within the HVAC. The next day the repairman came out, and called AHS to tell them all the parts that had burned, WITHOUT EVEN GOING ON THE ROOF TO INSPECT THE UNIT!! AHS finally agreed to put in a new HVAC. It took a fire to convince them that the HVAC was not worthy of repair. I've never trusted AHS, or that repairman since.

I think Alex Deacon has it right, if you are just looking for the appraisal. If you are going to hold the property as a rental, I think I would go with the new unit instead of the used HVAC. I can't tell you how many times in my life I have gone the cheaper route, on cars and houses, only to have to come back in six months or a year and having to pay again to "do it right" and replace that used part with the new one. (I'm a slow learner.)

Another consideration, talk to your HVAC person, (maybe two or three) and ask about how long new systems are supposed to last. I have been told that newer HVAC systems have a built in obsolescence that will make them die much sooner, and need to be replaced much sooner than older units. That used Lennox system may only have another year or two left in it.  Just something to consider.

South Lake Tahoe residents are going to vote on Measure T, November 6th, which would BAN most vacation home rentals in the city. If Measure T passes, what do you think it will do to house prices in South Lake Tahoe?

It really depends on what you are looking to do, but two books I recommend are J. Scott's "The Book on Flipping Houses", and "The book on Estimating Rehab Costs". Both have been helpful to me on planning flips.

You also have to see what the wishes are of the local power company. For example, here in Modesto, California, Modesto Irrigation District that provides our electricity will not let anyone else install solar on their house. I don't know what they are afraid of, but no more solar allowed.

Despite what you were told in high school, college isn't for everyone. I say that as a recently retired high school teacher. BUT, if you can stick it out for 2 more years, and get that BA, sometimes that degree opens doors for you that you never even realized were there. It worked that way for me. Listen, you want to flip houses, great, but this is a business, and you are majoring in business management. How about this, while you are finishing the degree, keep reading Bigger Pockets, and make a plan to put into place in two years. Need a job? See if you can do some construction work. That will give you some skills, and connections for when you start to flip houses. 

Plan B. Maybe you decide in 2 years you don't want to flip houses, at maybe that BA will open some unexpected doors for you. 

Plan C. This is what I did. Get the 2 year degree in Bus. Mgmt.  Start work in the real world. I opened a business, ran it for 7 years, never made much money. Closed the business with the shirt on my back, barely. Went back to school, got my BA, started a career, (for me teaching). Then started buying rentals. 

While Plan C worked for me, of course, only you can figure out the best plan for you. For any path you decide, I wish you the best of luck.