All Forum Posts by: Eric L.

No, we are no where near out of the woods yet. FHA just announced today that their foreclosures are up 25%. They will be too expensive to fund soon and there will be no such thing as a 3% down loan for first time homebuyers.

The house market is being propped up with low interest rates. This will work fine as long as the economy is humming along and it props up inflation along with it.

The issue is that the economy is not doing well and we are halfway into Japan's lost decade of cheap interest rates, debt, and no growth. Wages are not growing and when interest rates rates come back, people won't be able to afford to buy a house with a bigger payment.

Warren was on CNBC this morning saying that the US stopped growing six weeks ago. He says that Europe is falling off a cliff of debt and they "may" be back in 10 years.

I don't understand fully how we as investors might be affected if the government gets serious about paying off debt and actually does it.

Let's assume for a second that the government comes up with a plan to pay off all government debt in 25 years. Certaintly programs will need to be cut, but what will this do to the money supply? What about interest rates? Will this lead to deflation?

The former occupants being forceclosed on don't generally call up the bank to schedule a time to have the pipes winterized before they leave. I have yet to come across a REO that has sat in winter and did not have broken pipes.

If would be great if everyoned used PEX plubming instead of copper, as it doesn't freeze. My city has outlawed PEX because it is too easy to work with and the plumbers would be out of their $90/hour jobs. This means cheaper houses for me, but it also means more money and time replacing pipes and more vandals breaking in for copper.

I like the term "jaded" that you used. When I first entered real estate I couldn't believe the investor meetings that I went to. Everyone seemed really friendly to each other, but you could tell how grumpy everyone was. I know that you have to have thick skin in this business, but everyone seemed so cynical and unhappy. Almost as if they stressed every minute about who the next person or group was going to be after their Lucky Charms. I heard about the success stories of most them and admired their businesses, but they all seemed successful, wealthy, and miserable.

The good news is that most of them were very helpful. When I “chose†my mentor, I didn’t want to learn from the most successful business person, I wanted to learn from someone who had a passion for their business and still was able to live off of the income. I was very lucky and happened to find just the right mentor. He absolutely loves what he does. Hopefully, when my business is my main day job, I will have the same attitude.

Great topic. I always assumed that the banks wanted the 5 or 10 year loans on commercial to make the amortization stay in their favor. I didn't realize they were focusing on risk reduction.

I recently tried to get my first commercial loan for 9 units. I have 800+ credit, a 30% downpayment, and four houses under my belt. Both banks I went to wanted liquid assets in the amount of loan before they would lend. I couldn't believe it.

Bryan, you mentioned that owner occupied might be easier. Can anyone explain any general differences for owner occupied? I wouldn't mind living in the complex to make sure that my first large investment works out.

Be careful out there. The EPA is in town for us this week. Rumor is they will be here for 2 weeks and have handed out several $11k fines.

Yep, talking about rentals here. This affects every landlord in the US. The ones that do their own work need to get certified and the ones that do not need to ensure that every person they hire is certified.

The EPA made rounds here last year and fined everyone that did not have documented copied of the lead based paint pamphlets, fined the landlords that didn't have them, and even contacted tenants to ensure it was their true signature. I wouldn't be surprised if they made rounds to jobsites this year and started throwing around $32k fines.

I'm surprised I haven't seen this posted yet. I just came across this last night.

In April it will be illegal to work on your own house. Anyone doing work on properties built before 1978 have to now be a certified renovator and trained to do the work if you disturb more than 6 sq/ft inside or 20 sq/ft outside or any windows. It applies to you and all handymen that you hire. After you take the mandatory class it takes 60 days to complete the certification process, so you need to get this done now. The fine for not complying is $32,000!

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm

I went two years without TV and it was probably the best two years of my life. I learned more and went out more than I had ever done before. I honestly think that if it wasn't for TV America would be twice as educated and twice as fit.

I'm surprised no one has brought this up yet, but since this site is called BiggerPockets, what does the group think about Matthew 19:24 ("It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God")?