All Forum Posts by: Mike McKinzie

At $15K, it appears to be a solid deal. You really need a full inspection to see if repairs are going to be $10K or $50K. I did not fully understand the potential rental income, did you mean you could get $600 for each unit?

Red lining is wrong, period. CEO's taking a $100M salary and the shareholders receiving ZERO dividends is wrong, period.

Yes, man being evil can be debated. I arrived at my conclusion through MY LIFE EXPERIENCES. For instance, who tears a house up more, a renter or a homeowner? What do homeowners do when they are in foreclosure? Like it is the bank's fault that they didn't make their mortgage payment. I could give example after example after example of the "evil bound up in men's hearts."

Having been a Realtor for many years before I moved to accounting, I attended many investment seminars. One speaker had his "Three Rules for Investment Property".

1. Never buy an investment where you need to carry a gun to collect rent.

All the cash flow in the world is not worth getting shot over.

I do have several firearms for home protection. Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum with a 6 inch barrel. Pretty much stop anyone. I also have a .38 and a .22 handgun, mostly for plinking. I also have a Remington Model 700 30-06 rifle, will drop a 1,000 pound Bull Elk without a problem. Along with many shotguns, I love bird hunting.

It is also a known fact that pepper spray can disable a perp faster than a firearm. My wife and daughter carry pepper spray.

Owen

It is interesting that you went straight to MORAL ISSUES. If you want to debate moral issues, then a different thread needs to be started. I believe the American Ideal when it comes down to a moral issues is quite simple, "If you don't want it done to you, don't do it to someone else" If you don't want to be discriminated against, don't discriminate against someone else. If you don't want pollution dumped into your drinking water and swimming pool, don't dump it into others.

Man is basically evil. He will do whatever benefits him without considering the consequences to others. And it is ONLY the consequences that keeps man civilized. For example, how many of us would drive a lot faster than the speed limit if we knew for a fact there were no Law Enforcement Officers around? The consequence of a ticket and higher insurance costs keeps most of us within the law.

If you want to discuss abortion, homosexuality, CEO Compensation, etc, etc, etc, then those topics would need to be discussed in separate threads.

I am going to give a slightly different twist on this as I have owned several investment properties that I never laid my eyes on. But that doesn't mean that I didn't do "due diligence, research and investment calculations." Personally, I like to treat Investment Real Estate like I treat stock investments. I don't need to go to the factory to buy a stock, I need to go to the financials. When you buy a piece of investment real estate, you are not buying lumber, brick, wiring, plumbing and a green lawn, you are buying an INCOME STREAM. Never get emotionally involved with a piece of Investment Real Estate. I have known many 'investors' who drive by their investment, almost weekly, and brag to their friends, "I own that house." But what they don't say is "...but it cost me $500.00 a month to own it, and that is when it is rented..."

If you follow the guidelines that are posted on here, the 2% rule, the 50% rule and the other parameters, a TURNKEY investment can work to your advantage.

Again, you have to do your research or else you will be easy PREY to the PREDATORS!

What is the American Ideal? There is a lot of history written that covers many aspects of the American Ideal. My understanding of the American Ideal is that I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor and don't have to share it with anyone else, including society. I owe society nothing and society owes me nothing. I pay for what I use and I do not pay so someone else does not have to provide labor.

Obviously, this discussion could get a LOT deeper, I know that. But for sake of The American Ideal, I believe this is the foundation. Do not bring up the failings of man, that is a totally different topic. Moral discussions are not part of The American Ideal.

Has the United States attained "The American Ideal?" I do not believe so. Has the United States made more progress towards it than any other country? Absolutely. Do politicians care about The American Ideal? Is the pope Muslim? Is it time for a Revolution? Probably not. But it is time to become a better educated voter, a letter writer to your representative (ha), and a more informed citizen.

But at the end of the day, you have to look in the mirror and be able to say "I did my best today to work hard, be fair, honest and honorable." Wouldn't it be nice if a man felt his honor was more important than his wealth?

My mother types many of her emails in ALL CAPS so she can see what she has typed. Those with poor eye site need either all caps or a large font. ALL CAPS is not necessarily shouting, it can just be emphasis.

To me, it is not whether it is all CAPS or all lower case, it is what is actually said.

Now, do you know where the term "Upper Case" and "Lower Case" came from? Back when the printing press was first invented, each letter was on an Iron Rod that was inserted into a slot on the press. The Capital letters were kept in the UPPER CASE next to the press and the regular letters were kept in the LOWER CASE next to the press. The CASES were just wooden boxes that held the letters.

Mr. Scott,
The term "local government" can be very different. The mayor of my town, population 1,400, is very different than say, the mayor of Chicago, Los Angeles or New York. But in my experience, corruption knows no boundaries. A local politician can be bought just as easily as a Federal Politician. Some idealistic people run and get elected, but even they can be bought, for the most part.

I am not sure there really is an answer.

The strangest thing I have found was Marijuana Plants growing in the back yard. Which raised the question, "Why did I have to evict him?" He should have been able to sell enough to pay the rent. :roll:

Just kidding, I was glad to get them out. This was one of those "throw the furniture in the street" evictions!

Diversity is the key to growth! :lol: