All Forum Posts by: Mindy Zimmerman

Many of the towns in my area have started doing inspections. One town is doing them for owner-occupied as well as rentals. It's a money grab and the politics behind it is BS. The ones who lobbied hardest for it in the most recent town were business owners who hoped to win the contract to do the inspections/repairs.

I just put a contract on a house where you have to have inspections. The house failed the city's inspection. Why? Mostly outdoor cosmetic issues like torn window screens, shed was "an eyesore", broken freezer sitting in the backyard. What did my inspector find when he checked the house? No firewall between the house and attic, the furnace gas had shut off valves that require a tool to turn, and other issues that were -actual- safety concerns.

So, really, the towns only care about appearances and getting some extra cash. The safety factor is just a scare tactic to get people on board with requiring the inspections.

Congrats!  Not only do you deserve kudos on the apartment deal, but also on your hustle and drive leading up to it.  People always look at the success and overlook the years of hard work and sacrifice that made the success possible.  My "freedom number" is $3k/mo.  It's absolutely enough to live on if you're in the right area and don't spend to impress others.

Hilarious! Thanks for the laugh. :)

If I could, I would.  Pay with a CC, reap some reward points for your down payment, pay off the CC when the bill is due.  I would definitely not do this if I couldn't pay off the balance immediately.  I also would not do it with a cash advance from the CC since those have crazy fees etc.

This has been a great discussion!  I never really considered the question before but I definitely frame my answer on who is asking and why.  My neighbors have already made comments about me being "rich" because they know I have one rental - no way I'm telling them I bought another.  My coworkers tease me about being overpaid if I can afford multiple houses, but they know I'm super frugal and I turn it into a joke somehow.  If it's casual conversation I keep it vague.   I don't like that many assume you are raking in mountains of cash without any debt/expenses so usually I downplay any info I give.  But wouldn't mind sharing numbers with someone interested in RE.

I think the fact that so few have experienced this or even considered it proves it would be a great way to stand out and make a good impression.  It wouldn't even have to be something expensive.

I'm not an agent but I brought along some fancy chocolates to my last closing and everyone seemed to love it.  I got the idea from my house inspector.  People can't always remember his name, but they do remember him...even if he's referred to as "you know, that inspector who gives out candy."  lol

@Steve Vaughan and @Scott Carder I appreciate the counter views.  Truly.  I'm honestly still a little on the fence but everyone I've talked to up to this point only had vague "it's bad" responses without much fact behind that reaction.  None of the people I've talked with are investors either so they wouldn't be looking at life insurance as a business tool.  I want to see the numbers the agent comes up with for me before making a final decision.

I don't think I would even bother with term.

@Brian Gibbons thanks for that information! I'll definitely look into those designations and see if the advisor I've been talking to has them.

I know several BPers use some form of permanent life insurance to help their investing.  I'm just looking into it and getting a lot of negative feedback from non-investors.

My brother has said things along the lines of he and his wife never hearing anything good about whole life insurance; that I'm single with no kids so I don't even have a reason to get life insurance, etc.  My friend then tells me that she inherited the policy her father got on her 30 years ago and it was only worth $100.  That sounds really shady to me, but shady perfectly describes her father so I suspect he did something underhanded with that policy to ruin it.  Everyone thinks term life is the best option, while I think that it is the real scam.  On and on....

I'm working with an advisor/agent who works extensively with people who want high cash value policies to use for their business.  She knows that I'm interested in real estate investing and plan to take out loans against my policy.

I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance that I'm not making a huge mistake.  How do you handle the naysayers?  I know they're genuinely concerned and don't want to see me get burned.  I feel like any response I have for them sounds like I drank the kool-aid and why wouldn't I want to hand over my life savings to this nice religious conman over here.

Thanks for any feedback and discussion!

This is a great and thorough post!  Thanks so much for taking the time to type it all out.  I love your style, too - entertaining and easy to read, plus I like the "lessons learned" that you added in.

I consider myself a newbie but have definitely been in that same spot of "I know I should do X but I'm going to do Y and kick myself the entire time for making the wrong choice"!  I had to learn the hard way that it doesn't always pay to play nice.  My realtor finally told me bluntly that if I want this to succeed as a business then I need to treat it as business, buck up and quit worrying about hurting someone's feelings when they aren't doing their job.

The other aspect that struck a chord with me was the emotional investment in a deal.  That's the biggest reason I want to have my own realtor, even if she's just a second pair of eyes.  She'll give me an unbiased opinion and keep me from selling myself on a bad deal.

Best of luck with your next venture!  I hope it goes more smoothly than your first.