All Forum Posts by: William Morrison

@Russell Brazil Thanks.  The deposit makes sense based on life as we know it.  Grin.
Caused the old guy to look up service animals.  We have friends that train them.  2010 there was a law and associated reg for public areas for "service" animals, but only in public areas.  It distinctly says it has no relationship to the fair housing act or "assistance" animals.  It separated service in public areas from emotional or mental support.
All said I would think the doctor's note covers the support/assistance animal.
Something new every day.

@Russell Brazil in addition to the note from the doctor isn't is possible to ask for the certification on the service animal?
I know our malls, stores, buses and other public places that don't allow pets were asking for paper work.  I don't know under what authority.
And does the note mean you can't have a pet deposit?

I've found you may be able to shop and save $500 to $1,500 maybe more on application fees, points and non fixed costs.  But not zero.  The interest rate is also worth looking around.
But the numbers you described sound like fixed cost as @Rich Baer suggested.  You should be able to get a copy of the estimate so you can see what they are.
Two other things that can make a difference and not much you can do about them are how early or late you are in the tax cycle (annual or semi annual) and how early or late in the month the closing is.  Close late and you may have 5 weeks or so before first payment.  Close early and you may have 7 weeks or so.  They are still getting interest.
Ask the your lender to help you understand the line items.  I've found them to be helpful in general.

 Thanks Justin, you are correct.  The financial hardship is probably one that might not apply if you're purpose is to invest.  Financial hardship and money available to invest don't seem to go together.   Just thinking out load here.  And you won't get matching funds (if your eligible for matching) or be able to contribute for 6 months as I read it.
  The age based withdrawal as you posted is available and if you take a partial you cannot take a partial again later.  You are limited to one partial withdrawal.  A partial withdrawal is not the same as the monthly draws available for life.   Thanks for pointing out the age based withdrawal.  I was certainly thinking of someone that had not reached retirement age.  I did the partial paid to my Solo 401k Trust and the monthly draw. 

As several have posted above TSP does not allow an in-service transfer to an IRA or 401k.
If you have left federal service you can transfer all or part.  You can only transfer part once.
The reason you might want to consider a partial transfer would be based on your total life picture.  If you plan on having part of your assets in market based securities they have what may be to lowest expense ratio of any fund provider.  Their three market based funds managed by Blackrock reinvest dividends daily which in addition to the low expense ratio raises the return.  Many reinvest quarterly.
Their annuity possibilities are very competitive as well.  I'm not a big fan of annuities but certainly should be in the decision process.
All the above is individual specific.  Your age, account size, life plans etc should all be considered.  Some have overlooked the potential for partial transfer.   You just want to make that decision on purpose, not by accident.

I'd ask for earnest money.  It can be a small amount.
For proof of funds, I'd rather have a letter from the bank signed by the bank manager.  Then you have someone to call.  My bank here in Maryland does it for free.
I'm not sure how the earnest money is connected to what Title company should be used.

I tried renting a fix and hold before I was done.  In my minds eye it was clear what the finished product would look like.  It was listed and 14 Realtors brought clients by.  No luck.  Then we finished and according to me Grin it looked great.  None of those 14 came back.  Did a little back checking and basically not everyone can see potential like we think.  And at this point it's been on the market for a number of days everyone can see.  Without realizing it we now have that perceived "something is wrong" or it wouldn't be on the market longer than similar properties around it.  So some just skip it all together.
Haven't listed until I done sense.  Might be different if your talking to investors and maybe at a discount though.

I was talking to @Russell Brazil at a Meetup about two weeks ago here in Maryland about the MLS. I thought they were all connected. Well he and another explained they are not.
I have a buyer agent in an other state.  They use a different MLS and he sends me a buyer's access (my term) and he may have to renew it every 3 months.  It does not have all the features he has but it's pretty good.  Then I checked around and that's not common in other areas.

I think it's great if you have 7 of you on board.
It's probably fun to discuss the investment properties you want to go after.
Spend time discussing each individual's long term goals and plans.  What are the exit strategies and plans.  How will you deal with conflict and divorce.  What will your plan for partial withdrawals  be.  Don't forget to discuss the tax effect each brings. 
I'm assuming you're not the Walton's of Wallmart.  Grin.  There are many ideas, some fact and some implied as to the advantages of requiring one to be an Accredited Investor for certain offerings.  One advantage is those individuals can commit to long term plans say 10, 15 years and longer, even 50 without needing access to the money.  Accredited does not mean smarter.  You probably wont have that, so you need a plan.

 Jack, I went to a lawyer to setup my S-Corp with a CPA as an adviser, with both understanding what I was trying to.  It doesn't have to be very big, just can't be passive.  I would not go the "Do It Yourself" route.  The penalties for an invalidated 401k are severe, potential large fine and back taxes as if was income in the year setup with interest back to the invalidation date.  The S-Corp setup is not the Sense Financial side.  That's to set up your 401k after you have a non passive income company.
On the 401k side you will want to have a strong fundamental understanding of the rules and prohibited transaction or situations after you get started.   They are pretty simple once you get a handle on them.  Sense Financial has been very helpful in that regard.
I would suggest two books and a third if you have trouble sleeping (it's dry buy chock full of good stuff).
1. Leverage Your IRA (there are couple basic differences between a Checkbook IRA and a Solo 401k)
by Matthew M. Allen
Best price is on the NASB site.
and
2. Live Tax Free Forever (through Your Solo 401k)
by Michael J. McDermott
It is like a lot of real estate and financial books that really have an important message but limited scope. So some fluff to justify a book, but worth it.
A third but much drier and a tough read is:
3. The Self Directed IRA Handbook
by Mat Sorensen Attorney at Law
Jack, I don't have anything to sell and I'm not buying, Grin.  PM me if you like.
One more thing, I set my S-Corp up with a focus on things that don't need a license.  Some real estate management functions require license in some states, not sure about yours.  I have several professional licenses and registrations and didn't want to maintain one more.