All Forum Posts by: Joseph Gisler

@Aigo Pyles I never thought about the aesthetic appeal but you are right, it almost brings the room together sometimes! Thank you for your help!

@John Teachout great point, I don't see them adding much value rental income wise but a tenant may stay longer or choose my house over another if they are similar prices. Thank you!

I recently have bought my first investment property! WOOOHOO!! The house does not have ceiling fans in any of the bedrooms, nor ceiling lights for that matter. What are everyone's thoughts/experiences on ceiling fans with lights in their rental properties and should I install them or stick to installing just a ceiling light?

I personally love a ceiling fan in my room but have lived in rentals myself with both fan and no fan so I thought I'd reach out to see what others personally do and if people find them to be huge problems or not.

Thanks for the feedback!

Does anyone have experience with using network marketing agencies to fund their real estate ventures?

Recently I have been approached by a group that says they develop assets through network marketing. After a discussion with them, they claim to have a partnership with Amway and they sell all kinds of products through this “network marketing.”

From the research I have done, it basically looks like they recruit me to sell stuff and they get commission off my commission and then I recruit more people so that I can make commission of theirs. Is that basically what this is? Is it a scam? I am not particularly interested in moving forward with them as my main focus is getting my real estate off the ground but also if it provides semi-passive income I could put into real estate I might look into it more.

It just seems fishy to me so any thoughts or suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

@Steven Lemoine I believe it was David Green on the BP podcast who recently said, if you don’t plan on holding onto a house for the next 5-10 years, you should sell it now.

It sounds like your area isn’t showing promising growth over the next 5 years and you have a lot of bad debt but you can’t predict the future and you can eliminate that debt in other ways outside of selling your home.

I would take some time to sit down, think about where you want to be in the next few years, write down the steps needed to get you there and then compare those steps to both keeping and selling your current home. Writing down a plan always helps me, even if that plan never goes the way it’s supposed to.

Best of luck! Welcome to BP!

@Bonnie Rhodes keeping my fingers crossed as I am closing on my very first deal in just a few short weeks! I'm 23, fresh out of a college and found a deal on the MLS out of all places!

Looking for a general contractor in the Raleigh NC area. Any recommendations?

@Steve Oswald @David M. I plan on holding long-term, renting out by the bedroom to friends or young professionals in the area. I have ran the numbers conservatively to know up to what price I can still cash flow or at least break even in the area. But David, you bring up a good point about the appreciation spike occurring and while I am focusing on cash flow, appreciation is a very important thing especially if it can plummet in a short amount of time. Maybe I will begin to look off the MLS and try and find a deal that way to avoid the bidding wars and high prices. Thank you for the advice!

For two years I have been patiently waiting, studying my market, reading about how to invest and building my knowledge base on house hacking for when I graduate college.

Well in May, 2020 I graduated, mid-pandemic and started my job in July. Within the past two years I have saved close to $20,000 to invest in real estate and am more than ready to do just that.

But in my market, the houses are flying off the shelves in a matter of days at full asking price if not more. I’m worried it’s raising the market prices to points that are not sustainable. This virus, in my opinion is not going anywhere anytime soon and if we cannot sustain an economy in it, will this cause a crash that a rookie like myself with limited reserves can’t survive?

My father is an investor and thinks I should wait... but I feel like I have been waiting for so long and I don’t want to wait any longer, I am ready to take the next step.

What is your opinion? Is house hacking still a valid option for a FIRST investment even without a end date of this virus?

@Teddy Smith hi Teddy, the penalty for lying on an FHA mortgage is a Federal crime of up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Not saying you will get caught but if you do, is it worth that?

I'm getting close to buying my first investment as well with an FHA and all this mess is not holding me back as long as the numbers work! Good luck my friend!!