All Forum Posts by: John Sharpe

Dave Ramsey's advice is about keeping finances simple and controlled, very much targeted at people who need guidance when it comes to finance and investing. I think his advice for avoiding debt and investing in good stock mutual funds is good enough for the majority of people to at least get their financial life in order.

Rightfully he wouldn't tell struggling people who have huge consumer debts, little financial sense, and no savings to go out and buy rental properties....so his advice is sound and logical considering his audience.

P.S. If I could give advice to my younger self I would strongly recommend opening a Roth IRA and start funding it early with my student jobs.

I believe you'll need an ITIN when transferring utilities over to your name, so might as well request one now from the IRS.    

@Angelique Diaz  I had the same thing happen when I sold my condo.  I had never met the neighbors a couple floors below.  When my realtor presented me their offer and I saw their address was the same as mine, I realized they already lived in the building and if I had just put a note up in the lobby or something I would have saved thousands in realtor fees.  Oh well, live and learn.  

@Mat O'Grady  Yes!  My thoughts exactly.  Seller was obviously not a professional real estate person, and she correctly had the clarity of mind to get an appraisal, but then that got delayed (keep in mind she was in no hurry or mindset to sell) and he talked her into moving forward anyway.  A legal transaction I suppose but not really fair or ethical if you ask me.  

@Shari Nott mcKinley  I haven't heard of anyone else having premiums even close to that high!  I think your current insurance provider is trying to politely show you to the door,  so to speak.  I would definitely shop around. 

@Brian Grant  I have decently-priced insurance from USAA in Crestline.  My sister (also a USAA member) has a vacation home just 1.5 miles from me, also in Crestline, that USAA simply declined to cover.  We're not sure why.  She went to one of the mom-and-pop insurance brokers on the mountain and bought a policy from a lesser-known company.  

Without building significantly more housing (I'm looking at you California), simple economics dictate all this will do is push up rents and house prices so the receivers of the income would have little net gain.  

It would probably be good for Landlords though, who would be able to charge higher rent, and maybe even garnish defaulters' future UBI payments.   

Though if it ever looked like UBI was going to happen I'd probably invest in casinos, liquor companies, Best Buy, etc.  

@Jeffrey Waldron

The amount of principal being paid down isn't considered an expense by the IRS, whereas the interest on the loan of a rental property is an expense you can write off against your profits.  

HOWEVER, as a rental you'll get to write-off depreciation on the house.  This could be very helpful.  

It's best to have a trained tax person go over it, including how the IRS will want to"recapture" the depreciation if/when you sell, and why it could be very helpful to do a 1031 exchange if/when you sell.  

Depreciation and the ability to do 1031 exchanges are huge benefits to landlords, if you go that route.   

I live in Crestline in a neighborhood overlooking Lake Gregory and about half the houses on this street are STR's that are occasionally used by their owners. They seem to do fine. But the wet/cloudy/icy weather we've had this Spring may have turned off some weekenders, maybe?

I'd also play up the Fall colors we get here in the mountains starting in September. That's a unique treat for Los Angelenos, just as much as snow in the winter! 

I don't feel bad too about gentrification. It's a normal part of a cycle... communities get worse and get better. I understand concerns about renters finding it more and more expensive to remain in their own community, but with gentrification should come lower crime, more amenities, and hopefully more jobs, transportation and general opportunities for the renters to experience.

I'm much more concerned about short term rentals taking so many housing units out of the rental pool and pushing rental prices up by shrinking the supply of housing. 

I remember being a young college student in Orange County where many of us affordably lived in granny flats and guest houses (ADUs) we rented from homeowners. Those have mostly been removed from the rental markets where STRs are more profitable.