All Forum Posts by: Karen M.

Originally posted by @Jay C.:

Jay C.  great job on the chart.  I think you are an outlier as a stock investor, just as I think there are outliers here as real estate investors -- you guys are some of the best in RE and stock investing.  The average joes, well -- they look a lot more average!!! 

My returns are about in-line with the S&P, but I have also made dividends and options premiums.  One of my stocks is sitting at just shy of a double -- Ambarella, a chip-maker, ticker AMBA.  I've only held it 11 months, and I am not sure if it's going to stay a double or not for a lot longer.

I don't think I know anybody who is up 300% for the year.  But most of the investors I hang with are more low-risk types. 

Hey guys,  you  look like you're having a bit of a peeing contest here and well, OK, that's all fine and it's so macho, right? 

Your discussion has led me to a question -- and I think I may have answered it in my head but I want to run it by you:

For me, two of the advantages of the stock market are 1) lower trading fees and 2) liquidity.  Liquidity is BIG.  Like, if I want my money tomorrow, I can have it, I can even have cash in my hot little hands in about a week from stock investments.

Now for real estate?  It is not liquid, BUT….  do you guys consider this cash-out refinancing stuff to be your "liquidity"?  Or do you consider your real estate investments to be more illiquid?  Can you always cash out or are there limitations to that and certain conditions where that is available? 

I started looking at stock and RE last year and I went with stocks to begin.  (I did buy AAPL, aka Apple Computer last summer, it's my largest holding, and it's up 63% before dividends, which is great, that is just a lot of fun.)  Of course I have made a few bad trades and those are lessons, just as I'm sure the RE people have learned some lessons along the way too.  (Jay H. I was excited when you mentioned UA, but I recognized abbreviation as the stock symbol for Under Armor, a very fun growth stock.)  

Anyway, I think that having some stocks does help with liquidity.  

Another question -- can you count on 4% appreciation in real estate?  I don't really think so.  I was figuring my own home's appreciation last week -- we bought in 1999 for $168,000 and now in 2014 it's worth maybe $220,000, maybe a little more --- I came out at 2% (if I did my math right). 

Right now, I personally have more confidence in the stock market than real estate.  I know more successful stock investors than real estate investors, and the hands-on aspect of real estate is both exciting and scary.  Another thing, it does not take a lot of cash to get started in stocks, but I do feel like I'm not quite rich enough to be a RE investor.  I know a lot of people do it but I don't feel ready yet, so I'm thankful for stocks as another option. 

Thanks guys, have fun and I'll check back later.  

Hi Pat, and welcome!   We have family in Richfield and my impression of West Bend is that it is a great, growing area.  Good luck with your research.

BTW, there is a City of Milwaukee land lording class on Dec 10. that I'm going to. They have them every so often and they are free. You may also want to network at the Milwaukee REIA (I think the founder lives up your way), and the Bigger Pockets Milwaukee meet ups too. Have fun!

Fill the bucket only 1/3 full and it won't get wasted as fast. ;-)  

Arnie, Dude.   A bucket of salt is like what?   Under $20, right?  (Do they have salt at Aldi?  I have started shopping really cheap at Aldi lately.)   Anyway…  you don't want people to slip and fall and sue you.  The salt is helpful.

I teach Zumba classes at a little church and the parking lot can be like black ice.  Some of the ladies are seniors and I don't want them to fall.   Saturday was slippery but that's our fair warning for the season.   (Last year it felt like I shoveled the walkway every Monday, Thursday and Saturday for 3 months, it snowed that often!!!)   

Note, I don't purchase the ice melt / salt / whatever, but I appreciate so much that the church makes it available.  They routinely clean their gathering space and so it stays clean. 

Here's to a better time next month!  Hopefully it was just honest confusion -- is she expecting a statement or something?   You could buy a book of stamps and send a statement on the 20th or something for the next month, if it gives you peace of mind and prompt payments.  Or maybe even just a little coupon sheets 1x a year that has your po box number and the rent amount on it??   Some people are disorganized.  Maybe online payment or ---HEY -- auto-payment would help??   Good luck. 

I just want to say that I truly appreciate these conversations about getting started carefully and selecting quality property and partners. It does seem that a great property mgr partner is huge. I am a Milwaukee Wisconsinite and sometimes it feels like the West coasters lack appreciation (heh, heh) for the flyover states. We do have some nice attributes! Jay you have so many interesting comments. Right now I am considering looking at the neighborhoods with low crime and schools in the 4 - 10 range, or low crime neighborhoods with a 1 high school but 4 -8 rated elementary schools. I would be buying the cheapest, but not totally wrecked property in a safe neighborhood (specifically no shootings and low crime). My target tenant is likely someone who has some financial hardship but still maintains traditional Midwestern values and work ethic. The tough thing is that taxes in MKE are tough, and I'm not sure that I would succeed in getting the assessment (?) reduced. It's sad how expensive the taxes are. I notice in my own suburb that there are vacant homes (just a couple I've got my eye on) btw. It seems the banks are sitting on them and truly that might work out.

I just want to say way to go for brining the people together!  :)  Good one! 

Jasseem, I have been working with options for a little while now, and I make $500 - $1000 a month selling put options on about $20k - $50k of capital / buying power.  But….  it is not steady like a rental would be.  I only sell puts when there is something that I want to be involved with, and I don't sell puts for expirations every month.  I am still getting the hang of it, really, and I pay for advice to help me learn and be (a little bit) responsible with it!   But the bit notes are that it is not steady for me (at least so far) and it is also not something I would do in all market conditions.  Sometimes they go wrong, and sometimes the market is not right for that strategy.  (But there are other strategies for other market conditions.)  I'm having a great time learning and exploring and playing with it in smallish dollar amounts. 

Here's a question -- if you are going back and forth to Spain, would it makes sense for you to simply rent your residence when you are there, rather than own 2 properties in 2 countries?  Think about what is efficient for your life, and look at all the costs.  :)    Can you (is it economically sensible to)  rent out your current Canadian home when you go to Spain, or are you going to sell it?   Maybe rent in Spain until you decide for sure if you are staying in Spain or returning to Canada.

I think that first, you should pick your country to live in, and then progress from there.     Have fun with it!