All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Kirk R. 

 I'm also glad I rarely see ignorant comments about women's rights on BP.  

Originally posted by @Moziah Scott:

She is still grieving yes and thats the only reason to pull back a bit. But I'm not buying that , she's a mom with kids crap. They want equal rights? So they should deal and transact equally IMO. 

For sure  - no woman should have equal rights. They need to stay home barefoot and pregnant and fetch beer for their man. In fact, are they even allowed to own real estate? If so, that's a shame.

Moron.

Yes, that is exactly how my last purchase went. I came up with the offer price based on the list of expenses, then had 30 days for due diligence which started AFTER they gave me all the documents I requested. That is also when I scheduled the inspections, talked to tenants, etc.

Both student loan interest and mortgage interest are tax deductible, but if I remember right isn't there a bigger credit for student loans on taxes somehow? An education credit of some sort? Maybe that was just while I was in school, I can't remember and I paid off my loans about 8 years ago.

If not, I personally would probably start investing now and hold off on paying back the student loans.  That way tenants start paying off your mortgages sooner than later. If you psychologically are okay with the debt, it makes more sense to stretch out payments on SL as long as possible. (I had a hard time with the psychological part - I wanted them gone, but it was probably not financially wise because I had a 2.8% interest rate.)

The only other aspect to consider would be if you ever declared bankruptcy. SLs are not dischargable in bankruptcy (unless the law has changed in the past few years).

No legal advice.

I am in the "go big" camp. 

I just typed out a long email of why, then I clicked on the @Michael Blank article above and realized he said everything, but much more coherently than I can.

What I would do (and recently did myself) is to take that money as a downpayment on a large multifamily unit. The location wouldn't matter as much, since you could hire a no-kidding professional management company instead of the onesie-twosie type managers.  I would shop for a $2M apartment building that had management already in place, in an area that has good cash flow. You could get a nice monthly income stream off that.  I'm not a realtor or whosesaler or pitchman with anything to sell, but if you want the details of how we did it, I'd be happy to share in a message. It's just my story with all the ups and downs - nothing more. :-)

Welcome! I live in PGC right now, have a career in the military, and a multifamily portfolio. We just closed on 64 units last month. Feel free to connect! Are you at the Naval Academy?

Ditto on giving the deposit back on move out. I did a move out inspection with a tenant once and gave him a check on the spot. A fee days later I saw the side of the stucco garage where he left a car transmission laying there that punctured a hole in the side of the wall. Not happy. But my fault for giving back the deposit too early.

And if you need any more reassurance about ND, google "Washington Post North Dakota"!

https://www.google.com/#q=washington+post+norht+Dakota

@Eric Mauricio 

I LOVE talking about ND. :-) I own a SFR in Fargo and go back a few times a year to see family. The SFR we own there has a backyard adjoining my sister's house and we are going to move there in 10 years when we retire from the military. We bought it for that reason, not as a true rental, but it rents for $1700 and the mortgage is $1150. Management is 6% (didn't want to mix family and business in this case.)

That being said, I wouldn't worry so much about the schools in the different areas of Fargo. Fargo is not so big that a particular area of town is "bad" or "good".  And frankly even the "worst" schools in Fargo are very safe and nice.  Basically the reason all the newer homes are in West Fargo is because the Red River stops growth on the east edge of Fargo and people don't really want to move across the river into Moorhead, MN because the income tax rates and reasons like that (they also have lots of ridiculous laws, in my opinion, about annual rental inspections, fees, permits, etc).  Also, the river has flooded before (I don't think it will again because they built a huge dike), but it caused a lot of clearing/rebuilding, and lots down there go for a premium price because it's pretty with mature trees.  West Fargo is mostly empty prairie that is being built up - not many trees/scenery, but land is plentiful. 

IMO, the biggest problem in Fargo right now is the lack of quality property managers for SFR. Google it - there are slim pickings. The one we have is mediocre, but it was the best have found.

If I were you I'd look for a duplex and live in 1/2 of it.  Near campus would be good, or the southern part of Fargo by 32nd St or 52nd St, or west Fargo. Also Reile's Acres (if you could find something.) The older part of Fargo is the Northeast part. Homes there are older and not as nice, but probably cheaper.  There literally is no area I'd tell you to specifically avoid as bad. The areas around Broadway and 10th are older, but still not "bad".  Downtown Fargo is making a big comeback with Mezzaluna, the Hotel Donaldson, etc. I think you'll like it there!