All Forum Posts by: Matt Groth

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 Sorry, Jim, I'll try harder.....

The other thing that surprised me was in the blog post they mentioned "monthly trips" to try and fix things when the problems were first discovered. If that were me, I would have been there between 28 and 31 days per month, as in no time off, until things were fixed, and I certainly would not be taking on any additional clients, if I couldn't handle what I already had.

I listened for quite a while, and when he started getting into whole life insurance, applying for business credit cards to fund deals, he lost me. It seemed......odd. I, too questioned the nurses, etc living in 50k houses.

Also, Natalie was a host on CNBC. Seems like that would make it tougher to claim you didn't understand what was going on, hence the terrified look on the explanation video. I will give her credit, though, she was the first person I ever heard mention the book Profit First. Seems kind if ironic now.

 Tim took my answer! I am very reluctant to take on jobs the homeowner started, but then quit. No offense, but it means you think you know what you are doing. Siding isn't too tough. My cost on prefinished lp smartside is high, and a month ago, it went up another 8.5 percent. A single corner is over $100. It adds up fast. I ordered siding for my 1500 ft ranch, with attached garage. My cost is cost to 10k, before the price hike, and before my mark up. No labor included. Add on old siding removal, potentially with lead based paint on it...you get the idea. Your landscaping price is insane, and probably related to 1 and 3 in Tim's list.

I'm not an account, either, but your hotel tax is not gross income, and is also not an expense. It is just money you are tacking on the bill, and holding temporarily for the government.  To make your additional mortgage payments make sense in your mind, that would be the same as taking your w2 income and saying it is tax free because I put it in my savings account. You say it isn't worth it for a few grand a year,  but you will change your mind when the renters paid off your mortgage. Also, you said 6 percent off of the purchase price, but you haven't purchased it yet. You gave a down payment, and the bank is the largest owner. Your numbers will look better based off of your downpayment. 

@Nick Wilson do lots if research so you know exactly what you are getting in to. If things don't go well, you could lose your house. Our investing is separate from our residence. I am not predicting a crash, but if the market drops, and you have to sell your house, you may need to come up with cash to close. Cheap rentals in the midwest cant always be sold quickly, so you are banking on that cashflow. It is fine to use the heloc as cash, then refinance, but mortgages are tough to come by on houses under 50k.

@Jacob Rickel my Grandma told me to buy a duplex 30 years ago. I listened to everyone that told me all of the tenant horror stories. All those people also never had tenants, but they knew all about it. Don't listen to those people. Keep researching and learning. I like the 20 percent down, but if the deal works at 3.5 percent, do it. Take your time, and get a good deal. @Joe Villeneuve gave you lots of good tips. Great move getting started early.

I refinanced my primary in 2009. They comped me to one has that was a foreclosure, 1 that had no electricity, and never will, and another that wasnt even close in amenities. I argued, my lender agreed, but all they could do was "check that they did the math right." This meant add 3 numbers, and divide by three. I was told I had no recourse. Never talked to an attorney, as others have said, not worth it. Not sure how much has changed since then, but they seem untouchable. I haven't had any other major errors since then.

Track your time for a month. Easy to do on your phone. How much time studying, at class, sleeping, eating, working....all of it. Be honest. How busy are you? Working part time, and only 9 credits isn't much. At your stage of life, with no other commitments, 60 to 80 hours of work time will put you way ahead. You won't have to do it forever, but it will put you in a great place at 30. If you aren't willing to do that, and I understand that, you aren't as serious about fi as you think. In my mind, fi isn't about a vacation 365 days a year, but about having options. Read the book "so good they can't ignore you ". Become good at computer science, make tons of cash, as a means to pursue real estate. It would be a much better stepping stone than 15 bucks an hour. Good luck.