All Forum Posts by: Gerald K.

Scientists claim to have developed a revolutionary new giant 3D concrete printer that can build a 2,500-square-foot house in just 24 hours. How do you think this will impact real estate investing?

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/laptops/news/new-giant-3d-printer-can-build-a-house-in-24-hours-470564

We checked bagster once but found out it wasn't available in our area. The dumpster we used once had a base price and went up as the weight of load increased. They also wouldn't allow you to fill it beyond the top level - no heaping full loads. Depending on what it's for, another option would be to have someone just haul the garbage to the dump for you.

10 years is getting old for a dishwasher.

Life expectancy of appliances:

http://www.mrappliance.com/expert/life-guide/

Hope this is helpful.

David C., I don't recall any of the things you mentioned about not saving for retirement, cheating on taxes, or not going to college in the book Rich Dad Poor Dad. Those are pretty strong statements so that's why I asked for quotes from the book.

The book references his neighbor investiing in a 401k and retiring in his 50's with 4 million dollars. It actually promotes investing in assets, 401k or otherwise. I don't recall it saying not to go to school but that our school system lacks financial education and trains you to be an employee, not a business owner or investor. I think the point was instead of relying soley on your employer or your paycheck, buy income producing assets. It says most people focus on increasing their pay - getting a raise - versus increasing their assets. That doesn't mean don't go to college.

Yes, and I don't recall that. Please provide the quotes and where they can be found in the book Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Three buckets are described in the book. Saving, investing, and giving. Did you read it?

David C., I don't recall the book Rich Dad Poor Dad suggesting saving nothing for retirement, cheating on taxes, and quiting school, but since you mention it, please provide the exact quote and where they can be found in the book.

@Shawn Beers

First of all, welcome to BP. I'm over in Kirkland. If you haven't done so, check out the "Learn" tab up top. Lots of great resources.

As for investing locally or out of state - you will hear all different opinions on that. Search the forums about turn key or investing out of state. This is a very hot topic on BP that has been discussed a lot.

You might want to look for a local REIA to see what other investors are doing in your area. Getting some local experience first, even if the deal isn't as good as out of state, might not be a bad idea. You could gain some valuable knowledge and experience. You don't know what you don't know until you've experienced it first hand. It doesn't have to be the only thing you do, but it might be the best thing to do in the beginning.

I'm sure others will chime in with advice, but you seem to understand some of the pros and cons. See you around the forums.

@Micah Truman

Welcome to BP. I'm up in Kirkland. Nice to see another local jump in. Sounds like things are moving along quite well for you. Look forward to hearing more of your advice and experience on the BP forums.

Justin, I think you nailed it. It was written for the average Joe. It's not a sophistcated business book and I would not recommend it for someone already savvy with business or real estate. The average person would not even consider changing what they've basically been brainwashed to believe. They are just resigned to the fact that they will work until they're 65 or 70 and then finally retire, and as you put it Justin, hope they are not too old to enjoy it. The stock market doesn't give a steady 13%. Just look at the S&P 500 over the past 20 years. Internet bubble burst. Housing bubble burst. And now what? Fed bubble burst? Who knows? Compared to today's job insecurity, outsourcing, and 401ks, I bet the average person would love to live back in the day when employers were loyal to their workers, when they could get a job for life and expect a nice pension to retire on. Those days are gone! The book was written for the average person to "click the switch" to a new way of thinking. The average person wouldn't even consider owning rental property or being a landlord. Ask the average person about that and it immediately conjurs up houses being trashed by tenants and phone calls in the middle of the night about overflowing toilets. The main theme of RDPD that repeats over and over is common sense to real estate investors, but not to the average Joe, there families, friends etc. I don't think anyone said ALL the advice in the book was good. It is very heavily against the standard philosphy of - go to school, get a good job, invest for the long term - "for a reason" - to compare and contrast and to emphasize a point so it has more impact on the reader. It wasn't written for those sending their kids to Harvard or Yale but it might make sense to those with a 100K in student loans that are unable to find a job. Each person has a different perspective depending on their own life experiences. A lot of the success of the RDPD book had to do with timing. Many people could relate to what he was trying to say. RDPD doesn't give you enough information to do it all, so you're going to have to read other books to figure it out. Any person that would only use this one book, or just Kiyosaki's advice to invest deserves what they get.

As soon as we hear a tenant plans to move out, we send them a move-out package - including the move-in inspection report, and tell them specifically what they need to do to get the place back to move-in condition in order to receive their security deposit back. The only time we don't show the place to a prospective tenant is if we plan to do some extended rehab after the current tenant leaves. Otherwise, we use previous photos when the place looked nice for the advertisement and we show it to them, explain it is occupied and the tenant is in the process of moving out, tell them the carpets will be professionally cleaned as well as other things we plan to do, such as replacing any appliances or other work.