All Forum Posts by: Shane H.

@William Joseph you are definitely getting a bunch of responses from folks that likely are scared of or have never owned guns/ammunition.

Hunting/fishing is a normal past time in the flyover states where I live - I sent you a colleague request - depending on what you have would possibly be interested in buying if it's anything I collect and at the least can guide you in how to sell the items left behind.  Depending on what they are could potentially be valuable or junk - just never know.   I've bought and sold a # of firearms - some on auction sites and am familiar with the legal ways to sell in state and across state lines (though I do not know if your state has super strict regs or not - usually it's Cali that has a ton of extra restrictions on things which is why I'd never live there)

@Yuttana Chawengsub  I think you're looking in the right place - Wichita is far better and has more potential than Topeka does - living here it pains me to say that.  We just went home (we still call it home) to my folks place and spent the evening NYE and New Years day with my folks and saw a childhood friend that was back in town and haven't seen in years - the momentum there is far superior to anything Topeka has going - though I do like some things Topeka is doing to downtown but there's just not many businesses down there to draw anyone after business hours.  One silver lining for the future here maybe a few years from now is the Capital Journal had an article about a large property owner that filed bankruptcy a few years ago and his properties are finally working their way through the system - I didnt realize how many properties the guy owned - so maybe once they are in the hands of new investors things will change for the better - Wichita had a similar experience with the Minnesota Guys and what they did to downtown Wichita - really put a damper on any momentum for the city for 10-15 years.

Topeka has just too many methheads and crime here, I'd think with better development and redevelopment some of that can be thinned out - Wichita has it's fair share but the way Topeka developed and lack of any forethought blows my mind - I think too many politicians were getting their pockets lined over the years - City should be far nicer for having property taxes that are far more expensive than Wichita and sales tax almost 2cents higher etc.  Garden City and Dodge City KS which are cities out in the middle of nowwhere are "cleaner" have far better curb appeal and have better development plans than Topeka does.  I lived in Garden City area the mid '00's for a couple years and prefer it to Topeka even with the smell of the feedlots and the meat packing plant.

@Michinori Kaneko  There was a podcast - one of the first 120 or so (sorry I dont remember the exact BP podcast # - but a bp member from I think Iowa specialized in renting out his homes to operators of group homes - may have been for folks who were mentally handicapped - cant remember the specifics.

Anyways may want to check out that episode and give it a listen.  I know a year or two ago that member was active on BP - he may still be.  If you scan the synopsis of each episode you'll find the one where he was a guest.

If you want to find a group home operator will just take some legwork - starting your own is likely quite tedious if you have no experience.

Gov't payers are nice if you do try to start your own group home but it takes patience and lots of paperwork to get setup and work with them.

@Yuttana Chawengsub Welcome to BP -- I live in Topeka myself presently - and have for about a year.  The meetup you speak of - is this a local Topeka meetup or in KC?

@Lettie T.  Welcome - where abouts in KS are you from - guessing you're 2 hrs from either Wichita or KC?

I dont know that you're missing much. I do enjoy the fact we're only an hour 5 mins from our house to the Crown Center in DT Kansas City and I do like the overall location of our house/property - so there are give/takes - quality of life with amenities/things to do Wichita wins hands down when comparing the 2.  After spending some time and having previously living in Southwestern KS I'd much rather live in Dodge City quite frankly.  Wife wouldn't go for that one...ha - too rural for her but the town is cleaner/and just as much to offer as Topeka imo as far as outdoor recreation I like, ease of getting to things, restaurants, grocery etc and less druggies running around and crime.  Thing to do here I noticed is live out in the county on acreage or if you can afford 300k plus for a house live in SW Topeka with exorbitant property taxes.

Buy a duplex - lots of nice ones that are in great areas to maintain a family - check out some of the duplex developments near K254 /Rock Rd and 254/hillside - easy to get a loan as well since you'd owner occupy

I'm back occasionally and during most holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas - Easter etc - feel free to email or text me - can share info via PM - also more than welcome to meet me in Topeka at the business if you're ever up this way.

I relocated to Topeka from Wichita a year ago - Even though I owned properties in Wichita I was not approved to buy a house here due to purchasing a business so for the first time in my life I had to rent - 

Market was difficult from a renter perspective - things were going quickly -- SEVERE lack of anything quality and I was blown away with what things were renting for.  I was finally able to get super creative after I had the business up and going for 8 mos on my own so was able to get a local bank to finance the house purchase on the rental we were living in.  

Anyways comparing to Wichita which is where all my experience lies - Topeka seems to be very transient - lots of people here for short stints - AirBnB was very competitive and I think a few folks were making money there - same thing would be difficult to get it to work in Wichita - quality rentals are far and few between - Our experience looking at the rental market here was from Sept 17 to about July 18 of this year - as we just weren't sure if we'd be able to buy the house we were living in or wanted to buy it etc so we kept looking the entire time for places to buy/rent.

Another food for thought is property prices are far higher in Topeka than Wichita and property taxes run about 30-40% if not more than Wichita.  (I'm spitballing the increase as I've not actually put pencil to paper using mill levies and completed exact calculations - but I do have my business property to look at and the house we live in to compare tax rates relative to assessed value and compare them to the same things I own in Wichita)

So take all that for what it's worth.

@Brian Erhart - welcome - Lots of active Wichita folks here.  I moved to Topeka a year ago but still own property in Wichita and wish to continue buying there.