All Forum Posts by: Simcha Davidman

Hello Ohians and/or out of staters!

I'm looking to get information on the market in Green (also tagging Akron), Ohio. What can you tell me about it? I thought Akron and Canton were fairly stagnant or slightly contracting, but as I look into Green, it seems to be growing.

Also, looking to get in touch with property managers in that area that can handle 50-100 units. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I'm a bit surprised at how many people seem to be passing judgment on the person because he asked the question. We can share our opinions without assassinating his character in our own minds.

Yes, it seems the consensus is that what he proposed is exploitative. But that doesn't mean @Chase Gibson was going to do this - he was asking about it. Maybe he did feel a bit "guilty" and wanted to get a broader opinion to strengthen his resolve.

And even if he was planning on executing this strategy, he still came here asking first - and as far as we know, he is going to change his tactic.

It's so great being in a community where so many people feel cool judging some other guy because they are confident that they would handle (a theoretical) $20k sitting on the sidewalk in front of them differently than OP here.

For all we know, the amounts could be much higher. Don't get me wrong - ethics/morals don't change because the amounts are higher - and I think I know how I would handle this because I know how I handle all questionable situations. But we'd be foolish not to recognize that money is one of the greatest temptations there is.

I applaud Chris for asking and being open to getting shot down!

I do not recommend you pay down the mortgage, unless you got it at a crazy high rate - unlikely being that it's 15 years.

Is your company match 10%, or is it some higher percentage of a lower amount and you're contributing extra (e.g. they match 50% of the first $300 and you put in an additional $1200? I probably recommend taking advantage of the match - but not if it's only 10%. At 10% match, you should politely tell them to take their measly and miserly contribution and place it somewhere... or just stop contributing without telling them how I feel :) Bear in mind that when you finally get around to taking distributions, all of it will be taxed at the then-ordinary rates - unless you plan on not being financially successful, ordinary rates will be higher than capital gains rates. (This is not to say that everyone should make more money when they're 65 than when they're 35, or that this would even be considered "successful" to everyone.) (Full disclosure - I have an IRA and 401k and have not liquidated them. Although the more I think about it, the more it's starting to make sense to do that.)

My opinion is that you should invest it. You may decide that a rental property is the best asset/vehicle, or you may do research and decide that something else is the best for you. And you could put it in some asset class and decide to change strategies in 5 years.

I was not paying attention to real estate investing at the time, but when this new OZ thing came up, I heard that after Katrina, the government introduced similar (although not as expansive and beneficial) incentives for the hardest-hit areas, and there was a flood (pardon the term) of bad deals of people trying to take advantage of the tax savings.

@John Cohen great job, congrats!

What were all your soft/closing costs? I assume that will be added to the cash invested.

What was the purchase cap and your project year 1 cap?

Great info in this thread.

Does everyone in the know agree that Decatur is D? The whole town?

Great share, thank you!

I don't think it's just a failure of the public school system to teach personal finance and investing, although that is a huge component. Private schools, in my experience and based on what I've heard, are absolutely no better in this realm.

Also, it comes down to society and psychology. The author wrote that he was earning middle and upper-middle class salaries. H also wrote that he doesn't go out to eat and drives an old car. To me, it sounded like this was a more recent development and they were not doing that in the 80's and 90's. How were his spending habits back then? I don't think decisions like that are made only based on intellectual education received in schools. It also stems from how we grow up and who we interact with. Our social values.

On a personal note which may be relevant - I used to have Amazon Student way back when (I don't know if they even still do that). When I graduated and lost that benefit, I did not move my account over to Amazon Prime. And immediately, I spent less money. When society is so driven by convenience, it causes us to spend more, to want more, and to "need" more. If we can rein that in, we'd all have a better chance of building savings/reserves/investments.

I commend the author for writing this piece, and if it wakes even one person up, I'm sure he will feel that he succeeded by pushing himself to put his story out there. I will be sharing this with my network.

@Josh Stack did you ever go further with ICG10 Capital? Did you ever get any feedback?

If anyone else reads this because it gets pushed back to the top, please feel free to add your two cents. Thanks!

Best of luck if you go through with it! I'm not saying you should, but it most definitely will be more exciting (not necessarily in a good way) than sitting on the sidelines. I recently listened to GC's second podcast and he basically said go as big as possible as soon as possible. Love him or hate him...

Thanks everyone for confirming what I thought. He reached back out to me, so I may see how far I can take this.