All Forum Posts by: Jim Stevenson

David Krulac thanks so much for your insight, David. The world would be a better place if all landlords emulated your practices! Are there specific neighborhoods you like to target in the Harrisburg area? Most of the cities I've been looking at have moderate crime, poor schools, higher unemployment rates and stagnant or even negative growth. I know these are all indicators of a poor rental market but with not much capital to start with I'm just trying to work with what I've got.

I'm moving back to my hometown of Doylestown (Philly suburb about 30 miles north) around this time next year. I'm looking for my first investment property and am concentrating on multi-families with 4+ units. I'd be interested to hear about everyone's experiences in the different markets throughout PA, specifically eastern and central PA (Philly, Harrisburg, Scranton, Reading, Pottstown, Williamsport, etc). A lot of these markets seem to have decent price points but I know that's partly due to lower income areas. Any tips or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks all!

I'm currently saving for a down payment on my first SFH and have been looking at a few properties. I've garnered some interest from friends and family to potentially fund the down payment so I can start investing as soon as possible. For those who have used private loans for buy and holds, how did you structure the loan? Not saying I will definitely go this route but I'm interested in seeing the different ways it could be formed. Most of the houses I've been looking at are $80-$100k. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, everyone.

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone. I'm going to continue paying off the debt at a clip of $3500 a month and then after all debt is paid I'll continue to save that $3500 towards a down payment. I originally was paying my debt starting from the highest interest rate (student loans, car, cc) but I'm going to take care of cc before the car. This will help give me some momentum until everything is paid off around April of next year. Next is to give my wife my car and buy a used truck for myself (around 10-15k) at the end of 2018 when her lease is up which is another $300 a month payment. I'm going to hang on to the car we have now because we just had our first child and I want to make sure he's in a safe vehicle. By the end of 2018 I should have about 28k saved up for the new car and part of a down payment. I can't wait to finally get rid of this debt to free up some breathing room. I have a laser focus right now so I just have to keep it going! Thanks again for the advice!

Hey everyone, I know this question has probably been posed a lot but I wanted to see if I could get some feedback on my situation. Back in September I started the uphill battle of paying off mine and my wife's $55k worth of consumer debt and student loans. I wish I had this shift in mindset about personal finance a few years ago so I wouldn't have to deal with this but it is what it is. Our debt consists of: 26k car loan at 3.9% ($479 monthly payment) 7k student loans at 5.3% ($274 monthly payment) 9k credit cards at 0% (transferred it to two 0% APR cards, $118 monthly payment) I'm currently down to 42k overall after throwing 2000-3500 per month at it. If I continue with a $3500 monthly payment everything will be paid off by April 2018. My goal after paying it off is to start saving $3500 per month for a down payment and reserves for my first rental property. I'm thinking though that it might make more sense to keep my debt payments at the minimum and save the rest towards the down payment. I know I could potentially use the cash flow to help with the debt. I think it would just "feel better" to get rid of the debt before I start this journey but I know I can get better returns than the interest rates I have now from investments. What do you guys think? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Wow the place looks awesome @Mary lou L.

I know this is an older thread but do you have any final after pics? Did you find a tenant?

@Anita Effendi Looks great! Congrats! Can I ask how you found the deal and financed the rehab??

Sam LLoyd Thanks for the great feedback. I know putting on hardware at the end of a rehab can be the the last thing you feel like doing. Growing up I used to work for my dad who is a GC and one of my jobs was installing the hardware. It's relatively easy but can be time consuming on the bigger jobs. Aaron R. I definitely agree with you that it looks unfinished. Just wasn't sure if it's a new trend that's picking up steam. I really like the idea of laying out different styles of hardware to let the buyer decide. Thanks!

In the process of closing on my new primary residence in the Darnestown/Germantown area. 1300 square feet with about 1000 of it covered in hardwood (main level except for kitchen, lower level stairs, upper level stairs, upper level consisting of 3 bedrooms). The flooring is 20 years old and is a lighter color than I'd prefer. Can anyone refer someone in the area who specializes in refinishing? Any idea what the approximate cost would be for an area this size? I'd ideally like to get the job done before I move in so I'm not lugging my furniture out again and staying in a hotel for 3 nights. I'm sure my pregnant wife would appreciate it, too. Thanks for your help.

Neil Metzger Congrats, man!! Any before/after pics?