All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I hope you realize signatures captured that way are not recognized by the courts. To file and enforce contracts and documents you must have a document with an original signature.

In many states, single member LLCs do not provide this kind of protection.

If you are the only member of the LLC the court can and often does seize assets from the LLC to enforce a judgment.

The best way to protect yourself from personal liability is...

1) Don't screw people
2) Maintain liability insurance - an umbrella policy is very cheap.

YMMV of course.

I'm sorry I did not mean to imply in any way that was keeping me from posting articles here. I was making an observation and nothing more.

I write articles for one publisher only. My contract with them prohibits my submitting articles elsewhere.

I'm sure this is a great platform for authors and the page view counts are high. No doubt someone needing exposure can get it here.

A D&B number is not necessary and if you are just starting you are much better off without one.

Originally posted by Joshua Dorkin:

Why would someone need to cite their website when explaining what a short sale is?

Oh, golly, I don't know. Maybe because they have an in depth page or pages that completely explain the process that exceeds your 1000 word limit?

However, thanks for the clarification.

Yes, if the payback is just a year, absolutely. It is not just the additional cash payback you receive. After about six months lenders will accept the higher NOI due to the higher rents as valid. That means the value of your building increases 10x as much as any yearly NOI increase through forced appreciation.

So, if you had 100 units and with these improvements were able to get the rent $200 a month higher that is an additional $240,0000 revenue that could added to the bottom line if you kept expenses the same. But, be conservative, assume it only drops $120,000 to the bottom line. That is a $1,200,000 increase in the value of the building.

It might not be deductible.

You definitely want to talk with your CPA about this one. The tax on that money must be paid by someone to the IRS. If you are able to deduct it then the one receiving it must be subject to taxation here in the US.

EDIT: Yeah, what mike_mn said.

Originally posted by Kevin Colwell:

Taz,
What are your thoughts on John T Reed as I see you referenced him earlier in regards to the book being fiction. I read that site a while back and have googled him and it would appear to me that his platform is based on slinging mud and putting down every one elses work but his own (which of course he promotes throughly). So just curious Taz if you have read any of his books or what not and what you think about him since you reference him? This is quite the thread we have going on

Oh without a doubt he likes to sling mud while trumpeting his books. There is a great deal he writes I vehemently disagree with and the reason we are in disagreement is he and I think about investing in two different models.

I view investing as a business that should be run as a business. He views investing, especially real estate investing, as an exercise for the individual. He believes only in self management of rentals and the investing experience he has is ancient in relation to the market conditions today.

Not too long ago, I was talking with someone about him and his writings. I said, well, everything he said may be true for him at the time he was actually investing. But, I don't think I'd want a surgeon trained in the late 1800's to operate on me today. Even if he was the best damned surgeon in the world at that time. Things are different now, we have anesthesia and antibiotics and all manner of advances. The same is true for Mr. Reed.

Having said that, it does not negate the fact he does sometimes hit the nail on the head from a logic perspective; and for me, one of those times is in relation to Robert Kiyosaki.

I have read Reed's books. I try to read everything I can get my hands on about this business. I did not buy his books, they were loaned to me by a colleague. The information in them is factual but not all that useful to someone actually trying to build an investing business. If you are interested in having a few houses there is more there for you. I do not subscribe to his newsletter.

Originally posted by TheMasterKey:

As far as not being able to support a vacant apartment building, that's definetly a very important issue. How have those of you who own apartment bulidings/complexes been able to move into this area? Did you have a large cash cushion in case of emergency or did you just take the plunge once the numbers looked right and everything worked out?

Planning is important and reserves are necessary. You have a few choices in how you get them, they can come solely from you or from partners. I like to spread the risk among partners. Yes, that means you are spreading the profits too but multifamily investing with partners when done right is a good diversification play. Combine that strategy with a rounded diversification plan including stocks and/or ETFs both with covered calls, bonds, commodities and cash management and you have a great strategy for retirement and income replacement if desired.