I wanted to reach out for additional feedback on a retirement or soft FI strategy I’m helping someone think through.My friend’s dad, who lives in Sacramento, wants to retire but currently doesn’t see a clear path with his 401(k) or other investments.

The Indy market was stronger for most, longer than most, but we hit sudden softness this fall. 

If the flip comps are soft, don’t bank on resale; instead, lock a clear buy box and scope, then raise private money or use hard money for purchase plus rehab with a refinance takeout once it’s rented and stabilized.

The culture of being soft on crime needs to goWhat we need is absolutely massive long term prison centers.

.👉 Bottom line for rates: Hiring remains too soft for the Fed to change course.

A few key things you’ll want to focus on are:RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) – the core metric for valuing operations.Occupancy trends and ADR (Average Daily Rate) – these drive your revenue projections.Expense ratio and management structure – smaller motels can run at 40–50% expenses, while flagged hotels can be much leaner with scale.CapEx and reposition potential – if it’s a rehab, understanding brand standards and conversion costs (for example, turning an independent motel into a soft-branded flag) can make or break the deal.My partner and I have underwritten several hotel/motel projects in the Los Angeles area, so I’m happy to share some insight into how we typically structure the analysis and what lenders look for in this space.

Several banks offer soft inquiry options, I'd try those out prior to risking the HP.

Flippers and sellers all across market felt the small reprieve as our market was quite soft through the summer. 

FINAL NUMBERS:- Projected Costs: $380k ($357k in build cost & $23k in soft costs)- Actual Costs: $389k ($369k in build cost $20k in soft costs)Note: We had very minimal carrying costs because we utilized a CA HELOC with Premier Valley Bank that had a 2.99% introductory interest rate.- Projected Finished Value: $750k- Actual Finish Value: I think between $800-$850k, not sure yet.

They said they do not do a deep clean in-between tenants and when I asked how the condition was when the previous tenant moved out they brushed me off.