2 years later - Posted by Nox

Real Estate Investing
1

Posted by Nox on March 23, 2006 at 09:35:25:

Hey all.

First let me say, once again thank you for the advise, knowledge and information. You guys and this site are reasons why the net is as powerful as it is. Ive worked professionally for 10 years in IT Security, highend enterprise level systems (Gov / state work as well) and off all my years on here I am yet to find a resource AS valuable as this one…

With that said:

All of the above points are correct, I am in need of taking a step back and getting stable (Considering work, my online websites projects, and the REI) I may have way too much on my table…

I love REI, but its not what I feel I am “excellent” at. That would have to be tech.

The condo WAS purchased as a investment, but at the moment its my place of residents as well as a non-asset (Does nothing at this point but take money)

RE: Living under my means…

This is what I am trying to accomplish. I went from a 180k dual household income to 65k a year. I also have all the issues that going down a pay grade like that comes with… The home, the cars, etc…

I guess the real staement is I am affording my lifestyle but thats it… where prior money was not a concern it is now something I have to plan, budget, account for… etc…

For teh moment I think the best thing for me is to step back, get myself to the point where I am not worrying, stable… read and educate myself on all of these areas I work in or plan on working in… and go from there…

I dont want to make a decision based on either panic or a feeling of “I must move now” Hurried in other words…

I dont want to make a sale on my condo for the pure act of getting money and selling it, as then I wont have a place to live (And I require 24/7 internet access for work) and Ias I see it I am only building more equity for when I AM ready to sell (With other properties lined up and exit strats planned out)

Am I on the wrong mindset?

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2 years later - Posted by Nox

Posted by Nox on March 20, 2006 at 08:53:03:

Well I am sure no-one remembers me, but I came to this site 2 years ago and read every post I could fine, I purchased Bronchiks books, have Rich_Dad / Poor Dad audio tapes, etc…

Several members of this board gave me fantastic info and knowledge, so I thought I would return with my current issue / situation…

2 years ago I purchased my first property ever, fixed it up a little and walked away with 7k profit… I then purchased my next property which was a foreclosed condo, due to my credit level I used none of my own money and have no PMI.

5.75% 5 year locked ARM. 2010 the arm becomes adjustable.

Feb of last year I began work on this property, put laminate floors in, nice lightswitch templates, paint, etc. Put rougly 3k into the property. Currently one of my neighbors is selling his property for 165k which is 25k more than I paid for it, and mine has a larger sqft.

Ok, so heres the problem.

I experienced some massive financial issues, I have pretty much lost all of my savings (Around 20k). Various reasons are to fault, including a huge car accident…

I also went through a seperation, and had to move INTO the investment property.

I am at a loss and scared as h3ll, I cant seem to get stabalized, I can pay all of my (HEAVY) bills due to a great career, but this job has now become my waking life. I need security and freedom again.

I am terrified by the what if’s now, like, so If I sell my condo now what will I do. Should I just take the chance, what if this happens… etc…

Seeing as this board gave me my first step towards financial freedom, I figured I would return and see if I can get back into the game.

Sorry for the long winded post. If you need any more info let me know.

(Oh yeah, basically I am asking what should I do to get back into the game? Sell this home and start again?)

Thanks
Neil
pheusion@gmail.com

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Re: 2 years later - Posted by Chris in FL

Posted by Chris in FL on March 21, 2006 at 15:58:08:

Nox, Hard to give informed advice because without a lot more details, but the decision whether to sell your condo or live it sounds more like a personal decision than an investment one. I have a financial background, and if you have HEAVY bills, look first at whether some of them can be eliminated without sacrificing your lifestyle, etc. Not using that boat, paying too much for insurance, frivilous bills that don’t make sense to keep? Start there because the first key to getting ahead is to live below your means, then save and invest the difference. Is the condo ritzy, and it wouldn’t be a sacrifice to live cheaper? As far as investing without lots of cash goes, wholesaling is great. Make some money wholesaling and use to pay off debts or do other investments. Subject to is always a possibility. Get your life back by adjusting your income statement, little by little, until things start to make sense again. One nice thing about HEAVY bills, that I have seen with a friend recently… As the heavy bills go away, and assuming you still have the same income, you start to come into HEAVY cashflow. Reach that point as quickly as you can, and then make sure you save and invest that money next time around. Best wishes!

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Re: 2 years later - Posted by Rich

Posted by Rich on March 21, 2006 at 15:25:31:

When there is too much going on that is not what we want, its easy to become mired in the downward spiral.

You’re already in the game. Depending on your next goal: security or financial growth, you can either settle in and live in the condo OR you can sell it and use the money on moving into another fixer that you can use to help leapfrog you into ever larger properties. If you want to go that route, then I’d look at duplex through four plex properties (so you can use the principal residence rollover to protect your working capital) that require work, then move in and start fixing.

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Re: 2 years later - Posted by Matt (MPD) IL

Posted by Matt (MPD) IL on March 21, 2006 at 01:18:02:

Neil,
First - take a deep breath and realize that being down does not equal being out.
Second - you already have more working knowlege of this game than you did two years ago so cash or not you’re better off than you were back then.

It’s impossible to say exactly what someone else should do in every given situation. We all have our own threshold for pain. Some of us will go much further out on a limb and some of us won’t. What I CAN tell you is that the first steps are always the hardest as you can most certainly remember. It wasn’t long ago that you needed to take a leap of faith to better your situation and it sounds like that turned out pretty well. Now, you’re in another situation that needs some problem solving and I’ll bet when you sit and contemplate the successes you’ve had over the past two years you’ll see you’re a pretty good problem solver. I know it’s difficult when it’s YOUR problem and you can’t just hang up the phone and have it just be another call that you couldn’t work with, but as you’ve probably found out, nothing is insurmountable.

You probably already have the resources you need to make an intelligent decision such as accountant, attorney, real estate agents etc. Take a step back for a moment and realize you simply turned a business problem into a personal one and it’s only changed the focus not the problem.

If you do decide to sell this house you are NOT starting again, you are simply picking up where you left off. The experience and knowledge you gained has not left you. You’ll draw on them at the appropriate times.

Remember how you dealt with some sellers and buyers and solved their problems and that’s how you profited? If you are able to remove yourself personally from inside this situation and think of it as a business decision will it potentially give you what you need as a result? Can you sell this property with enough profit to not only get yourself a place to live but give you the cash reserves to get you into the next deal?

Remember, you were successful in your efforts to solve other peoples’ problems, the game hasn’t changed, only the players.

If you’ve gotten this far you have done well and will probably do well when you make your decision to do what you need to do.

I hope this helps even if in just some small way. I’m sure many of us have been in similar situations at one point or another. I’ve been at this for just under 7 years and have had to overcome many obstacles myself. What I found is that the experiences we had made us better and more resourceful.

Good luck, I wish you all the best.

Matt