[Diego Mamani]

[quote=svelte]It’s a poor article based on limited information taken out of context, with limited discussion on a single model![/quote] Excellent post Svelte!

I think often journalists are desperate to add urgency to something to make it look like news. I see that all the time. Also, some of the writers are probably very young…

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=sd gal]I was asking for a way to get the mortgage loan…. but I will try credit union and see.[/quote]Actually, I’d suggest a boutique mortgage shop, an independent direct lender. A credit union might give you a faster answer (yes or no) than a large bank, but underwriting won’t necessarily be any easier.

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=bearishgurl]I take it then that the $25K forgiven was off your first TD and that you had to pay off your 2nd TD because you had a gov’t employer who would find it “moral turpitude” and cause for discipline if you didn’t?[/quote]Actually, this is in the news today:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/13/13221657-how-big-debt-is-threatening-security-clearances-for-thousands-of-troops

[Diego Mamani]

From a 2008 posting on how to spend your bubble money (if you cashed out in ~2005):

[quote=sd gal]I cashed out in May 2005 selling my 2b/2b condo I bought in 1999. I kept almost all the profit in CD until last year which was roughly $240k.

I felt like I should start using them. So I bought a 4 prex in TX. I got them for a lot cheaper than market value as I knew some people there. I remodeled 3 out of 4 units and rented out.

It turned out being a landlord for 4 tenents is a nightmere. At least one unit forget to pay rent each month, something breaks down all the time.. and so on…. it was suppose to cash flow even before tax refund, but it didn’t turn out to be that way…

I just want to know…what do you think about the housing market in TX? Austin to be exact… I am thinking to sell soon, just so I can get away from those horrible tenants and bad property management company….I am willing to bear some loss… since it is all bubble money..well, I did reserch quite bit to time best time to sell tho.

My questions are

how did you spend your bubble money?

If you know about housing market in TX, what is your prediction for 2008?[/quote]

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=bearishgurl]why don’t you give it another year or so and get your FICO score up to 765-770?[/quote]I don’t think her FICO score is the problem, it’s the SS in her credit history.

[Diego Mamani]

Able bodied people parking in HC spaces… one of those topics that come handy on slow news days. Yawn.

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=spdrun]Or buy something inland or in Phoenix for cash, keep it rented out, and use it to pay for your rent. Once it’s income-producing, you may be able to mortgage it to about 60% of value, pulling cash out.[/quote]I like this advice! And it doesn’t have to be out of state, a nearby condo might work too. And it could be either cash, or nearly that (say, 80% down). Just make sure you keep some cash on hand for unforeseen expenses.

[Diego Mamani]

Thank you FLU, I’ll look into them. Back in March of 2009 there was so much pessimism around… I decided to buy a few dividend stocks such as GE, PVR, USB-PG (a bond-like preferred stock), etc. In the coming months all of them doubled in value, but I was such a chicken, I didn’t put more than $10K or $15K in each.

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=flu]He gave a list of them from big drug companies, to consumer staples, to oil/energy…[/quote]

Excellent advice from FLU and AN. Hey FLU, did you save the advisor’s list?

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=golfproz]Oh and the fact we blew up a tranny on one Beemer test drive did not exactly fill my wife with confidence.[/quote] What? You were test driving a brand new BMW and the transition died?

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=ctr70]To me you can mitigate risk as a landlord hugely by screening tenants well.[/quote] My preferred strategy is to price your rental slightly below market, but be very strict with tenants’ FICO scores, proof of income, references, no prior evictions, etc. That way you tend to get fewer vacancies.

[Diego Mamani]

My ex-landlord experience might be useful to you. He and his wife, working in the banking industry (mortgages in particular), bought a house in the summer of 2005 for $890K or $895K. They put 20% down and financed with a 5/1 ARM. Their monthly payment, including escrow account for property taxes and insurance, came close to $4500. Three years later they saw their jobs threatened by the crisis, and decided to sell and move back to the Bay Area (where they had been born and raised).

So, it’s Spring or late Spring 2008, the house is worth at best $730K. At this point their down payment has been wiped out. It’s prime selling season, but there are no buyers. Naively, the couple lists the house for $799K. It doesn’t sell of course. So, they decide to rent, and list the house for $4000 or $4200. (Bear in mind that comps were renting for only $3000 or so!!!)

Eventually they reduced their asking rent to $3200. I came in, saw the house, and offered them a 2-year contract for $3000. They used the same realtor that had listed their for house for sale. I was also using a realtor to help me find a rental. What surprised me was how my realtor went to great lengths to make me pay more for the rental. He kept saying that $3000 was way below market and would not be accepted.

I overruled my realtor, of course, and my offer was accepted. But I couldn’t help thinking that my landlord was bleeding close to $1500 a month. I went to my county recorder website, made sure there we no liens on the house, etc., I even paid $35 to get a copy of the mortgage docs, that’s how I knew the details of their financing. I researched all this, b/c I didn’t want to pay rent to a deadbeat. Turned out that the landlord was a nice young fellow with an MBA and a good job.

The landlord didn’t hire a property management company. They used a realtor to find tenants, and I don’t know how much the commission was. There were minor issues with plumbing, etc., but the landlord sent his own handy man to take care of them.

Fast forward three years, Spring of 2011, interest rates are on the floor, house prices appear to have possibly hit bottom, and me, after 6 years as a renter (I had sold my house at a nice profit in the Summer of 2005), decided to buy a house and lock in a low interest rate in 30-year fixed loan.

My landlord listed his house again for rent, at $3200. There were a few looky loos, but the house rented right away, there was no gap in rent! I moved out on April 30, and on May 1 2011 the new family moved in. The new family decorated the house nicely, and appeared to be nice tenants.

But I just learned that those tenants lasted only a year…

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=bearishgurl]Heated seats and on-demand AWD are the sh!t![/quote] I rented a VW hatchback in Germany back in the spring of 2007, and I accidentally turned on the “butt warmer” feature. Yuck! I hated the sensation… well, the weather wasn’t cold at all, and I’ve lived all my life in mild weather places like coastal So. Cal., so I guess I don’t really know what “freezing cold” means…

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=flu]I don’t condole spending up the ying yang, but come on enjoy life for a change (…) Enjoy life for a change, because you can….because you should. If you don’t someone else will…at your expense [/quote] Flu, I see what you mean, but not everybody likes cars the way you do. For many, a car is an appliance to get you from one place to another. I do like cars and lust after BMWs, Audis, Mercedes, even Lexus, and I could afford to buy a new one of those every 3-5 years, even pay cash, but I’m pretty sure the novelty will wear off after a few days or weeks, and that fancy German car won’t feel much different than my trusty, 11-year old Mustang.

[Diego Mamani]

Isn’t this thread itself a little spammy? I usually just ignore spam posts, that way they get buried by new comments.

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