Greetings from California

[charliebromley]

Hello guys, I'm Charlie. I'm originally from Texas but my job as a real estate investor brought me here in California. I'm 25 years old and at this young age, I'm sort of already planning for my early retirement. I was just lurking around here because I want to know how much money I need to retire. Now, I'm not making that much but I'm single though and life has been nice to me so far financial-wise. Also, I'm looking for a girlfriend.

Thanks, it's nice to be here.

 

[Coach]

Charlie, welcome to the forum! We have plenty of Texans and Californians here so you should feel right at home.

It's fine to start thinking about early retirement, but that's probably still years away -- enjoy those years too!

Good luck on the girlfriend search, too. Ah, to be 25 again!

Coach

 

[arebelspy]

Hello guys, I'm Charlie. I'm originally from Texas but my job as a real estate investor brought me here in California.

Hey Charlie, welcome!

As a fellow real estate investor (located in NV), I'm curious why you moved from Texas to California to be a real estate investor? I've heard there's some good opportunities in Texas right now, in fact that's where I was looking next for some geographic diversity in my holdings...

 

[REWahoo]

I've heard there's some good opportunities in Texas right now...

Nope, you've been seriously misinformed.

 

[arebelspy]

Nope, you've been seriously misinformed.

Oh?

What don't you like about purchasing investment property in Texas right now?

Besides the whole "having to own investment property" thing.

 

[REWahoo]

Drumroll, please...

Because Texas is infested with scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, crazy raspberry ants, cockroaches on steroids, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, love bugs, swarming crickets, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, alligators, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, dust storms, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, rednecks, huge piles of flaming mulch, spontaneously combusting playgrounds, roads hot as flowing lava, the stench of natural and unnatural gasses, pirate attacks and amoebic meningitis lurking in area lakes, recurring ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, the highest homeowner insurance rates in the US, unbelievably high property taxes, mandatory death sentences for DUI convictions, polygamous religious sects, and, according to at least one forum member, doesn't look kindly towards Yankees.

Thank you, thank you very much...

 

[Bestwifeever]

Oh?

What don't you like about purchasing investment property in Texas right now?

Besides the whole "having to own investment property" thing.

It's hard to believe anyone wants to buy property in Texas anymore, considering that

Texas is infested with scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, crazy raspberry ants, cockroaches on steroids, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, love bugs, swarming crickets, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, alligators, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, dust storms, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, rednecks, huge piles of flaming mulch, spontaneously combusting playgrounds, roads hot as flowing lava, the stench of natural and unnatural gasses, pirate attacks and amoebic meningitis lurking in area lakes, recurring ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, the highest homeowner insurance rates in the US, unbelievably high property taxes, mandatory death sentences for DUI convictions, polygamous religious sects, and, according to at least one forum member, doesn't look kindly towards Yankees.

(Note: We think Texan REW is just kidding with his classic anti-Texas rant above, a la "don't throw me in that briar patch!".)

 

[arebelspy]

Gotcha

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Drumroll, please...

Because Texas is infested with scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, crazy raspberry ants, cockroaches on steroids, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, love bugs, swarming crickets, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, alligators, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, dust storms, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, rednecks, huge piles of flaming mulch, spontaneously combusting playgrounds, roads hot as flowing lava, the stench of natural and unnatural gasses, pirate attacks and amoebic meningitis lurking in area lakes, recurring ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, the highest homeowner insurance rates in the US, unbelievably high property taxes, mandatory death sentences for DUI convictions, polygamous religious sects...

and Texans.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I owned property in TX once. REWahoo did not mention the gumbo that cracks foundations when it dries out. [You do NOT want to be an absentee landlord of TX ppty.] He is quite accurate about the other little negatives about Baja Oklahoma, though.

I used to say, if I were a builder at a party there, I would tell folks I was a car thief. I would get more respect.

 

[Nords]

Baja Oklahoma

It's rare to have the opportunity to insult (at least) two different populations with the same phrase...

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

It's rare to have the opportunity to insult (at least) two different populations with the same phrase...

I have been waiting for years for a chance to use that one. Just funnin' y'all.

 

[REWahoo]

Ed, this is sure sign you've been living over there in Abracadabra far too long...

 

[meierlde]

I owned property in TX once. REWahoo did not mention the gumbo that cracks foundations when it dries out. [You do NOT want to be an absentee landlord of TX ppty.] He is quite accurate about the other little negatives about Baja Oklahoma, though.

I used to say, if I were a builder at a party there, I would tell folks I was a car thief. I would get more respect.

Note that this depends upon where you live in Tx in Houston yes you have the clay soils but not in Midland, Plus out in Midland you don't have to deal with Hurricanes, or alligators and other swamp creatures. Of course there are desert dwellers there as well as dust storms. In addition around Midland you find miles and miles of miles and miles. Never having lived in DFW I don't know about the soils there. (The hill country on hill tops there is no soil, so you can build your house on a rock, or a bit further north if you can buy a granite hilltop you can build a house on granite. (no foundation needed mother nature has a nice over 1 billion year old foundation for you)

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Actually, I wouldn't mind living in the hill country. Nice place. Except for the traffic, which is beyond belief, Austin is good, too.

 

[Walt34]

Going by his description, how does anyone survive living in Texas?

I think he's found a nice place and wants to keep the secret to himself so it doesn't get discovered.

 

[REWahoo]

I think he's found a nice place and wants to keep the secret to himself so it doesn't get discovered.

Sure. 90+ days of temps of 100 or more, virtually no rainfall for months, 200 year old oak trees dying from lack of water, towns without drinking water. Nice place..

 

[MichaelB]

I owned property in TX once. REWahoo did not mention the gumbo that cracks foundations when it dries out. [You do NOT want to be an absentee landlord of TX ppty.] He is quite accurate about the other little negatives about Baja Oklahoma, though.

Priceless. You should copyright that. Hope you don't mind if I make occasional use.

 

[arebelspy]

I think he's found a nice place and wants to keep the secret to himself so it doesn't get discovered.

It may be too late for that. From Forbes' list of America's Fastest-Growing Cities earlier this year, Texas had 4 of the top 10 spots, including the #1 spot.

10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C./VA
9. San Antonio, TX
8. Indianapolis, IN
7. Nashville, TN
6. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Houston, TX
4. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
3. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ
2. Raleigh-Cary, NC
1. Austin, TX

America's Fastest-Growing Cities - Forbes.com

Part of the reason I've heard it's a good time to be investing in Real Estate in TX.

Still curious if the OP will come back and explain his comment about moving from TX to CA to get involved in real estate investing.

 

[meierlde]

Actually, I wouldn't mind living in the hill country. Nice place. Except for the traffic, which is beyond belief, Austin is good, too.

The traffic may be bad in San Antonio Austin and in between, but if you get up into the Hill country small towns traffic is not bad, and further west traffic whats traffic?, as parts are basically still at frontier population levels. Along I 35 the traffic is bad but go west and it dies off rapidly.

 

[REWahoo]

Along I 35 the traffic is bad but go west and it dies off rapidly.

Along with most known lifeforms.

 

[Nords]

It may be too late for that. From Forbes' list of America's Fastest-Growing Cities earlier this year, Texas had 4 of the top 10 spots, including the #1 spot.

10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C./VA
9. San Antonio, TX
8. Indianapolis, IN
7. Nashville, TN
6. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Houston, TX
4. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
3. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ
2. Raleigh-Cary, NC
1. Austin, TX

America's Fastest-Growing Cities - Forbes.com

Part of the reason I've heard it's a good time to be investing in Real Estate in TX.

Still curious if the OP will come back and explain his comment about moving from TX to CA to get involved in real estate investing.

Along with most known lifeforms.

Looks like someone in Texas government bribed Forbes to support their attempt to repopulate certain areas of the state that have been ravaged by REWahoo's full-disclosure hazards...

 

[73ss454]

Sure. 90+ days of temps of 100 or more, virtually no rainfall for months, 200 year old oak trees dying from lack of water, towns without drinking water. Nice place..

You forgot to mention that the Cowboys lost today to top it all off.

 

[meierlde]

Along with most known lifeforms.

Actually the rural Hill Country (40-60 mi west of i 35) is quite pretty, and there are reasonable sized towns, such as Kerrville, Fredricksburg, and Marble Falls/Burnet. These towns have Wal-Mart super centers but not Sams so one can get an idea of their size. Marble Falls is on the Highland Lakes as well. Now if you go one tier of counties west you get Junction, Menard, Mason, Llano and San Saba and these are true small towns.

 

[Walt34]

It may be too late for that. From Forbes' list of America's Fastest-Growing Cities earlier this year, Texas had 4 of the top 10 spots, including the #1 spot.

10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C./VA

That's the part that is admittedly beyond my comprehension. DW and I used to live within 30 minutes (when there wasn't gridlock) of Arlington/Alexandria and walked away from triple our current income almost ten years ago.

Even now we still get a kick out of watching the TV traffic reports of traffic backed up as far as the eye can see and hooting "We're soooo glad we don't live there anymore!"