22 Years Old and wanting more...

[cute fuzzy bunny]

240D's were great cars. You had to walk up and slap the engine now and then to wake it up and have it actually DO something, but hard to kill. I had the larger 300TD for a while and really, really liked it for all those 200-300 mile round trip jaunts I had to make when I was in sales. 26-27MPG out of a car that big wasnt too tough to take...

Unfortunately, since mercedes bought chrysler the build quality of the mercedes cars has caught chrysler disease...:P

[JPatrick]

Comixfan you gotta be somewhere other than Baldwin Cty cause they sure look like boomtown USA the last few years.
Tell me where the deals are. Coming down to buy (or at least try) in August.

[comixfan]

Originally Posted by JPatrick

I'm in Montgomery county. I avoid mls like the plague and stick to fsbo. I am finding houses in good appreciation areas (10 - 15% per year) for 10 - 15% under market value. I lease/option them from the owner and then lease/option the place to a new tenant. Really a pretty simple process. Just a matter of being patient.

Also, unlike some other parts of the country, you can buy an investment property here(like a duplex or triplex) for 60 - 80k and net 200 - 400 a month conservatively pretty easily. It's especially easy doing these deals if the owner carries the note. Being a landlord is not my thing though, so my profit margin would be cut down considerably by the property management fee of 10%.

Baldwin county is booming right now? It's a seller's market here too, but not to the point of bidding on houses or having the houses go over the asking price like in Fl. The Hyundai plant just opened up in May so that should create a pretty tight supply and high demand over the next year or two.

[Jay_Gatsby]

Originally Posted by Notth

240D's were great cars.* You had to walk up and slap the engine now and then to wake it up and have it actually DO something, but hard to kill.* I had the larger 300TD for a while and really, really liked it for all those 200-300 mile round trip jaunts I had to make when I was in sales.* 26-27MPG out of a car that big wasnt too tough to take...

Unfortunately, since mercedes bought chrysler the build quality of the mercedes cars has caught chrysler disease...:P

Yeah, 240D's could run seemingly forever. Zero to 60 mph in 15-20 seconds, but once you were up to speed you could set the cruise control and forget about it.

I've always thought about buying an early-1980s convertible mercedes (380 or 560) as a weekend "fun" car. Although such cars are now 20+ years old, when kept in great shape they still turn heads.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

The only not fun part of those is when they DO need work. I had an old early 70's 450SL I bought as a project car. Didnt need much at first, but the stuff started adding up. I couldnt BELIEVE what they socked me for to buy parts for it. I finally gave up on what seemed like the most innocuous repair...all the knobs on the heating controls were broken off. Turns out, you cant just put new knobs on, you have to replace the whole assembly in the dashboard. After fiddling with it for 2 days, I went to an old mercedes guy (even named 'fritz') with a crappy garage downtown. He listened for 5 seconds and said "no thanks...those are such a huge pain in the butt to put in I dont wanna do it..." I offered him $500 to simply remove the dashboard center piece, replace the heater controls and replace the dashboard. Nope. "You'll never get the dashboard back in. Ever" he said. :P

One thing about those old diesels? You couldnt get any acceleration out of them, but you could pull a house off of its foundation with the torque...

[yelnad]

About that "Property Ladder" show. My husband and I really enjoy it because we do flip properties locally. We laugh at these people. I wish we were able to take 3-4 months off from our real jobs to get it all done like they do on the show!

The most recent episode mentioned, where the two women made $17,000 on a 4 month flip (which was most likely really only $3000-8000 divided by two)...they said at the beginning of the episode that they were going to use the profits for BOOB JOBS!! No wonder they bought a second property to flip before they finished the first.

[geeman]

Ha, yea. I would like to see their profits after fees and taxes.

[haha]

Originally Posted by SLC Tortfeasor

As an example, if I was buying a Porsche, I would get a nice 1999 or 2000 911 Carerra 2 with a full Aero kit.* I've found great ones for sale on Ebay and Autotrader ranging from about $38k to $45k.* These are hot cars.* Of course, they primarily appeal just to other car guys, but no matter---they make you feel like a superstar.* But what if you invested that money instead?* Assuming a reasonable/conservative 8% rate of return on a 30 year investment in stocks, you could turn $40k into about $80K in 30 years.* Despite inflation, you could probably live off of that investment alone for over a year, depending on how frugal you were.* <>Having said all that, I have to admit that I recently bought a used Nissan 350Z.* Now I can still get my kicks playing the role of the young bachelor in a hot car, even though I didn't have to break the bank to do it.

Smart move getting it, though they look like crap compared to a 911. Testosterone only lasts so long- use it while you have it. Before you know it you will look like an old lady.

haha

[HFWR]

Originally Posted by geeman

Ha, yea.* I would like to see their profits after fees and taxes.

And after the operations!!

[MRGALT2U]

Originally Posted by yelnad

About that "Property Ladder" show. My husband and I really enjoy it because we do flip properties locally. We laugh at these people. I wish we were able to take 3-4 months off from our real jobs to get it all done like they do on the show!

The most recent episode mentioned, where the two women made $17,000 on a 4 month flip (which was most likely really only $3000-8000 divided by two)...they said at the beginning of the episode that they were going to use the profits for BOOB JOBS!! No wonder they bought a second property to flip before they finished the first.

Thank you for keeping us abreast of of this important issue. Who was the titular head of the partnership? Seriously. I was uplifted by this story of
entreprenuerialism. Sounds like these women expanded their assets.
Sounds right to me. Drive right in. Don't nipple around the edges.

JHG

[REWahoo]

Originally Posted by MRGALT2U

Thank you for keeping us abreast of of this important issue. Who was the titular head of the partnership? Seriously. I was uplifted by this story of
entreprenuerialism. Sounds like these women expanded their assets.
Sounds right to me. Drive right in. Don't nipple around the edges.

JHG

JG, your're a hoot...er.

REW

[Jay_Gatsby]

Originally Posted by REWahoo!

JG, your're a hoot...er.

REW

Thanks for getting that off your chest.

P.S. To JG -- I don't think that's what the original poster meant when he titled his post "22 years old and wanting more..." Then again, I could be wrong.

[gravesend]

Geeman,

I have some experience in r.e. "flipping"* *Here's my story.

I started at 24 to look for a place to buy to live in and was in contract for a 1br condo in 2002.* while in contract, I found another incredible deal and assigned the contract to a family member who at first was apprehensive.* the condo was for 85k and commanded 975 a month in rent.* right now, it is worth 175k, and I am a bit sad I don't own it.

But it worked out anyway.* I bought a 200k condo that's now worth 400k+, and my equity in that is 250k+

After I got settled in my own apartment, I started looking again.* I read a lot of real estate investing books that each have their own strategies.* I picked the ones i was most comfortable with and followed through.

For example, I found an undervalued brand new construction in an up-and-coming neighborhood.* I don't know how the developer priced it, but it was priced very low.* Regardless, I purchased a studio for 95k.* I sold it a few months later with minimum carrying costs for 150k.* I came out of that deal up 37k.*

I then went and purchased another condo in another up-and-coming neighborhood for 150k.* Spent about 10k in fixing it up.* A lot of sweat equity later, I sold it for 229k.* This one netted around 50k.

Right now, I am in contract for 2 more condos in yet another up-and-coming area and I plan to do the same to 1 of them and hold the other one.* I am very confident with the first one, because it is a place where i would personally live in and the area is great.* Also, a new train station is opening up which will bring the value up even more.*

I have many options since I've lived in my current Primary Residence for more than 2 years that I can take the gains tax free.* then prehaps live in the new up-and-comer for 2 years and resell for more tax free gains.* Many possibilities.* *(oh, my PR is also in an up-and-coming neighborhood)

I just turned 28 and I am at about 400k in net worth..* i treated myself to a brand new suv (which i used to transport materials for the rehab that i did) so it contributed to my R.E. experience.

As you can see, I really like up-and-coming neighborhoods.. i stick with what worked for me and I like the results.*

My suggestions to you are:
1) buy a place to live in first.. or live with your parents.. stop paying rent.
2) read a lot of real estate investment books but don't forget the fundamentals.* I don't have the guts to go pre-construction in FL so i focus on the deals i am comfy with and I seem to have done ok.
3) take classes in r.e.* *-* I took R.E. Finance, and I have a Sales Agent license.. just so i have more knowledge of the subject
4) save, save, save!* get a 2nd job.* make that first downpayment.

My next goals are
1) to live for free..* meaning i don't want to pay my mortgage out of my own pocket.* I want someone else to do it.* hopefully, i can find a multi unit property with enough cash flow to pay my mortgage so i get to live "for free"
2) higher education - i thought about mba but that really isnt for me.* i am gearing towards an MS in R.E. with focus on Finance & Investment
3) chill out and destress.

uhmm.. this may be more info than you need.. but if you have anymore questions just PM me.

[geeman]

I wouldn't mind making 90K this year like you have. A lot of people are saying that it is too late to get into real estate... What do you think? What area do you live in?