A few months back I came to a realization, not some great epiphany but a simple awareness of something that had long gone unnoticed; for the past twenty-plus years I have never lived in a place longer than two years. I’ve always known I was a bit of a wanderer, but had never really paid attention to how deep than wandering nature ran within me. Continue reading
Real Estate
The Value Of Sweat Equity
As most of you who have been following this blog over the past year are aware, part of my strategy to make my real estate investment work is to do the majority of the rehab work myself. Now for a guy with no prior real estate investing or construction background this was a big step and I’m not going to lie to you and say I wasn’t scared because I was. I seriously doubted my ability to do the work. I’ve mentioned many times that before I started this project I didn’t even own a hammer and could barely read a tape measure, but when you have invested a large sum of cash in a foreclosure you don’t have much choice but to make things happen. I now have almost any tool needed for a home repair or rehab project and have learned to use them effectively. Continue reading
The Costs Of Owning A Home
A year ago this month I purchased my current residence with the goal of not only making an investment but also to improve my cash flow. I made a few assumption back then and some of those can be found here where I discuss why I felt at the time my decision to purchase a foreclosure with cash was one of the best financial moves I could make. Was I correct in my assumptions or did I miscalculate? Todays post takes a look at the actual cost of owning my home and comparing those costs to what I was paying in rent. Continue reading
My Experience With Purchasing A HUD Foreclosure
I think one of the intimidating factors about real estate investing is all the moving parts involved in making it happen. Dividend investing is by no means been easy, but it’s a much more stream lined process compared to real estate. With stock investing you do most of your research sitting in your pajamas with real estate you’re dealing with multiple people as well as their schedules and I’m sure it is no surprise that people have varying degrees of time management skills. Continue reading
Exterior Improvements: Part Two
One of the very first projects that I started on the house was replacing the windows and exterior doors as well as adding a bit of siding in place of the wood on the front of the house. Although the house is brick there was a small section in the front that had a wood component. Today I’m going to share with you guys some additional improvements that have been completed recently on the outside. Continue reading
The Stoic Investor 