Posted in May 8th, 2008
Time to go…
I’ve enjoyed this time in Blogland but Reallife demands my return.
Our real estate investments are doing well, all the Brz’s are healthy and happy and JoJo continues his rampage throughout East Texas. Unfortunately, blogging requires much more time and attention than I can provide and still focus on growing our family and business.
This site […]
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Posted in April 10th, 2008
We’re snowed under around here taking care of tookie-tail stuff. It’s that time of year for new beginnings and self reflection and spring cleaning, both real and metaphorical. Every year we do the following (in no particular order):
*Get the taxes together for our CPA. Reevaluate tax position and make changes for next year. We’re not […]
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Posted in February 22nd, 2008
Look what I found today in a dumpy little resale shop in downtown Hicksville–
Doesn’t look very exciting does it?
But wait, there’s more!
Good thing I turned it over…
Lookie~! The holy grail of REI~~ The Epistle of Nickerson!
Coveted by investors nationwide,
Beloved tome’ of inspirational treasure,
Best seller on ebay, regardless of condition…
But wait, there’s more!!
BWAHAHAHA
Life is good
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Posted in January 28th, 2008
The Magnolia House is Officially Done.
We know this is true as today is The Signing of the Lease Day (with the new tenants who seemed thrilled with everything that *is* finished.)Unofficially, closet poles still reside on the floor and the bathroom is missing a toilet paper holder and towel hooks. Oh, and a dryer vent […]
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Posted in January 16th, 2008
This is a bit hard to believe…
Two new houses on the market close by one of our other rent houses. A year ago, nothing in this area listed under 65K. We’re headed over for a quick drive-by this afternoon.
House #1
3/1/1, Asking price: 45K
From MLS:
General Description:
HUD Home SOLD AS-IS W/ALL FAULTS. All HUD Homes are sold on […]
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Posted in January 12th, 2008
January’s my favorite time of year to hit the bookstore and stock up on REI books. Something about leaving the excess of the holiday season behind just begs a trip to Barnes and Noble to stock up on hideously overpriced, over-hyped books that call my name with promises of wealth and happiness (in 60 days […]
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Posted in January 7th, 2008
When you’re a kid it feels like nothing will ever change. As adults, we know that isn’t the case. Change happens constantly but we’re usually just too stinkin’ busy to notice– until we pull out the wedding album and count the number of relatives that have gone on to Glory or revisit the home of our childhood and find that all […]
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Posted in December 8th, 2007
Digging through the pictures and financials of our first rent house prompted a seriously soppy trip down Memory Lane. It’s a bit of a conflict as such sentimental dribble should probably be reserved for babies and new puppies but as we have neither at the moment, this will have to do.
When it came time to write this week’s article […]
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Posted in December 6th, 2007
This first purchase tossed us way outside our comfort zone.
Here’s where we were mentally at the time of purchase:
Note: If you notice something missing, leave a comment and I’ll edit the post.
ARV for the house was 110K.
Asking price: 100K
Offered 82.4K which was accepted without counter. We learned at closing that 2 bids came in the same […]
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Posted in December 5th, 2007
We paid 83K for this 3/2/2 in 2004 with nothing but our good credit rating, an 80/20 loan, and a handful of credit cards. We borrowed enough to pay closing costs from family until our income tax refund came back.
Everyone’s got to start somewhere. I’ve hesitated to show our first purchase because the before pictures are […]
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Posted in December 4th, 2007
Okay… let’s start by developing collective amnesia concerning anything I said about liking this house.
Please?
Mamma Always Said:
So here’s the something nice before we get rolling on the something naughty.
Great floorplan… really nice
Large living room
Nice galley kitchen that opens up to a larger-than-Ikea sized dining area
Well proportioned bedrooms bigger than MLS stated
Kitchen cabinets are solid pine and […]
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Posted in December 1st, 2007
Shopping for real estate is personal– every investor’s looking for something different. Some turn away from termite damage, some get nervous over cracked slabs, others are fanatical over water problems. Our biggest concern is always location. Almost anything can be fixed if the numbers work and you have a good contractor, but short a load of dynamite or a […]
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Posted in November 30th, 2007
Interesting thing about maps–apparently, they help you find stuff.
Certain people sometimes get the big-head and think they know the territory so well that maps are unneccessary. They justify this by claiming they are saving ink (but really they are just cheap.) These same people then get hopelessly lost looking for 10K trailer/lots and waste many gallons of gas driving […]
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Posted in November 16th, 2007
If These Floors Could Talk
The little house we’re completing now is one of my favorites. The first time we snuck inside, tiptoed through the fallen ceiling tiles while dodging the dead wasps on the floors, I knew this ratty little shack was going to be a keeper.
Repo’s are generally a mess. Holes in the sheetrock, exposed […]
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Posted in November 11th, 2007
Last night the Brz clan suffered severe trauma and emotional distress of a decidedly reptilian nature. The following excerpt (with some minor tweaking) was written for some cyberfriends over on my favorite decorating forum. As I’m finding myself in need of further catharsis, the blog world now gets a dose of same. (If Reuters would run the […]
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Posted in November 5th, 2007
At this point, all I’ve got is a tenacious notion somewhere in this vicinity:
Paying off truck/tractor=good idea
Investing 30K=much better idea
Reality? I have 4 months to find and acquire an asset producing positive cashflow after expenses of $750/month. But to get from here to there, I’ve got to leave the realms of speculation and see what’s available.
Idea #1
Buy a mobile home […]
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Posted in October 31st, 2007
We hate consumer debt.
Besides the mortgage on our personal residence, we try to pay cash for anything that isn’t going to make money for us. So imagine our surprise when we found ourselves owing a combined total of 30K on a Toyota Tundra and a brand new Kubota tractor (she said, tongue planted firmly in cheek)
But […]
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