The Random Thread (TAJT!)

[jetsfan4life51]

Let's talk about work, get to know each other a little better.

How's everyone been doing since the pandemic?

[Bobby816]

15 hours ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

Let's talk about work, get to know each other a little better.

How's everyone been doing since the pandemic?

Work for me has been busy throughout all this. We've actually had OT the whole time bc of it. So I am very grateful for even having a job throughout all this. Never mind making even more than I normally do.

 

I did buy a house that I'm remodeling a few months ago. Area my wife wanted to go, with a nice size lot, school district we wanted and all. But I have to remodel it. And this has been rough. The house didn't become mine until 5/1 (bought it 3/1 but had renters there from previous owner for 2 months). So I've been remodeling it for the last 5 weeks. But I was out of town for like 10 days of this. So needless to say, the process has been slower than we thought. It's also been raining a ton here in TX the last 3 weeks, So all my outdoor remodeling has been pushed back (hoping to have a bunch done in the next week or so).

So as it stands now... we have scraped the popcorn ceilings in the areas it still had them, textured them and have painted the whole house. Yes the whole house. Remodeling the master bathroom. Have demo'd everything and have tiled the shower, have the vanity and flooring. But haven't installed yet. Ripped up the flooring in all the bedrooms. New carpet in the 3 bedrooms. And we have still have to do the wood flooring in the master bedroom and bathroom. We're also turning a HUGE closet into an office, since my wife now works from home. So that room is getting a total remodel as well. We also have to replace the sliding glass door to the backyard into a nice French door (this should be easy). And then we should be able to move in. Hoping in the next 3 weeks we can finish all this.

Outside we have a 1,000sqft concrete patio getting poured. Was supposed to be poured yesterday, but it rained really bad. So maybe by the end of the week. After that we are building a big outdoor grill and bar area. Will have my new huge grill, my traeger, sink and fridge. Then a bar area to look at that. Doing all that with cinder block and tile. The plan was to cover this patio off the roof line. But with wood prices crazy high... what was going to be a 15k roof, would now be a 35k roof. So we're holding off on the roof until wood prices come down.

 

To sum it up... don't get a remodel unless you plan on working your butt off for a solid few months after your work days and weekends. 

 

 

 

[KimuraGod]

17 hours ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

Let's talk about work, get to know each other a little better.

How's everyone been doing since the pandemic?

Iv had it slightly different from you guys as we had three lockdowns that impacted our work. Having a family business is great and all but when Covid hit it then made it very difficult as we didn’t get much support from the government. Thankfully we are okay and have been extremely busy since reopening back in April. 
 

Hows work been for you? We’re you able to do any online/zoom workouts with clients? 
 

I have just booked our vacation for Florida in January. The US is still on a no fly zone currently so just hoping it’s lifted by January. The little one is nine weeks on Friday so she’s getting bigger by the minute. 
 

Hows everyday life like for people now? Things have opened up here more and more over the last six weeks. 

[jetsfan4life51]

3 hours ago, xenajets said:

Iv had it slightly different from you guys as we had three lockdowns that impacted our work. Having a family business is great and all but when Covid hit it then made it very difficult as we didn’t get much support from the government. Thankfully we are okay and have been extremely busy since reopening back in April. 
 

Hows work been for you? We’re you able to do any online/zoom workouts with clients? 
 

I have just booked our vacation for Florida in January. The US is still on a no fly zone currently so just hoping it’s lifted by January. The little one is nine weeks on Friday so she’s getting bigger by the minute. 
 

Hows everyday life like for people now? Things have opened up here more and more over the last six weeks. 

I was doing a few zoom workouts and nutrition, plus some outdoor workouts in my back yard for the summer. We had everything open up in September, I left my gym and went out on my own in November and I am killing it right now.  Finally able to workout without masks.

Glad to hear business is going well.  I have a few colleagues in Canada who are continuing to get crushed.

[jetsfan4life51]

5 hours ago, Bobby816 said:

To sum it up... don't get a remodel unless you plan on working your butt off for a solid few months after your work days and weekends. 

 

 

 

My best friend bought a remodel in his lmid-late 20s when he just got married and a year or so later had his first kid.  IDC how good of a deal it was to get in, he probably spent a ton of time and money on it.  Then he ended up moving a few years later lol.  Hope it was worth the investment.

Since business is doing well I'm planning on holding out until I can afford a down payment and be comfortable with a mortgage on something nicer.

[Bobby816]

7 minutes ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

My best friend bought a remodel in his lmid-late 20s when he just got married and a year or so later had his first kid.  IDC how good of a deal it was to get in, he probably spent a ton of time and money on it.  Then he ended up moving a few years later lol.  Hope it was worth the investment.

Since business is doing well I'm planning on holding out until I can afford a down payment and be comfortable with a mortgage on something nicer.

Ya we plan on staying awhile. And its a great investment of a house as well. Housing market everywhere is crazy, but really crazy in TX. Lots of northerners and Californians moving here. So the market has really spiked the last 6 months or so. The house we bought was kinda under the table. My best friend is my real estate agent and the seller was a client of his too. So never had to get in a bidding war. The guy just wanted out of the house and renting it. So he had a price and we gave it to him. With us doing nothing to it, the house went up 75k in the 2 months we bought it, but couldn't move in yet. And now with all these remodeling things, I'm sure we can get 25-50k more. So I haven't even moved into the house yet and the house has gone up 100k+

[jetsfan4life51]

1 hour ago, Bobby816 said:

Ya we plan on staying awhile. And its a great investment of a house as well. Housing market everywhere is crazy, but really crazy in TX. Lots of northerners and Californians moving here. So the market has really spiked the last 6 months or so. The house we bought was kinda under the table. My best friend is my real estate agent and the seller was a client of his too. So never had to get in a bidding war. The guy just wanted out of the house and renting it. So he had a price and we gave it to him. With us doing nothing to it, the house went up 75k in the 2 months we bought it, but couldn't move in yet. And now with all these remodeling things, I'm sure we can get 25-50k more. So I haven't even moved into the house yet and the house has gone up 100k+

That's awesome!

After reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, and having access to a low monthly rent on an apartment, I've also thought about buying a house to rent out so I can make a little extra.  Or buy a remodel with my Uncle and have him fix it up then we flip and sell or rent that out together.  But I don't know enough about renting out yet so I have to do some research.

[Bobby816]

17 hours ago, jetsfan4life51 said:

That's awesome!

After reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, and having access to a low monthly rent on an apartment, I've also thought about buying a house to rent out so I can make a little extra.  Or buy a remodel with my Uncle and have him fix it up then we flip and sell or rent that out together.  But I don't know enough about renting out yet so I have to do some research.

Real Estate is one of the easiest ways to make money. It's just being informed on what areas that are affordable for you that will have the biggest increase in value in a time frame. For example the house I bought when I was engaged wasn't what I wanted to stay in. My wife and I knew that going into it. But I didn't have a ton of money to put down, so my options weren't wide open. But my best friend who's my agent explained to us that the area he was showing us will just boom value wise bc of the school district and the neighborhood we were looking at was still affordable for young families starting out. And he was dead on. We stayed in that house for 7 years and made 220k on that house with barely doing anything to it.

This house we bought now was a steal bc of how I said I got it. If it hit the open market instead of under the table, I would've had to pay 75k more for it at least. So I'm already up 75-100k already, and I haven't even moved in. The remodeling we're doing is pricey (by the end of it all here in a few weeks, we will be in for around 25k). And we still have the patio roof to build that will cost us around 15-20k. So roughly around 40-50k we are putting into the house. But that money we're putting in, is vastly more valuable instantly. Its then a fully remodeled house that looks brand new. Has a huge outdoor space and on a huge lot, in arguably the best school in TX (probably best sports HS in TX). So the value is HUGE now. We don't have plans on moving either. We might expand later down the line... but we will cross that path down later. But the good thing when a house goes up in value like that is... it's easy to take an interest loan out of your house when the value is vastly more than what your loan is. So for example... I want to put a pool in maybe next year or the year after (my kids will be turning around the 3-5 ages then, so perfect timing). And my house at that point will appraise probably for 150k more than what I bought it for. So to get that loan out to do the pool, becomes incredibly easy. Rather than trying to come up with 75k to put in a pool cash wise. You're in essence just rolling it into your mortgage. But you don't care bc you 100% know that your house is worth it bc of the appraisal. And adding that pool will add big value as well, so it almost splits what you paid for and what you were at. Meaning that if I have a house worth 750k and my original loan was for 600k, I take 75k for a pool and other stuff for the yard. I now have a loan for 675k. But my house by putting in the pool probably goes up to 800k. So right away I'm still up 125k, but now have a dream backyard and a fully remodeled house. Let's even say I do move in 10 years. I pay down that loan in that time and the value goes up another 200k. So now roughly I still make 325k on the house alone never mind the money I paid down on the loan (let's say another 200k). So now I have nearly 600k in my pocket. Not very many investments you can make in a 10 year time frame will give you 1/2 million dollars. Real Estate is for sure 1 of them. 

[KimuraGod]

5 hours ago, Bobby816 said:

Real Estate is one of the easiest ways to make money. It's just being informed on what areas that are affordable for you that will have the biggest increase in value in a time frame. For example the house I bought when I was engaged wasn't what I wanted to stay in. My wife and I knew that going into it. But I didn't have a ton of money to put down, so my options weren't wide open. But my best friend who's my agent explained to us that the area he was showing us will just boom value wise bc of the school district and the neighborhood we were looking at was still affordable for young families starting out. And he was dead on. We stayed in that house for 7 years and made 220k on that house with barely doing anything to it.

This house we bought now was a steal bc of how I said I got it. If it hit the open market instead of under the table, I would've had to pay 75k more for it at least. So I'm already up 75-100k already, and I haven't even moved in. The remodeling we're doing is pricey (by the end of it all here in a few weeks, we will be in for around 25k). And we still have the patio roof to build that will cost us around 15-20k. So roughly around 40-50k we are putting into the house. But that money we're putting in, is vastly more valuable instantly. Its then a fully remodeled house that looks brand new. Has a huge outdoor space and on a huge lot, in arguably the best school in TX (probably best sports HS in TX). So the value is HUGE now. We don't have plans on moving either. We might expand later down the line... but we will cross that path down later. But the good thing when a house goes up in value like that is... it's easy to take an interest loan out of your house when the value is vastly more than what your loan is. So for example... I want to put a pool in maybe next year or the year after (my kids will be turning around the 3-5 ages then, so perfect timing). And my house at that point will appraise probably for 150k more than what I bought it for. So to get that loan out to do the pool, becomes incredibly easy. Rather than trying to come up with 75k to put in a pool cash wise. You're in essence just rolling it into your mortgage. But you don't care bc you 100% know that your house is worth it bc of the appraisal. And adding that pool will add big value as well, so it almost splits what you paid for and what you were at. Meaning that if I have a house worth 750k and my original loan was for 600k, I take 75k for a pool and other stuff for the yard. I now have a loan for 675k. But my house by putting in the pool probably goes up to 800k. So right away I'm still up 125k, but now have a dream backyard and a fully remodeled house. Let's even say I do move in 10 years. I pay down that loan in that time and the value goes up another 200k. So now roughly I still make 325k on the house alone never mind the money I paid down on the loan (let's say another 200k). So now I have nearly 600k in my pocket. Not very many investments you can make in a 10 year time frame will give you 1/2 million dollars. Real Estate is for sure 1 of them. 

Cool...so when I fancy a trip to Texas I’m staying at yours right?!?!?

[Bobby816]

4 minutes ago, xenajets said:

Cool...so when I fancy a trip to Texas I’m staying at yours right?!?!?

Sure can!!!

[KimuraGod]

We moved into our new home in November. Got quite lucky as unlike @Bobby816im freaking useless at DIY. So the road where our new house is on was originally bungalow style homes. Huge plots of land with big houses and huge gardens but on one floor. 
 

A guy bought the house and extended/added a whole floor and really put a lot of money into it. Unfortunately I believe he then ran out of money and basically the bank then took the house over. We then bought the house a good £75k cheaper than it would of been and because it was basically brand new only had to have carpets and a kitchen fitted. 
 

I tip my hat to people who can renovate and redevelop a house. I hate having trades people in my house especially if I’m in work and just hate the disruption. Luckily we were able to have the jobs done before we actually moved in. 
 

Another huge help for us was the governments scheme to not have to pay stamp duty (property tax) which saved us about £30k so really took advantage of the situation due to covid. We still have many rooms which are empty and just taking it room by room rather than buying furniture etc for every spare room in the house. 
 

I have designs for a games room, gym and cinema room. All of which will cost me way too much right now but things I want in the future. Only problem is I legit have to pay for everything as like I said previous I’m shocking at DIY. 
 

Only thing with a big house is my wife wants about 6 kids now….going to cost me more in the long run 😬 Will be selling my kidneys to take us to Florida ten years from now 🙈

[KimuraGod]

On 6/9/2021 at 6:17 PM, Bobby816 said:

Sure can!!!

Deal 🤝

[Bobby816]

49 minutes ago, xenajets said:

We moved into our new home in November. Got quite lucky as unlike @Bobby816im freaking useless at DIY. So the road where our new house is on was originally bungalow style homes. Huge plots of land with big houses and huge gardens but on one floor. 
 

A guy bought the house and extended/added a whole floor and really put a lot of money into it. Unfortunately I believe he then ran out of money and basically the bank then took the house over. We then bought the house a good £75k cheaper than it would of been and because it was basically brand new only had to have carpets and a kitchen fitted. 
 

I tip my hat to people who can renovate and redevelop a house. I hate having trades people in my house especially if I’m in work and just hate the disruption. Luckily we were able to have the jobs done before we actually moved in. 
 

Another huge help for us was the governments scheme to not have to pay stamp duty (property tax) which saved us about £30k so really took advantage of the situation due to covid. We still have many rooms which are empty and just taking it room by room rather than buying furniture etc for every spare room in the house. 
 

I have designs for a games room, gym and cinema room. All of which will cost me way too much right now but things I want in the future. Only problem is I legit have to pay for everything as like I said previous I’m shocking at DIY. 
 

Only thing with a big house is my wife wants about 6 kids now….going to cost me more in the long run 😬 Will be selling my kidneys to take us to Florida ten years from now 🙈

It's great when you can find a real estate investment like that.

I have to be honest though. That while I'm not useless when it comes to DIY stuff... its my brother and Dad who are the incredibly handy ones. They're the ones helping me with all this. They've done remodels like this for years for themselves. Without them I'd have to hire someone for nearly everything. Which costs twice as much. I also have to give HUGE credit to my wife. She has great vision and style for a house. Our style is that modern farmhouse style. Bigger ranch house with painted brick and all. I'm in charge more of the backyard, where I've chosen how I want that. Being I'm the one who grills, smokes food, drinks beer outside while watching games and such. So it was a good compromise, but we both like each others plans for the house. There's things she wants that I think are a waste of money (she really likes those expensive frames in TV's, I could careless about them). So we are getting those for the interior against my will. That being said... she wanted just grey concrete countertops for the bar and grill area bc they were cheaper and I said I wanted a whitish/grey granite and that's what we're dp9ing. So it's all a compromise.

 

Unlike you though @xenajetsmy wife and I stopping after 2 kids (I actually got snipped 2 weeks ago). So we wont really ever outgrow this house we bought. 

[SDotNova]

Glad y’all have been doing alright throughout the pandemic.

We been fine as well. My wife homeschools our kids. So, our kids haven’t lost a beat in the education department. And I’ve fortunately have been able to maintain my income.

The biggest issue we’ve been dealing with is our mental health. The fear around COVID really did a number on us. But we’ve been focused on righting that ship since January. I think we are back and have been enjoying our lives since that time. Took a family trip in May and will be heading to NY in July.

[Bobby816]

1 hour ago, SDotNova said:

Glad y’all have been doing alright throughout the pandemic.

We been fine as well. My wife homeschools our kids. So, our kids haven’t lost a beat in the education department. And I’ve fortunately have been able to maintain my income.

The biggest issue we’ve been dealing with is our mental health. The fear around COVID really did a number on us. But we’ve been focused on righting that ship since January. I think we are back and have been enjoying our lives since that time. Took a family trip in May and will be heading to NY in July.

That’s great. We really hiked up the travel and doing things outside and about as well. Mainly for that exact reason. Mental health. And especially for the kids. To get out and play with other kids and all. Not just at home and with their cousins and such.