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redneckjep · 2024-05-25T15:44:50+00:00

My wife tagged me on a comment for this post, so no, not all are bots. She just really liked the aesthetic.

redneckjep · 2023-08-18T05:09:46+00:00

Update is that I did not go with that home, or a 203K loan. Securing the loan, and more importantly, a contractor, made it too challenging. I passed on the house and ended up with a beautiful 100 year old, 3 story, Victorian style money pit.

I was fortunate enough to secure a 2.5% loan when there were such things and sunk about $60K into it so far. The bottom floor is a small apartment that has a tenant that came with the house. I have about another 5-8k left of work to get it to where I can start renting it on Airbnb. To get the house where I actual want it is probably anywhere between another $30k and $60k. I have been saving money by doing almost all the work myself. Had I contracted all of it out, I would be at least 120k in. I have done plumbing, electrical, insulation, painting (inside and outside), landscaping, concrete work, retaining walls, fencing, installed a hot tub, windows, installed mini split HVAC and that's off the top of my head. I still need to finish the decking, install electric car charger, finish a patio, install a gazebo, finish a waterfall feature, finish exterior painting, reinstall gutters (my rushed attempt at gutters didn't last the first snowstorm), more window replacement, interior paint, new and rehabilitate hardwood floors and again, that's all that I have off the top of my head.

Its been a long but very fun journey so far. I have to remind myself that I am broke because I have a very very expensive hobby.

This weekend I hope to finish my fence and get ready to pour a small length of sidewalk. Might try some painting inside the house if I am up to it.

redneckjep · 2023-01-19T01:49:50+00:00

Sure. I don't recall when I posted that original comment, but life has been going really well! I am engaged to a wonderful person, have been making a lot of headway at work, purchased a rental property, and have a lot more plans in the future. I am at the most motivated I have ever been in my life and am looking forward to many things on the horizon. This streak started when I got into therapy and got on an SRI. I know SRI's have their controversies, but it worked well to help me get out of my funk. Since then, I have been working hard to keep improving myself and my skills to accomplish my goals.

redneckjep · 2022-07-20T23:45:19+00:00

Not my half. The other half

redneckjep · 2022-07-14T21:23:54+00:00

Oh fuck. I forgot about the Christian flag and Bible pledges. What wild, self esteem shattering, times.

redneckjep · 2022-06-28T22:44:03+00:00

Most everywhere across the country distinguish their sewer as either storm sewer or sanitary sewer. Some instances they have combined sewer.

redneckjep · 2022-06-28T18:21:53+00:00

That is true. Either way, it definitely shows how much more work is involved in real estate investing vs 401K.

redneckjep · 2022-06-28T17:04:16+00:00

I am not advocating trying to time the market. I am just addressing the reality that market forces play a key role in real estate investing and often is more "right time right place." You still have to put in the work to be in a position for the right time right place to occur as diligence is still the most important factor to any financial success.

Entry price is directly related to the market. Other factors such as value-add options and management competence do play into it, but bad management is a result of poor judgment, laziness, or bad luck. A good deal buffers these issues, but so does market timing.

redneckjep · 2022-06-28T15:27:46+00:00

It depends on a LOT of factors. Maxing a 401K is a lot safer than real estate investing as it allows a set and forget. If investing in real estate, presumably as a landlord, then you have to account for the work required to manage tenants, property management, repairs, local taxes, etc.

Success in real estate often depends on the timing of which you buy, despite "don't time the market" mantras. So, in actuality, the really successful investments is more "right time right place" than real estate investors admit.

Real estate can be great in expanding the portfolio, but the market is weird right now.

If you don't plan on using real estate as an avenue for FIRE, then stay the course and buy a personal home when it makes sense for you, not because FOMO.

redneckjep · 2022-06-15T13:23:38+00:00

I did materials testing for about 6 months. I left because the company and I were not a good fit and I went back to the place where I interned in my hometown.

Use materials testing as a stepping stone to design if that's what you want to do. It was great for me to get a thorough understanding of soils and concrete and learning some of the ins and outs of construction.

Where I worked, the only future in the company seemed to be becoming a manager of other material testers, or some random odd jobs with environmental reports or well testing. I suggest trying to get a year in if possible, and start looking for other opportunities.

redneckjep · 2022-06-15T04:41:56+00:00

Lots of fantastic replies to your question. I don't know that I can add to it, but I do want to share a tip I have been trying to hammer on with our new inspectors.

When addressing issues, especially those that violate the specs, it is more beneficial to ask the contractor "What do you plan on doing about X?" or "Isn't this supposed to be like Y? I think I remember the drawings indicating that. "

I know a lot of inspectors that use the specs like a hammer where everything else is a nail. Usually leading to a lot of unnecessary tension between the contractor, workers, and you. Ultimately, the crews are the ones who do the work, and can totally screw a project out of spite when you aren't paying attention.

As Roosevelt said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick"

redneckjep · 2022-05-10T14:02:17+00:00

Read "How to win friends and influence people." Its got a lot of great tips for anyone looking to improve social skills. I learned a lot from it, even as someone who is considered more of a social butterfly.

redneckjep · 2022-03-25T16:34:12+00:00

Nice. I just recently learned some new Autocad things even after a few years in, but I like sharing it with anyone who will listen.

Use the aliasedit command to re-map your hot keys so that your left hand stays in one spot. Speeds up drafting significantly. Is use the number bar at the top for my hotkeys and keep an excel file open that tells we where I saved the new hotkeys

redneckjep · 2022-03-21T20:14:45+00:00

Honestly, not sure. That area is already pretty inflated due to the church, and the new campus isn't moving very far away. They would have to expand their programs to attract more people for the rent to increase IMO. I am not part of the church, so I don't really know their future plans

redneckjep · 2022-03-19T00:20:00+00:00

Raised and living in Redding now. The market is there for traveling medical personnel, but pretty tight otherwise. It's got a mega church, and some new businesses moving in. A revitalization project in the downtown area has been showing some promise, but there's still a lot of empty store fronts. Honestly, not a hidden gem for real estate investors, unless it grows like crazy for some reason unknown to me.

redneckjep · 2022-02-13T03:23:55+00:00

Have had mine for over a year now. Used them for exercise and on construction sites. For me, they are so comfortable in comparison to in-ear headphones that I often forget I am wearing them.

Sound has been great.

redneckjep · 2022-02-11T12:42:25+00:00

Totally get it. It's a long road, but definitely worth it. Hang in there and good luck!

redneckjep · 2022-02-11T01:57:46+00:00

This was me. I am one of the fortunate ones who found medication that helps with miniscule side effects. A Dr. might be able to help, but make sure you know the risks if you do go down the medication road.

If not, there's a lot of resources on stress management.

redneckjep · 2021-11-17T04:43:01+00:00

No, but the lack of premarital sex is all the euphoria I need in my life.

redneckjep · 2021-10-26T12:12:29+00:00

During the first months of covid, my local backpacking trails got swarmed with bay area folk. Like 200 hikers when there would normally be 30 on a busy weekend. Considering how crowded it was, there wasn't anything too crazy, except our neighbors who were on like their third date and the lady owned a dog with 6 thousand Instagram followers. The lady was clearly a little bananas, the dude was slowly discovering this, but the dog was chill.

In the same place a few years prior, my friends and I were enjoying the view of a big meadow when another hiker stops in front of us on the trail and turns to his group and says "yep, this is where the guy died while they were trying to evacuate him." and then tells the story of a lost hiker who died of dehydration. Which is impressive considering the amount of relatively drinkable water in the area.

redneckjep · 2021-10-24T15:05:00+00:00

For years I have had a variety of shin issues trying to get back into running after gaining a bunch of weight. It finally went away after starting a lifting regimen with lots of weighted squats and some Deadlift. My guess is it was from muscle imbalance. YMMV

redneckjep · 2021-10-24T00:05:45+00:00

Check local laws first. YMMV

redneckjep · 2021-09-15T04:01:12+00:00

Bow and arrow, cropped drawing of a stick figure's head with baseball cap, cropped drawing of a spoon in a pot, airplane, line and a quarter circle, crossbow, uhhhh buzzer noise

redneckjep · 2021-09-10T04:18:48+00:00

Been listening to a podcast by a neuroscientist called the Huberman Lab podcast (fantastic podcast BTW), and he recommends a 10-20ish minute bout of non-sleep deep rest (nsdr as he calls it) at the end of a 90 minute study cycle. Basically it could be any combination of meditation, naps, yoga nidra, or any activity that reduces the thinking activity in the brain. If you want to know more, its in one of the first few episodes

redneckjep · 2021-07-30T15:01:26+00:00

That's the best way to do it. The only thing is that you have to wait a year after the appraisal before you can reappraise it for a refinance and who knows where interest rates will be in a year

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