Louisiana Deal Is Over!

Well, not 100% yet, but it is close enough now that I feel comfortable writing about it.The last time I wrote about this, the mortgage holders had a conference call to determine how we should proceed at the foreclosure auction and what would happen if no one bought the properties and we ended up with control of the buildings. The auction was supposed to happen on December 5, however I fully expected "Joe" to file for bankruptcy and thus delay the...

Lucy Van Pelt Has The Right Idea

I was watching A Charlie Brown Christmas the other night with my wife and daughter and was surprised by the shrewd financial savvy of Lucy. This is an exchange she has with Charlie Brown:Lucy: I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that.Charlie Brown: What is it you want?Lucy: Real estate!You can see it for yourself in this YouTube clip at around the 6:50 ma...

Any German Readers Out There? Need Assistance

The Louisiana deal is still dragging on.. Hopefully it will be done today and I can post what's been happening..In the meantime, I am asking for some help, particularly from any readers in Germany.My father-in-law was in the Air Force and when my wife was growing up, she spent some of her teen years living in Germany on the U.S. Air Force base there. She also loves Christmas and while living there,...

Flipping LLCs Update

Anonymous asked for an update on the four LLCs I am invested in that flip properties in the San Francisco area. There is not much news that is different from my last update on these. Three of the four are now ended and the fourth one ends in the next six months.The real estate slowdown has really put the brakes on these investments. Although the terms of the LLCs are over, they are still operating. Why? Because the properties they own have not yet...

Wii Update

My experiment in reselling a Wii for some extra cash is now over. I am a bit disappointed in the results, but I still came out ahead, so it wasn't a total failure.My eBay auction ended with a high bid of $450, plus $39 for shipping, handling, and insurance. I was hoping for closer to $500 though. Here's all the details:Sales Price$450Shipping, Handling, & Insurance$39eBay Listing Fee- $4.35eBay Final Value Fee- $15.13PayPal Fee- $14.48Cost of...

Christmas Present From The Tax Assessor

I got my tax bill in the mail for the next year's property taxes at Rental #1 and got a nice surprise. When I was analyzing the property before purchasing it, I used the tax estimate calculator at the assessor's website and had estimated my yearly property tax to be $989.00, based on my purchase price for the house. But the tax bill is currently still being figured using the seller's purchase price, which means my tax bill is only $376, just a bit...