Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

I'm not remotely wealthy, just have a solid career I've built up. Learning how to manage money was the smartest thing I ever did, and understanding that debt isn't bad if that debt is used to finance future wealth. I'm on a solid path to having enough passive income in 10 years to retire early and do whatever I want.

It's the fundamental realization that future money has less value then now money while future assets have more value then now assets. Using future money to acquire now assets lets us gain that difference in value as wealth. Managed properly it sets up the foundation for generational wealth. Using now money for an appreciating asset is no different then tossing money in a barrel and setting it on fire.

It's really sad that the education systems in western countries is geared towards making really good consumers and really bad investors. It teaches everyone that money is evil and using it to make more money is something only the evil rotten ultra rich can do. That it's somehow morally superior to be avoid growing wealth and remain poor.

Those are opinion pieces, like how Elvis is still alive or someone's cow got abducted by aliens.

Landlords are not "hiding" units, there is no such thing as "hiding" it's all available on MLS. They need tenants to provide revenue to pay down that mortgage, empty units are just cash drains every month.

Having said that, I think your confusing how negotiations work. Real estate isn't like buying a candy bar from a store, the prices aren't really fixed and it's all a negotiation. When there are more buyers (renters) then sellers (units), it feels like you don't have much negotiating power because you all suck at it. When it's the other way around, the seller is going to attempt to BS you into thinking they are in a better negotiating position then they are, that's pretty normal for negotiating. It's your job, the renter, to haggle and call their BS. Be talking to multiple sellers and lowball each of them, though don't insult them. Be willing to wait a week as they try to call your bluff.

3rd grade football team in the hotel last night and tonight. Last night their parents actually corralled the kids.

Tonight? Everyone of the parents is slowly getting shitfaced and letting their kids run amok. There's at least 40 kids. Lobby is louder than a drunk wedding party. I'm gonna go crazy.

Quiet hours start in 42 minutes. Wonder if I'll be able to get them quiet down or if I'm gonna hafta get authorities involved. Blegh.

Feed them coffee and/or energy drinks to burn em out

I know someone who can call SWAT for ya!

Those are facts. With actual, researched numbers.

I am sorry that New York real estate doesn't fit your worldview.

Vancouver BC wouldn't either.

Big Ounce

o7

And give them each a free puppy!

That'll teach their parents.

No those were articles where they interviewed people who gave opinions about why unit sellers were not disclosing how weak their positions were. This isn't world view nonsense, this is pure economics and making money. I explained how making money off real estate works, but it seems like your more concerned with maintaining your "hate those evil people" belief then understanding what's going on. Even after admitting you didn't understand the economics you were positive there must be greedy / evil people somewhere on purpose denying people homes and making money by .... not making money... but they are definitely really evil and definitely really bad and we should definitely really hate them... cause reasons.

It's that time of year again, North America

Think smaller, think more legs

I'm cool with spiders, they keep the rest of the insect population at bay.

This is NOT always true. Short term capital gain(buy/sell only) is just as effective for generating revenue sometimes. In a region that housing prices are increasing rapidly, you can make money even with empty units.

I know someone irl who made +75% with buy/sell within 5 years, or 15% per year with his empty properties. He doesn't need rent money to pay for mortgage even if he has one.

If your goal is to buy a house, hold it for 1-2 year for short term capital gain then sell, getting tenants for rent is just more trouble since you'll have to deal with ad, maintenance, tenant problems AND you need to look for ways to get rid of tenants when you want to sell. Getting tenants for rent isn't "free extra money", it always comes with a cost. For some people this cost may not be worth it if buy/sell revenue is good enough for them.

In a high housing price region, I can totally see people choose to buy for capital gain instead of steady cashflow from rent. Because revenue from simply buy/sell is just that good.

One thing my old bones learned during this path thats called life, is that

Between peace and being right, now I choose peace

too bad your country didnt choose peace yesterday and their water bottle legislation beforehand apparently

I WILL BE THIS TANK we can finally say *** warriors

I need to get stronger in FFXI. I can't even handle 3 Demisang Fomors at once in Sortie. Two, it's like a boss battle. But 3+ is a death sentence.

SMH

You need to seek out the ancient hermit on top the mountain of doom. There you will go through a training montage where he beats your mercilessly while laughing.

I always feel like learning some Japanese to have access to more content of it, but also we never know when someone else go ahead and do the work.

Just now i learned about wachenroder, a tactics-like game with cyberpunk thematics.

That got me really interested to see the story, but then the game was only released in japan, and its so cult that there is no translation of it

Once you can handle 10 of it only using one hand, then maybe you can even hope to spar against me.

Mwahaha

Pantaguro

This is more like it

Keep in mind that they also have to pay their mortgage, taxes, and insurance on the place, plus pay a realtor to sell it, closing costs, etc. so....

$1m mortgage is about 7k/month for 60 months, 420k, 6% realtor fees is $60,000, plus lawyer, title fees, etc. you're looking at well over 500k out of your 750k profit.

And if the property went up by 50% instead of 75% you made nothing. If it went up by a modest 5% per year, you lost hundreds of thousands. Also consider that even if you did make some tiny amount of money, that's no a very large ROI, especially when compared to inflation.

I mean, I'm not trying to say it's not profitable to flip properties, but the reality is that just holding on to property for 5 years, not renting it out, and hoping the gain in value is greater than the costs of ownership are...extremely questionable.

@Saevel

For years Chinese have been buying property in Vancouver BC. They haven't been renting it, just sitting on it.

The city? province? finally had to take measures about so many housing units not being on the market, I believe a tax on housing vacant for some period of time.

In your infinite wisdom of the economics of housing, explain that please.

Chinese citizens are limited on the amount of capital they can keep in banks, which are government owned. Ownership of properties in china is also limited.

So they invest in overseas properties as a way to move capital out of the country.

Also buying property in a country worth over a certain threshold makes you eligible for a passport - country dependent.

You mean the well known fact that Chinese are using overseas real estate as wealth store? It happens but they don't let the unit sit vacant, that would be bad. They attempt to rent it out, usually through some sort of local real estate agency. The unit I was in a few years ago was owned by a Chinese dude doing exactly that.

Nobody and I mean Nobody is letting units sit vacant, that is dumb and a big loss of money. You don't make money by refusing to make money. Worse yet, property goes bad if it sits empty too long, to keep maintain it's worth you end up having to hire someone to clean and do maintenance on it at least once a month.

That is what your not getting Chanti, this isn't about ideology, as much as you want it to be. This is about making money, the name of the game is moving the money from the renters pocket into the land owners pockets. That is kind of hard to do when there is no renter and you have monthly expenses that you have to cover. Then we have squatters, people who just move into a vacant home and then pretend they own it. The more .. anti-capitalist .. the local government is, the harder is it to remove them. Depending on location they can outright steal the title from you by claiming it was abandoned property. Having a renter inside there prevents that from happening.

Like I said before

Playing Xenoblade 3 Future Redeem, i think funny how they simply said frigg it and make Rex OP.

Like: hey, make him have over 50% crit hit rate.

Also make each crit hit adds cumulative buff up to 100%

Also make each crit hit dealing extra 150%

Also make each crit hit fuel faster the special bar

Also make each crit hit fuel faster the average move

Also make each crit hit to ignore foes defense

Also make each crit hit to become unblockable.

Balance achieved

They wanted to make Rex into Chadosaurus Rex.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2484110/FINAL_FANTASY_VII_EVER_CRISIS/
Soon.
Can't wait to not have to deal with emulators again.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/70/HalfLife/

Free game until Nov 20 @ 1pm EST.

You are correct. It depends on the cost of holding empty properties. If this cost is high, the risk of holding empty properties is greater and vice versa.

According to this post:
https://storeys.com/city-of-vancouver-empty-homes-tax-report-2021-year/


According to Saev nobody will hold empty units because they need rent money, by that logic Empty Homes Tax shouldn't do anything because people will choose to find tenants with or without EHT.

The reality is, EHT worked. Because making a profit by buy/sell only is now much harder with higher risks. It all depends on the cost of each decision.