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#61
Stocks And Index Funds / Re: Motley Fool
Last post by Jbinjville - January 24, 2021, 12:05:03 PM
Well it's been a year since i jumped in deep into Motley Fool with my investment in Cloud Disruptors so i'll give another update.  My total investment in the Cloud Disruptor currently is $69,261 with a current value of $118,968, up almost 72% in a year.  All together i have $330K invested at different times last year in several MF portfolios, combined they're up just over 77% for a paper profit of $256K far exceeding my expectations.  The cool thing is that 70% of the profit is in Roth IRA's.   I hope my posts on this subject have helped other investors in this Forum.
#62
At first, you should count approximate charges in the coming years. As I understand, you have small children? Kindergarten and school consume A LOT (sometimes enough to refuse a property)
I'm not an expert but look for living examples of how to count expenses at https://fitmymoney.com/how-to-buy-a-home/. It helped me to define what rates you can pay.
#63
PanadaAtlanta - Those are pretty good rates for investment property.

I'm in the process of refinancing my first house and was able to secure 1.875% for 15 year fixed (no fees/no points). I think its a great time to lock these rates. FS also mentioned in one of his newsletters.
#64
Hi Sam and everyone,

My sister and I need to sell my mom's townhome in the bay area (California) to provide her cash for assisted living. The townhome is probably going to sell around $1.1M-$1.2M (no mortgage). Her facility costs $10k+/- per month. We are not too worried about her running out of money as she has other assets offshore. But it's easier for us to sell the house now to convert to cash and buy us a few years time.

Now, my wife and mine income combined ($170k per year) would max out at around $1M purchase price or less. And honestly I don't want to go anywhere near that price as the mortgage burden is too huge. A relative suggests that I can still buy my mom's townhome as a discounted price, a price that I can afford, since it is my mom. Let's say I buy it for $800k, our monthly payment would still be $4.5k+/- (PITI HOA PMI), which honestly is still really high for me.

The question is, should I buy it say around $800k? One thing to keep in mind is that my sister and I don't have the best relationship and so that itself is a hurdle on its own. I think she'd do it but it could increase friction for us.

The discount and the fact that it is in the bay area is the main reason I am considering buying.

My wife and I are in our early 30s with combined net worth of $1M+/-. Current I have $100k+ cash before having to sell other houses/stocks. Currently we have little monthly debt, just $1.5k on our primary home in Texas, and we enjoy having the extra cash to either save them or do things that we enjoy (such as travel). Obviously if I should buy the townhome this would change our lifestyle quite a bit. We were planning moving to CA to be closer with my mom anyway, but I was going to cap renting at $3k/month.

Thank you so much in advance!
#65
Automobiles / Re: Anybody have an electric v...
Last post by Money Ronin - January 08, 2021, 04:26:15 PM
I'm not excited by most affordable E vehicles, but I am excited by the Mustang Mach-E.  It seems utilitarian enough for a family, and very sporty.  My hang up is this is the first production year.

Also, I can't justify the premium for an E vehicle since I no longer drive much working from home.  I'm saving the environment by not driving.  I've got a 2021 Corvette on order so I can have something pretty to look at in my garage.

Perhaps Financial Samurai will do an article on the cost benefit analysis of owning an E vehicle.
#66
Real Estate Crowdfunding / Re: Thoughts On RealtyShares C...
Last post by berkel - January 05, 2021, 08:25:16 AM
Got an update from RS on the Castle Court Apartments Seattle 2nd Lien Tranche 2 deal and "gasp", a payment:

IRM has agreed to a 4th amendment to the business loan agreement and modification to promissory note for a loan extension from 10/01/20 to 12/18/21. This extension was made in order to have co-terminus terms with the senior lender.

The terms of this agreement are as follows:

1. The current fixed interest rate of 12.0% increased to 15.0% and will accrue from 12/18/20 to 12/18/21.
2. The Borrower paid the past-due interest owed from 05/01/20 to 12/18/20.
3. The Borrower made a principal paydown of $500k, reducing the remaining principal from $2,129,000 to $1,629,000.
4. The borrower paid an extension fee of $16,290 or 1.00% of the loan principal balance.


I went to my account that is linked to RS and lo and behold there was a deposit of $3075.50!

I reconciled it as follows:

Principal paydown of ~23.5% from $10K to $7,651.48
Interest of $726.99 for the period from 5/1/2020 to 12/18/2020

Hopefully they make the rest of the payments and I get out of this one without any losses.

My last open deal is unfortunately from FG (AFC in Largo, FL), but not a lot of hope that I'll get any of the remaining ~$2700 in principal. 


#67
Automobiles / Re: Anybody have an electric v...
Last post by Kerplink - January 02, 2021, 12:09:26 AM
I'll be getting an e-bike this year but I haven't finished researching them and they keep getting better! I tend to research the death out of anything I buy or invest in.

We bought a Model 3 in 2018 and it was so much better than any gas car we've ever had we bought another one a few months later. 2 1/2 years later all they have needed is tires. Brakes are still like new and so glad to not have schedule oil and filter changes (or do it myself). I like doing my own work but it's even better to just delete it in the first place.

No service, no repairs, no gas stations, and they drive like cars from the future! I've had some pretty nice European gas cars but I could never go back to them again. Finally I can buy American and get a superior product!
#68
Stocks And Index Funds / Re: My friend bought a new Te...
Last post by Kerplink - January 02, 2021, 12:02:09 AM
Time to revisit this one. I went into 2020 with TSLA my largest holding (by far) of my portfolio. I let it ride up to well over 90% of my retirement portfolio before selling 20%. I felt comfortable having it such a high percentage because I had researched the company to death and realized they had no competition despite the mainstream media constantly worried about the imminent "Tesla Killers". My research told me there was zero chance of that so I didn't want to "deworsify" my portfolio. It worked even better than I imagined! I sold another 5% on the last day of the year for over $715/share (or over $3575 pre-split).

What a ride! With the 20% re-balancing around $580 (over $2900 pre-split) and the 5% on the last day of the year I've paid off my entire cost basis and barely put a dent in my position!
#69
Current Events / Re: Artificial Intelligence.. ...
Last post by peaceypz - December 22, 2020, 04:09:59 PM
I believe neuro network, the current version of AI might or might not include coders' bias as it is given an objective and learn by itself on how to achieve the objective and the path to get there.
#70
Current Events / Is the 2020 equity market over...
Last post by peaceypz - December 22, 2020, 04:02:13 PM
I was in college back in 2000/2001 (the good old days).  I didn't pay much attention to the stock market.  Does anyone remember?  How is the 2020 market compares to 2000.  Any chance the Nasdaq will drop 50% in 2021 like it did in 2001?