Search found 76 matches

by MrNo
Thu Mar 18, 2021 11:39 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

Hi Abuss368,
yes i have & as everyone expected, i went against advise from majority on this thread. It seems to be good opportunity and current owner neglected MHP for last 4 years. We did excessive modeling and it seems viable opportunity. We will have positive cash flow from get go
by MrNo
Thu Mar 18, 2021 11:31 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

Re: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

To close the loop here i ended up with Giant's Talon 1.

Bikes are like a gold now days, i was going to LBS twice a week since January. Inventory was sporadic and unpredictable. Store owner said that he had no control of what he would get & usually that would be gone (sold) within 4-6 days.

I am really happy with my choice, ended up buying higher end of entry model & got some nice upgrades like a 100mm fork, better breaks and single COG. I was hoping to find XXL, since i am right in-between XL & XXL

Thanks again everyone for your input.
by MrNo
Sat Jan 23, 2021 8:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

finite_difference wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 11:56 am

Article on Mobile Home University, which I think is rather balanced: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/maga ... ome-u.html

From the article, it sounds like you might reconsider your plan to keep the old property manager.
Thank you for sharing it, that was pretty good article
by MrNo
Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Past tax returns?

Taylor Larimore wrote: Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:48 am MrNo:

What happened to copies of the tax returns they were to send you?

Best wishes
Taylor
Jack Bogle's Words of Wisdom: "The past is history, the future's a mystery."
We requested bunch of paperwork including proof of payments, tax returns etc. They said they will provide it next week. They are working on it
by MrNo
Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

Hello all, just a quick update. We received additional information regarding this investment, we met yesterday with realtor representing owner & company managing the park. Good news is that water, sewer is from City and each unit/space has a sub-meter and tenant is responsible to register with Utility company & paying the bills. Park has 35 total slots & 25 slots have already mobile homes. 5 of those homes are tenant-owned (paying lot rent). 20 are park owned homes. Out of those 20, 6 are vacant. 4 needs some work, 1 tenant moved out in December and 1 passed away in January. 13 are rented out and person who is watching over the park lives for free in 1. There is some work to be done like repairing those 4 homes, fixing roads, et...
by MrNo
Fri Jan 22, 2021 9:20 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where do you buy coffee beans?
Replies: 200
Views: 22435

Re: Where do you buy coffee beans?

Lat year i started to make pour over coffee and i've been enjoying lately Organic Medium Good Morning Blend from Trader Joe's. 12ox for $15.
by MrNo
Fri Jan 22, 2021 8:53 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

JoeRetire wrote: Fri Jan 22, 2021 8:13 am
MrNo wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:17 amOur long term strategy would be to sell it after 5 or so years, after park has been turned around.
Do you have a complete sense as to why the park needs turning around in the first place? Are you confident that all these factors are within your control?

Without that, it would be hard to be able to plan on a rapid 5 year turn around. (IMHO, 5 years is not long term at all).
fair enough point and we are meeting with them today. I 'm hoping to get many of questions answered
by MrNo
Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:52 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

I personally have not invested in a MHP but have done work on bringing projects into compliance or converting them to ownership. The industry historically included many smallish parks with local owners and modest amenities. Over time larger players came into the field and we started to see parks with more amenities and services as manufactured homes replaced mobile homes due to HUD regulation in the 1970's. About 15 years ago investors started to find original park owners were nearing retirement and made in industry of buying them up at modest prices and increasing rents with an attractive ROI. Over the 5-10 years we have started to see seminar and books about cashing in on the mobile home park acquisition game. IMO, most of the best deals...
by MrNo
Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

So I've looked into buying one in the past and have done a fair bit of homework. There are excellent podcasts and things on the subject. As mobile home parks are valuated on a CAP rate basis, turning around a park can really increase the value fast. You should think of what you want to do with the park long term. There is a guy on YouTube, 'Investment Joy' that invested in a mobile home park. It's worth a watch to see what you're getting into. In general, the number of mobile home parks is in decline as the land is redeveloped for other things and cities are not permitting any new ones. As they are valued based on capitalization, there is serious money to be made in turning a run down park around. That said, are you willing to get your han...
by MrNo
Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:27 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

Yesterday we were talking to the property manager. Their company is managing 87 mobile parks in US. We expected him to be defensive and more of a "sweet talk", it was actually opposite. You could tell that he was frustrated with current owner. He made the point that if we are going to be like current owner, its better for everyone to move on. They've been chasing him to fix those units for a while and he would do nothing. if we agree to move forward, they would charge us a 6% management fee. That would be for all the back office support – collecting rents, dealing with tenants leaving and starting new leases, etc. putting $ in our bank accounts, and staffing & scheduling any work that has to happen for maintenance. They said t...
by MrNo
Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:17 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

So I've looked into buying one in the past and have done a fair bit of homework. There are excellent podcasts and things on the subject. Overall, you should think of this as two separate investments: The park and the mobile homes on the pads. First, the park: This is the 'passive' part of the investment. In essence you are buying a small city. You have roads, utilities, enforcement of rules, etc. In exchange for lot rent. Some high level questions. Where is the park located? It is around a larger metro where people are getting priced out of homes? Is it near a bus stop and/or employment centers for residences? Is the area's population gowning or shrinking? Now here is the thing that I've learned matters the most! Utilities. Best case, it's...
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

Sandtrap wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 4:04 pm OP:
As an alternative, Would you consider purchasing a multi unit residential income property, by yourself, as a sole owner and owner managed, in the area where you live at an excellent price and excellent positive cash flow?

j :D
why i have a strange feeling about this question :). i would say yes ..
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Buying a business.

MrNo: When a business is going under, one of the first things an owner will do is try to sell their business. Buying a business is very risky. The owner knows much more than the buyer. When I was a SBA loan officer making loans to purchase small businesses, one of the questions I would ask is: "Please show me a copy your last two business tax returns" (they are likely to show the worst performance.) If the returns are profitable, especially with a positive trend, it is a good sign -- otherwise watch-out. It the owner tells you the business "real" return is better than shown on the tax returns, you are dealing with a liar. Personally, I think that being a part owner of a half-empty mobile home park 2000 miles away is lik...
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

David Jay wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:42 pm
MrNo wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:55 pmIt seems current property manager lived there for a while. if thats the case we would keep that.
Another red flag.

Think this through: The current property manager has been there for a while. That means that they have overseen the decline of the park and the departure of 1/3 of the residents. And you want to keep them on?
that is a good and valid point. What we've been told is that current owner did not want to fix those units.
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

There are few homes that need some attention. Current owner did not invest much into. It seems there is a space to add additional mobile homes. Park has 20 spaces & 13 are rented out. 6 are vacant and it seems they need some attention and repair in order to be rented out. it has a property manager who lives for free in one of the units & looks after the park. Do you intend to keep the same property manager? Or find a new one? I'm planning to do an inspection of the property, sewer & water. Also to make sure title is clean. Anything else i should think of ? Will you be the sole owner? Do you have experience owning rental properties and dealing with a property manager? Most of all: do you want a second job like this? It seems cur...
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

mw1739 wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:18 am In addition to the 6 vacant lots, how many of the 13 lots are current and what is their payment history? How are the utilities billed (master or individually)? Are these homes rented or being sold on contract? What are the lease terms (if rented)? How is the property manager screening tenants? What are the rules for tenants and are you comfortable with them?
I am hoping to get his information later this week, along the "rent" history for past 3 years
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

gr7070 wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:45 am Invest in or buy?

Invest in, hard pass.

Personally, I'm not buying into the mobile homes business; it's a product in general I disagree with.

However, if you're ok with mobile homes, the parks can be a viable business. Lots to learn before doing so.
thats a fair point. Would i desire to live in mobile home, not for me. But never say never :) I'm planning to buy it
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

Yooper wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 11:11 am
mw1739 wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:18 am How are the utilities billed (master or individually)?
This is actually quite important. I personally know of a mobile home park that was well established (been there forever). For whatever reason the owners of the park began having trouble paying the water bill(s). Kept telling the city they would, and then not. City threatened to shut off the water. Long story short, people began leaving due to the uncertainty. Last time I drove by it was vacant. Go into this with your eyes wide open and look into everything before moving forward.
Good point, thank you
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

Hi All! i have an opportunity to invest in Mobile Home Park. Wondering if anybody had any experience with such investment. What are the pitfalls & what to look for. There are few homes that need some attention. Current owner did not invest much into. It seems there is a space to add additional mobile homes. Park has 20 spaces & 13 are rented out. 6 are vacant and it seems they need some attention and repair in order to be rented out. it has a property manager who lives for free in one of the units & looks after the park. I am supposed to get more details this week I'm planning to do an inspection of the property, sewer & water. Also to make sure title is clean. Anything else i should think of ? Thank you! Mister No Question...
by MrNo
Wed Jan 20, 2021 1:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

59Gibson wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 6:46 am Do you have mobile home rental experience? Landlord experience? I'd read through this post from 2019 and maybe Bigger Pockets

viewtopic.php?t=291160
thanks, i've seen that topic before posting mine. OP on that topic had a different intent than me. Thats why i made new posting.

I did find there lots of good points and suggestions
by MrNo
Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

F150HD wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:32 pm what is drawing you towards investing in this?
Additional stream of income. It seems decent opportunity (for now)
by MrNo
Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

I would be concerned about being it being 1/3 vacant. Are there other mobile home parks nearby and how much of a vacancy factor do they have? It's costly and cumbersome to move a mobile home and, depending on their size, most of them are never moved after their initial placement. So if the park is on a downward spiral with older mobile homes someone is less likely to move a new unit in there. Were the vacant spots ever occupied? You really have to dislike a park to go through the expense of relocating your mobile home to another place. A mobile home park could get a reputation that is hard to overcome. If the vacancy factor can't be overcome there is no purpose to add spaces to it. Thank you! I've been told that these units need some repai...
by MrNo
Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Re: Investment in Mobile Home Park

playtothebeat wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:07 pm If you decide to raise rents and/or evict, it’s easier said than done. Owners band together to protect one another, and there are optics behind trying to evict a mobile park resident.. keep that in mind.
Thats not intent at all. I would like them to stay, happy and not to move = not empty homes
by MrNo
Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:50 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Investment in Mobile Home Park
Replies: 93
Views: 8758

Investment in Mobile Home Park

Hi All!

i have an opportunity to invest in Mobile Home Park. Wondering if anybody had any experience with such investment. What are the pitfalls & what to look for.

There are few homes that need some attention. Current owner did not invest much into. It seems there is a space to add additional mobile homes. Park has 20 spaces & 13 are rented out. 6 are vacant and it seems they need some attention and repair in order to be rented out. it has a property manager who lives for free in one of the units & looks after the park. I am supposed to get more details this week

I'm planning to do an inspection of the property, sewer & water. Also to make sure title is clean. Anything else i should think of ?

Thank you!
Mister No
by MrNo
Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:19 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing
Replies: 20
Views: 1801

Re: Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing

My advice is to take care of the IRA sooner rather than later. I procrastinated dealing with my wife's traditional IRA while in our lower income years, and now thanks to an unexpected income increase, we will likely never have a chance to convert it at lower than the 24% bracket. I hope to convert half of my wife's IRA this year and half next year, but may just bite the bullet and do it all in 2021 if there's another downturn. Thanks & thats why i started this thread. I have hard time justifying paying $10-11k to convert to Roth IRA, 24-25% is lots of money. Thats a Blue Pill Red Pill - i will have to pay taxes in this IRA, one way on another, correct? Sooner or later, when we start making withdrawals. Our tax rate might be even higher...
by MrNo
Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing
Replies: 20
Views: 1801

Re: Avise - Last Traditonal IRA standing

retiredjg wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:47 pm
02nz wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:41 pm I think a decent option, particularly if there's a reasonable chance the spouse will return to the work force (and thus get access to a 401k that might accept incoming rollovers), would be to make the non-deductible tIRA contributions, and wait until the tax-deferred balance can be moved out of the way for the conversion step of the backdoor Roth.
I think if one chooses this option, I'd put the non-deductible contributions in a separate account. This does nothing in the eyes of the IRS, but a future 401k plan may be picky about what type of IRA they take money from. We see this a lot.
If i make non-deductible contribution's in separate account, if and when we convert we would only pay taxes on gains, correct?
by MrNo
Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing
Replies: 20
Views: 1801

Re: Avise - Last Traditonal IRA standing

There are only 3 choices I can think of. 1. Leave the tIRA as is. Put money that would go into IRA into a taxable account instead. A taxable account is a fine place for some retirement money. 2. Convert the tIRA to Roth and pay tax on $42k, probably at 24%. 3. If SO could start a business (not a hobby) with some income, open a Solo 401k at Fidelity and roll the tIRA into the Solo 401k, clearing the way for him/her to use the backdoor Roth process. I think a decent option, particularly if there's a reasonable chance the spouse will return to the work force (and thus get access to a 401k that might accept incoming rollovers), would be to make the non-deductible tIRA contributions, and wait until the tax-deferred balance can be moved out of t...
by MrNo
Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing
Replies: 20
Views: 1801

Re: Avise - Last Traditonal IRA standing

celia wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 3:37 pm Do you file MFJ (are married)?

If not married, do you both file as Head of Household? Your income would then be irrelevant to SO, who would appear to be in a very low tax bracket and could then convert part of the tIRA free each year.
we are married and filling MFJ good thought though
by MrNo
Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:57 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing
Replies: 20
Views: 1801

Re: Avise - Last Traditonal IRA standing

arcticpineapplecorp. wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:36 pm
MrNo wrote: Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:32 pm We have one T IRA in my SO name, worth about ~$42k & i am not sure what to do with it. I would like to convert it to tIRA but i am concerned about paying taxes & wondering if that would be a good move.
--MisterNo
not sure if you are trying to say you want to convert from traditional IRA to Roth IRA?

you say convert from T IRA to tIRA. Not sure what that means exactly.
my bad, i fixed it and thanks for catchign it. I meant converting from T IRA to Roth
by MrNo
Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:32 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing
Replies: 20
Views: 1801

Advise - Last Traditonal IRA standing

Hello everyone & Happy New Year!! I am looking for some help with making a decision what to do with "Last Traditional IRA". We are family of 5 & SO is home maker, working full time taking care of our 2,5 and 8 year old.Our Federal Tax rate is 24% and state is 9.5%. My base salary is ~$170k, plus 10-20% bonus. We have one T IRA in my SO name, worth about ~$42k & i am not sure what to do with it. I would like to convert it to the Roth IRA but i am concerned about paying taxes & wondering if that would be a good move. All other IRA's have been rolled over into my 401k. I am doing backdoor Roth IRA & Mega back door Roth IRA. We have not contributed to my SO tIRA or Roth in last 3 years & i would like to address...
by MrNo
Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:14 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Password manager for Mac Air
Replies: 26
Views: 2500

Re: Password manager for Mac Air

My suggestion is BitWarden. I used LastPass and ~ 18 months ago migrated to BitWarden. It works great on MacOS, Linux, windows and IOS.
by MrNo
Mon Jan 04, 2021 1:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Smarthome Design Requests - Building New Home
Replies: 48
Views: 3482

Re: Smarthome Design Requests - Building New Home

I think you received lots of good suggestions and Klangfools cabling instructions are perfect. I have 2000 single story home that we built 2 years ago. We had installer to run Cat6a throughout house, 30 runs total including 4 runs to ceiling drops for Access Points. We are currently using 3 APs that are positioned to provide no dead spots for WiFi. All of our computers, streaming devices etc are using Ethernet and we are lucky that we have gig fiber. We are trying to minimize usage of WiFi if possible, at the end WiFi is like a microwave constantly sending “radio waves” Cat6a is rated up to 10g speeds, I think that’s plenty :). For automation I’m using Home Assistant, somebody already mentioned it. It has 1000s of integrations. From HomeKit...
by MrNo
Wed Dec 30, 2020 9:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

Re: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

Also i need help convincing my wife not to get a bike from big stores for ~$150. She thinks that will be sufficient for her. Department store bike are crap. They are built with a 75 mile life expectancy. Assembly is poor. Parts are poor quality designed for ease of manufacturing and don't hold proper adjustment well. Bearings are poor quality and often poorly lubed. I've seen very poor quality cables and cable housing comprising the function of the brakes and shifters. They usually have outdated technology such as threaded headsets and 5-7 speeds in the rear (modern bikes have 10+). Frames only come in one size making the chances of getting a proper fit unlikely. Parts are made of cheap metal and very heavy. One ridiculous area they cut co...
by MrNo
Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

Re: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

I am familiar with the Trek line, mostly because I like the Trek LBS. The major brands are all similar enough and they have way too many models at way too many price points. As others have said, when you spend more you bet better quality components. Do you care? Probably not. $600 is a good price point for what you want, maybe go up a bit more. Consider a women's frame for DW which is designed for a woman's body proportions, the relative leg/torso/arm lengths are different for men and women (this is not the same as the old "girl's bike" with a dropped top tube for "modesty). The main decision to make is suspension or not. The two Trek lines I would consider are the FX, fixed frame, and Dual Sport, with suspension. My old bon...
by MrNo
Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:34 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

Re: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

There was another recent thread similar to yours... what gets overlooked often in these threads is that getting the correct size and fit is more important than anything else. And be proactive at asking the LBS to give advice about the fit of the bike. And try a few different brands including a size bigger and smaller than what "should" be your size to feel the difference. When we bought something similar for my SO we started at REI, tried 3-4 different bikes and none of them fit quite right... went to a LBS and second bike we tried there was the perfect fit. It was about $50 more than the "ideal" bike on paper i was looking at but a better fit is more important than saving $50. If it doesn't fit right, it doesn't matter...
by MrNo
Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

Re: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

You have had a lot of thoughtful input already. I certainly agree with the consensus to go with a better quality brand. I've worked part time as a bike mechanic in a local bike shop for the past 8 years. Trek, Specialized, Giant are all solidly made bikes. As noted by one poster, the REI Novara bikes are also good bikes in your stated price range. All the brands have better components and those components make tune ups easier as well as contributing to a better ride, better shifting, and better braking. As to type of bike - for the type of riding you describe give some thought to the relatively new category of "comfort bike." It is a bit of a cross between a hybrid and a mountain bike, typically with front shocks and 26" whe...
by MrNo
Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

Re: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

Little did i know ... :)

thanks everyone for taking your time and providing input, suggestions & guidance which is beyond helpful. Lots of great info that i am trying to digest. Bit overwhelming but fun. It made me wonder if i should increase price range to $1000 or stick with ~$600 to get a better starter bike that should last me longer.

One thing i did not mention is that i am 6'4", so i will be fitting bikes on top of the sizing chart.
by MrNo
Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:10 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

Re: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

I have bought a few bikes second hand and the rest from a local store. They should take the time to understand your needs and help you get fitted for a bike. If you haven't ridden for a while, I cant stress the need to get the right size bike enough. Yes, Trek and Specialized are good brands and yes, I think a hybrid is the right choice, given what you describe. You can go off-road pretty well on a hybrid though going fast downhill is harder without front suspension. You should be able to pick up something decent for $600. I have saved money in the past by buying last year's model, in a colour no-one else seemed to want (white) at a local store. Good luck! thank you for your response. I've been at the bike store right before Christmas &...
by MrNo
Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:30 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition
Replies: 61
Views: 6828

What kind of bike and where to get it - 2021 edition

Hello & I hope everyone is having great holidays! DW & myself have decided to buy bikes. Since we have not had bikes since we were children and much of our friend/family circle is bike-less, we are looking for some recommendations and advice to help aside from what we can find on google. Our usage expectation: mostly riding on pavement in a town type atmosphere, and on paved bike routes thorough local parks, but we also would like to have something that can handle some light trail riding on other terrain without too much issue. I could see myself getting into other non-pavement trails and that type of terrain more easily than DW, but we'd both like the option to be there even though we know the primary use will be on pavement. From ...
by MrNo
Thu Oct 01, 2020 3:10 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help with replacing water heater
Replies: 49
Views: 4393

Re: Help with replacing water heater

Thanks everyone for your input and sharing your thoughts.

Plumber is in the garage installing the water heater right now. decided to go with regular gas. We spoke about tankless but he said that he needs to run a dedicated gas line and that would increase the cost drastically. That was main deciding factor.

i am thinking later to add recirculating pump later, so we have hot water in pipes and not waste the water while waiting for hot water.

thanks again, hopefully hot water will be nice and clear tonight.
by MrNo
Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Help with replacing water heater
Replies: 49
Views: 4393

Help with replacing water heater

Hi, First, you gals/guys are an awesome group of people. I value very much diversity of your thoughts and ideas. Yesterday evening we noticed that water coming out of our water heater is bit colored. I will flush it today but knowing that water heater is 15 years old, it might be going belly up & its time to be replaced before it leaks. Current water heater is 60 gallon Gas Bradford White located in garage & we are family of 5. Wanted to see your thoughts on what kind of water heater to get? I'm debating between: - Hybrid with gas pump, we have solar panels & garage gets fairly hot, especially in summer. We live in California. But since we have gas hookup is it wise to go with non-gas water heater? Also wondering what are your e...
by MrNo
Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: My Hotmail account is getting spammed big time
Replies: 48
Views: 9429

Re: My Hotmail account is getting spammed big time

rocket354 wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:28 am
MrNo wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:51 am I do have proton account that I am using solely for financial institutions.

For what is worth it seems it stopped & somebody came back to work & turned Spam filter back on. It stopped.
Yes, around 2am this morning all spam that had been going to my main folder has now been successfully diverted to my spam filter. Seems like our 48 hour national nightmare is now over. :)

(At least until the next one.)
Correct, same here. About same time
by MrNo
Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:51 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: My Hotmail account is getting spammed big time
Replies: 48
Views: 9429

Re: My Hotmail account is getting spammed big time

I do have proton account that I am using solely for financial institutions.

For what is worth it seems it stopped & somebody came back to work & turned Spam filter back on. It stopped.
by MrNo
Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: My Hotmail account is getting spammed big time
Replies: 48
Views: 9429

Re: My Hotmail account is getting spammed big time

I am in the same boat. Long time hotmail/outlook user. in last 4 days I started to get overwhelmed with amount spam I am getting. every ~6 min a spam message on average. In all these years I have not seen anything this bad.

Its so bad that that I gave up & spent last hour looking for an alternative. It's like SPAM filter is not working for outlook/hotmail. There are only 6 SPAM messages in junk folder and rest is in my inbox.

Does anybody has a good email provider that they like?
by MrNo
Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:56 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)
Replies: 43
Views: 4586

Re: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)

What if the house was purchased at an all time high as well? What does putting money towards a debt obligation have to do with the purchase price of the house? It doesn't. How quickly we forget the lessons of the Great Recession... Putting extra principle to a mortgage or other debt is a tax free return of the interest rate. In most states you owe the mortgage no matter what happens to the house (and even in some states of non recourse there are loopholes they can still come after you for the debt). 2008 didn't change any of this. https://www.latimes.com/la-fi-harney20-2009sep20-story.html People who default strategically and lose their houses appear to understand the consequences of what they’re doing. Piyush Tantia, an Oliver Wyman partn...
by MrNo
Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:52 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)
Replies: 43
Views: 4586

Re: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)

While i am sure that putting this money to work in stock market and let it grow would be better financial decision, we decided to pay off mortgage & be debt free. Its a great feeling. Now my focus is retirement and 529's for my kids. My monthly mortgage payment was $1873 and i was paying $2173. I just redirected that monthly $2173 from mortgage lender to my vanguard account, 5th of each month. It will be automatically invested & put to work. Congratulations. That's what I would have done as well. As the sole earner with a highly variable compensation - having that monthly payment off your back makes it a lot easier to sleep at night. When things get lean, you have room to squeeze. thanks ... you understand where i am coming from. I...
by MrNo
Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)
Replies: 43
Views: 4586

Re: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)

I am wondering what would you do if you were in my shoes. I was working on a big project and my company awarded me large commission after it was completed, $600k split into 2 payments. I feel very fortunate and beyond thrilled. My base Salary $155k. + 10-20% commission Emergency funds: ~12 months of expenses Debt: • Mortgage - $382K – interest rate 3.375% • Credit cards ~4k – paid off monthly • No other debts Tax Filing Status: Married Filing Jointly Tax Rate: Normally 33% Federal, this year it seems to be 37%, 10% State. State of Residence: CA Age: 45 Married, 3 kids. Ages 5, 3 and 2 weeks . DW is full time mom. Desired Asset allocation: 80% stocks / 20% bonds Desired International allocation: 10% of stocks Current retirement assets Taxa...
by MrNo
Sat Aug 03, 2019 9:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)
Replies: 43
Views: 4586

Re: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)

Hello, First i wanted to thank everyone for sharing their opinion, advice & input. Greatly appreciated. Second, just wanted to share our decision. While i am sure that putting this money to work in stock market and let it grow would be better financial decision, we decided to pay off mortgage & be debt free. Its a great feeling. Now my focus is retirement and 529's for my kids. My monthly mortgage payment was $1873 and i was paying $2173. I just redirected that monthly $2173 from mortgage lender to my vanguard account, 5th of each month. It will be automatically invested & put to work. Thanks again & hope everyone is having a great weekend PS I was not trying to time the market, but one of the reasons why we decided to pay o...
by MrNo
Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Encrypted To-Do app suggestion?
Replies: 9
Views: 1251

Re: Encrypted To-Do app suggestion?

I use Joplin, it meets your criteria.
It’s a open source note taking app and has TO-Do capability as well.
by MrNo
Thu May 23, 2019 11:32 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)
Replies: 43
Views: 4586

Re: What would you do - Large Commission (Bonus)

Note: $19k for 401k and $6k for Roth. Great observation above about a Roth for your wife. Initially I was going to say 100k or so to the mortgage but you live in CA. From what I have read on here I believe that is a non-recourse (?) state so that is something to consider before putting more money towards the house. my long term plan was not to over pay mortgage so I can itemize it, but in last 2 years when I did my taxes: the mortgage interest and property tax made no or very little difference with tax return. Probably due to better than expected income: 2017:$260k & 2018:$400k "Probably due to" can be determined by simply pulling up your 2018 return and removing the mortgage interest deduction (taxes remain since you would s...