Mr. Findependent 💰

Serial entrepreneur by day + Opportunities investor by night • Working because I want to, not because I have to, and sharing what I learn one mistake at a time

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@SawyerMerritt Is this how you charge it?

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@_Aria_2210 x = 36

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@SMB_Attorney @BigJohn043 Agreed 😔 Capital allocators are actually making the system fair and productive, but becoming increasingly villainized

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@moseskagan @Jacob_Naviaux Can’t you simply demand a higher non-refundable deposit? It tends to weed out all of the riff-raff so the big kids can get to a deal

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@isaac_saas

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@thirdmetax Fast forward and they went bankrupt until a bailout by @ericschmidt…

Lost my entire investment along with Mark Cuban unfortunately so can enjoy the highs, but need to recognize the lows

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@PumpkinnSpicey @realEstateTrent When you think about the cost relative to your income especially when the alternatives are a fraction of the price, it is a no brainer to forgo the temporary relief

I have easily saved $250k over the past decade not flying first / business

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@NYCMayor Honestly, it is good for a city to pursue unpaid parking fines by both individuals and corporations, but this law is pretty fucking dumb…

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@Bkclaims Amen sista 💯 Well said!

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@Jason @JasonVayanos @ROLEX Now try maximizing the @AmericanExpress Platinum - Gamified the whole “premium experience” with a travel portal that has inflated prices, airline reimbursement that doesn’t include add-ons ordered during booking, and useless spending at Saks / Lulu / Oura / Peloton

[Moses Kagan @moseskagan]

What every voter and apparently, the NY Times Editorial Board, should know about housing policy:

1. Rents reflect the balance of supply of apartments and demand for those apartments in a given area. That’s it; there’s no magic. If you want lower rents, you can hope for a recession that destroys jobs and, therefore, demand. Or you can add supply.

2. There is no amount of money that any big city government could feasibly spend that would add materially to supply. This is because, depending on the location, new apartments cost $250,000-1,000,000 to develop… building even a few hundred of those starts to stress any city budget, and many big cities need tens or hundreds of thousands.

3. On the other hand, investors (including pension funds and endowments, insurance companies, rich families, etc.) can collectively **easily** provide enough capital to build as much housing as we need **so long as they are confident they can get a reasonable return**.

To get those investors to fund the creation of the housing our society needs, we must do two things:

1. Dramatically reduce the time & complexity associated with securing governmental permission to develop housing. This means reviewing and simplifying the overlapping regulations that constrain housing production: zoning codes, building codes, parking, ADA, etc. But it also means changing the cultures within the relevant governmental agencies from “default no” to “how can we help you?”.

2. Provide certainty around on-going regulation of apartment operations.

The way investors get a return from building rentals is as follows: They hire managers to lease the apartments, collect the rents, pay operating expenses and any mortgage payments, and then send the investors the cashflow that remains.

But governments all over the country have been restricting the manner in which apartment buildings can be operated in all kinds of ways.

For example: Cities have been making it harder to screen tenants, while also making it much harder to evict tenants who don’t pay. You can see why both of those measures are politically popular. After all, who doesn’t want people to get second chances? And who wants anyone to get evicted? But, as a manager, the combination of those two regulations makes it much harder to predict, with any certainty, that the rent will get paid… and that makes it very difficult to get investors to provide capital to create more housing.

Another example: Rent control. Again, I understand why renters love rent control and why politicians want to give it to them. But, if, as has been the case in NY, LA and San Francisco, city governments hold annual rent increases below the rate of growth in the operating expenses of the buildings, the cashflow payable to the investors shrinks… making them much less likely to invest capital in building more apartments.

In conclusion: For ~every other good or service in the economy, we allow the market to function, and the result is that we have a surplus of choice at all price points (think of food or clothes or cars), which is spectacular for the consumer. If we want a surplus of choice at all price points in housing, we need to get comfortable with the idea of allowing the market to provide it.

And that means allowing investors to build rental apartments *and* allowing them to operate those apartments in a manner consistent with making a reasonable profit.

Remember: Every developer of rentals is either a landlord-in-waiting or hoping to sell to one.

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@kamikazecash When the risk-free rate of Treasuries is lower than your fixed-rate mortgage, it’s okay to pay down your note

I think the criticism should be geared towards those paying off sub-3.5% notes

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@SMB_Attorney As a buyer, this strategy has worked for me a couple times - Usually just met somewhere in the middle which was my original target

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@centristpeater I understand wanting to get out, but selling the property means somebody else is moving in and it ain’t a homeless person

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@realEstateTrent The only difference between $1.7B and $1.7M is “000” 😅 Which is a whole lot of nothing

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@DonaldJTrumpJr @JDVance May I present Exhibit A: https://t.co/ICsFVP3VB5

[Trump Mobile @TrumpMobile]

The T1 Phone has arrived!! Those who pre-ordered the T1 Phone will be receiving an update email. Phones start shipping this week!!!

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@TheEXECUTlONER_ It’s the first thing I do after a new car - No dealer logo and solid black frame

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@TakoTreba @Airbnb https://t.co/pgFAdM6GT6

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

Sorry to hear about this Ryan - I recently had a tenant illegally sublet individual bedrooms on @Airbnb which (1) compromised the safety / integrity of the multi-family with insurance / building / fire code violations, (2) explicitly violate the lease terms on the first day, and (3) broke local ordinances with regard to STR

While I initiated the eviction process and tried to report the listings daily, @AirbnbHelp customer service did nothing and let the situation escalate - They refused to cancel upcoming reservations or take down the listings to prevent future bookings

Technological “disruption” at the expense of innocent stakeholders and bystanders with blatant disregard to the physical (didn’t sleep for 1.5-months), emotional (wasted hours daily to fight), and monetary (spent nearly $15k) impact of their actions is unconscionable - I truly hope the company goes bankrupt and the founders get f*cked

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

@bchesky @benhylak https://t.co/pgFAdM6GT6

[Mr. Findependent 💰 @Mr_Findependent]

Sorry to hear about this Ryan - I recently had a tenant illegally sublet individual bedrooms on @Airbnb which (1) compromised the safety / integrity of the multi-family with insurance / building / fire code violations, (2) explicitly violate the lease terms on the first day, and (3) broke local ordinances with regard to STR

While I initiated the eviction process and tried to report the listings daily, @AirbnbHelp customer service did nothing and let the situation escalate - They refused to cancel upcoming reservations or take down the listings to prevent future bookings

Technological “disruption” at the expense of innocent stakeholders and bystanders with blatant disregard to the physical (didn’t sleep for 1.5-months), emotional (wasted hours daily to fight), and monetary (spent nearly $15k) impact of their actions is unconscionable - I truly hope the company goes bankrupt and the founders get f*cked