William Baumann

Marine Officer 🇺🇸
BBA Real Estate | USD ‘25
Investing, analyzing deals & learning RE & CRE
Husband • Father • Sharing the journey

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

Welcome.

I’m William Baumann.

• Marine Officer
• University of San Diego Real Estate Graduate
• Husband & Father
• Future rental property investor

I’m using this account to document the journey toward financial independence.

I’ll share:

Real estate deal analysis
Investing decisions
Lessons learned
Mistakes made
Wins earned

No gurus.
No fake lifestyles.
Just the process.

Follow along and let’s see where this goes.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

You’re right that one core job of registration is confirming ownership and making sure the title hasn’t changed hands. That’s a legitimate and necessary function.

But the system has never been limited to just that. States have long used annual registration as the mechanism for:

• authorizing use of public roads,
• keeping records current for safety and enforcement, and
• collecting funds specifically tied to the cost of administering vehicles and maintaining the roads those vehicles use.

That’s why courts treat most registration fees as a mix of regulatory fee and user charge rather than pure general-fund taxes. They’re not “disguised” in the legal sense; states are allowed to do both.

Also worth noting: this is a state power under the 10th Amendment, not a federal one. It doesn’t need to come from Congress. Legislatures authorize the fees; agencies just administer them. That structure has been upheld for decades.

None of that means $600 is reasonable. High fees, poor spending, or value-based schemes can absolutely be bad policy.

Those are fair fights. The constitutional “only ownership + bureaucrats = illegal” framing just isn’t the strongest ground to stand on.

Appreciate the conversation either way.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@peteoxenham Until you see the TikToks featuring penny item hoarders; just before they leave, they're often harassed as they pay this way!

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

That’s exactly how I think about it with my kids. The goal isn’t just to accumulate assets, but to make sure what I build actually makes their lives easier rather than leaving them a financial and administrative mess to untangle.

I want to give them a head start through investments, education, and eventually real estate, but with an estate plan simple enough that transferring it to them is straightforward. Building wealth is only half the job. Transferring it intelligently is the other half.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

I think you’re mixing two different concepts. A tax raises general revenue; a user or regulatory fee can charge people participating in a specific activity for costs associated with administering and supporting that activity. The existence of one doesn’t automatically make the other unconstitutional.

Vehicle registration fees aren’t some novel workaround. States have imposed them for generations to fund vehicle administration and transportation-related costs.

You can absolutely argue that $600 is excessive, poorly structured, or that the government is spending it inefficiently. That’s a legitimate policy debate. But jumping from “I already pay taxes” to “therefore an annual registration fee is illegal and unconstitutional” requires an actual legal basis.

If you know the constitutional provision or court decision that makes annual vehicle registration fees illegal, I’d genuinely be interested in reading it.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

I’d push back slightly. A cap rate can actually tell you more than just how a property is priced because the numerator is NOI.

Gross operating income minus operating expenses = NOI, and NOI ÷ purchase price = cap rate.

If plumbing problems are driving recurring repairs and maintenance, that should eventually hit operating expenses, reduce NOI, and affect the cap rate. It won’t diagnose the pipe, but good underwriting should make you ask why the expenses look the way they do.

That’s where the number leads you to the right question.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

This is why understanding what actually sits behind a cap rate matters.

Cap rate isn’t just a pricing metric. NOI is built from the property’s operating performance: revenue minus operating expenses. Rising repairs, maintenance, utilities, insurance, payroll, or other property-level costs eventually show up there.

A cap rate won’t tell you why the plumbing is dying, but the financials can absolutely leave clues that something is wrong.

The number is the starting point. The real underwriting is understanding what created it.

[Brandon Turner @BeardyBrandon]

Cap rate tells you how a property is priced.

It can't tell you whether the plumbing is dying or your partner is impossible to work with.

Numbers answer the question you asked. Wisdom asks whether it was the right question.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

I don’t think “that’s what taxes are for” really answers the question. We routinely use a mix of broad taxes and user fees because the people creating demand on a specific system can reasonably bear more of its cost.

Drivers create wear on roads and require DMV, enforcement, and transportation infrastructure. The fair debate is whether $600 is excessive and whether that money is being spent efficiently, not whether an annual registration fee should exist at all.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@Merto62 @MrDigit Is that what they call them in Bulgaria?

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

That’s essentially what property taxes already do. They fund broad public services and infrastructure whether or not an individual taxpayer uses each service.

Impact and user fees are different in principle because they tie more of the cost to the activity creating the demand. The legitimate debate is whether a $600 annual registration fee actually reflects that impact or has simply become another revenue source layered on top of existing taxes.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@blink182italia @markhoppus @tomdelonge @travisbarker It’s cool seeing these angles they utilized a lot in the self titled era

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@AnikaPatelhere Exactly. Suburban living can offer a pretty compelling cost-benefit. A little less walkability in exchange for more space, easier parking, lower housing costs, and having most of your daily needs 5–10 minutes away can be a very high-value tradeoff.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

I think this really depends on where in Las Vegas you’re talking about.

We’ve spent a lot of time in Henderson, and our experience has been very different. Most grocery stores, gyms, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and everyday errands are within a 5 to 10 minute drive. The master-planned communities, trail systems, and proximity to Red Rock, Lake Mead, and Mount Charleston make it an attractive place to live for a lot of families.

From a financial perspective, Nevada is compelling too. No state income tax, generally lower property taxes than California, and a business-friendly environment can materially improve household cash flow, especially for retirees, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Every city has tradeoffs. If your priority is walking to museums and dense urban neighborhoods, Manhattan or parts of San Francisco will win every time. But if you’re looking for space, newer housing, lower taxes, and a high quality of life, I can absolutely understand why so many people are choosing Henderson. It’s one of the markets I’ve been spending a lot of time studying.

[Walks&WallStreet @WalksWallstreet]

I’ll never understand people who move from California or New York to Vegas

I used to travel to Vegas for work back in the day it it just sucks

Nothing to do, in the middle of the desert 🌵 and all the homes are McMansions

You can’t walk anywhere and zero sense of community

I honestly don’t understand how people live there

The big outing on a weekend is to get in your car and drive 25 mins to a Dunkin’ Donuts drive through

I need to be able to walk to great restaurants, coffee shops, museums, work etc

I couldn’t imagine waking up in my desert 🏜️ cul de sac, looking out at the same 20 homes that look just like mine and getting in my car to drive 25 mins to get groceries

Sorry for the rant, a good friend of mine just decided to move to Vegas from NYC and I’ve tried my best to talk him off the ledge

I just don’t get it!

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@mistressdivy Exploring potential options with leaps; waiting to see how market sentiment shifts after last week’s gains.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

You should check out Delivrd. They negotiate the car deal on your behalf and focus on getting transparent pricing without dealer markups or thousands in unwanted add-ons. I’ve been watching Tommy’s live negotiations for a while, and it’s pretty eye-opening seeing him push back on exactly this kind of stuff.

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@JoshInEncinitas Just add a big comma after “No” with sharpie and we’re good!

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@JohnStossel RIP San Onofre Nuclear Boobies

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@Aaron_Utes The yard is the fun part!

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@MissJilianne So why not just buy a Porsche?

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

If you’re not A32, then do you even enjoy flavor?

[@jason @Jason]

B41

[William Baumann @williambaumann3]

@theDlasvegas @maydayparade @FSELV Any emo or alt bands scheduled for Sep 2-4th?