Mapping Out Real Estate Sales

I talked about this map on a recent podcast and wanted to share it here as well. If you click on it, you should get to see the large version of it. It's meant to be printed on a 17"x11" sheet of paper.

This map shows sales in Corvallis, Albany, Lebanon and Philomath in the last 12 months. People often talk about price differences in Corvallis and Albany, and this map shows it perfectly. Of course, this map takes it a another step and shows the differences in neighborhoods too. Often North Albany is said to be more expensive, and South Corvallis is thought to be less expensive. With the map, you can clearly see that.

What's also fun is finding the place you recently bought or sold on the map. We bought two in the last 12 months and I was able to pick them out (one yellow and one green dot).

I don't know if this will become a regular thing, but it sure was fun to make once I figured out all the tools I needed to combine to make it happen.

Want to make a map yourself? Here's how to do it:

• I created a grey map using MapBox. They have all sorts of cool styles to choose from. It requires a free account.
• I installed an app of their's called TileMill. It took a while to figure out how to use this. It's not as intuitive as I would like.
• I imported a reference layer from map I made in MapBox to TileMill (under setting, link to your map's MapBox ID).
• Then, I went to the MLS database and exported all the sales in the last 12 months, including their price. This could, in theory, be anything geographic.
• I went to GPS Visualizer and geocoded all the address (1,700 of them!) to latitude and longitude using their javascript tool.
• Once I had that, I made a .CSV file of the data and imported that into TileMill as another map layer.
• TileMill is cool because then I could style the markers any way I wanted using code similar to CSS. I chose plain dots that differed in color based on the price. I could also change the size of the dots if I wanted based on some other criteria.
• Then I created a 17"x11" image at 300 ppi in Pixelmator. This is like Photoshop for Mac, but much more affordable and just as powerful in my opinion.
• Then it was a laborious task of taking screen shots of TileMill, cropping them down to only the map using Mac's build in Preview app and lining up the layers in Pixelmator. Since a screen's resolution is 72 ppi, I essentially had to blow everything up 3 times the size so it printed normally. I had more than 30 layers to cover the entire canvas.
• I couldn't fit Lebanon inline with the other cities, so I broke it out into it's own box. It happens.
• I could also, if I wanted, upload my dots layer back to MapBox and then have something to embed on a website. Like so:

So there you go. A cool map that shows sales and a really quick guide on how to make it. Or at least, the tools to make it happen.

How To Finance Commercial Real Estate

I was recently doing some research for a real estate investor's club meeting on how to fund commercial real estate and had trouble finding this information online. So... Here it is as of August 2013.

Let's say you want to buy an apartment complex larger than 4 units (that was one of the properties we practiced analyzing as a group). Those, whether it's 5 or 500 are considered commercial real estate. That means you need to get a commercial loan. When you go to a business-based bank, like Citizens Bank, here's what they'll tell you. Again... this is all subject to change, but these should work as general lending rules.

• First, the downpayment minimum is 30%! That could come from the seller (or anyone really) as long as they're willing to take 2nd position to the main loan.
• Second you can only get a loan for 20-25 years.
• That loan will probably have an variable rate, which can adjust every 3-5 years.
• Your personal credit score, though looked at, doesn't matter as much. If you're buying with a bunch of investors as an LLC then the majority owners would have to guarantee the loan payment.
• Instead, they'll look critically at the income and expenses of the property. The income must be at least 1.24 (call it one and a quarter) of all expenses, including all debt repayment.
• Closing costs will be the fairly standard loan fee: 1% of mortgage. Plus the fairly standard 4% of the purchase price for title insurance. Plus recording fees of course, but those are minimal.
• Often times, since these are larger properties with considerably more risk, the lender will want to do an environment impact report to make sure nothing comes up.
• That's it. Gather your funds and paperwork and you can buy a commercial property.

This means you need a TON of capital to buy a property though. The specific one I was analyzing met all the criteria if I had enough money for a downpayment and closing costs. Well... except that I don't have $200,000 to invest... So I guess I don't meet all the criteria! I did officially find out that not having enough money is the #1 reason why people don't qualify. No kidding!

Now, if the seller was willing to take back a 2nd for the down payment, and even though it would still have positive cash-flow, the rent-to-expense ratio would become less than 1.24 in this case and I wouldn't be able to finance the rest of the purchase. Bummer. But... if the right property came along that still met the criteria, it would be totally cool. Good luck finding that deal on the MLS.

It could also work, in theory, with a group of investors adding up to the $200,000 minimum down. Of course, I don't exactly know how to find people with lots of cash waiting to be invested... Plus, I'd have to have a very clear exist strategy, somehow prove my credibility, and put in a ton of work... but it could be worth it. I know some people do this full-time with larger properties where the scale makes it worth the effort. They find deals, find investors, property managers and get part of the equity for pulling it all together. I actually would like to learn more about this style of investing.

Anyways, that's what it takes to finance a commercial property. It's way out of my league today, but still fun to think about.

Sweat Equity: Columbus Final Pictures

As promised, here are some pictures of the remodel we did. It turned out to be a massive project, but looks great (especially now that we're done). Let's start with a couple before-ish photos.

The kitchen. The refrigerator used to sit in the empty spot.

The living room. There used to be wall-to-wall carpet where the hardwood is. Unfortunately, that wood was in horrible shape.

The hole in the wall. The trick is to seal it up while allowing for future access to the pipes.

These sections were rotted away and the whole subfloor needed to be replaced.

OK. Now for the final after pictures.


We didn't do anything on the outside except fix a couple spots where the water didn't drain the way I wanted.

The living room. Boom.

We moved the fridge and my dad built this cabinet & counter.

 New sink. new counters. New dishwasher. All refinished cabinets. Just stop for half a second and admire what took us MONTHS to do.

Custom chop block.

Custom countertop too.

MEGA thanks to my dad for coming up TWO weekends to help make these.

Without the fridge here, we added a mini counter for a microwave.

NEW garbage disposal.

What hole? It now also has an access panel just in case...

We changed the sink facet in the bathroom.

We repaired the subfloor. With carpet, you would never know.

We didn't do anything in the backyard, but I like this panorama.

Don't worry, we didn't work 100% of the time. I did my best attempt at Pottering using a paint roller.

We're ready to relax for a bit before taking on any new projects. It'll be nice to get back to a semi-normal routine too.

I Think It's Time For a New Pair of Shoes

There are certain things in life I destroy. What can I say? It's usually a combination of buying the wrong (read: cheap) tool for the job, and then using it to it's fullest.

Almost 1 year ago I bought these shoes. It was a last minute purchase because I forgot my normal pair at home. When I finally got back, these shoes became my "work shoes". I did construction, mowed lawns, painted, and climbed around on roofs with them.

Clearly these $30 shoes from Walmart were not made for that level of abuse.

So, I think I'm ready to replace them. Normally I would demote my current "everyday shoes" to work shoes and get new "everyday shoes"... Which double as  running shoes - their intended purpose.

But now that I'm mowing lawns a lot, and it tends to be wet where I live, I'm second guessing that decision. Does anyone have advice when it comes to buying work shoes?

Harbor Freight Tools Aluminum Mobility Wheelchair And Scooter Carrier

Owning multiple lawns in Oregon is tough, especially during the spring when you can watch the grass growing because it's so fast! I found myself putting off mowing because I knew I would have to take the trailer out, put it back, etc. It's not hard, but it's just enough work that I wanted another solution.

I researched into hiring someone to mow my lawns, but decided it was too expensive & that I actually like the exercise (and listening to my audiobooks). I also thought about requiring our tenants to mow their own lawns, but unless they live in a house they don't tend to actually do it.

So, I started looking into carriers that I could quickly attach to the back of the Jeep.

Harbor Freight Tools is the best place to get hardware deals. I'll admit that it's not the highest quality products, but that's fine for a weekend-warrior like myself who actually takes care of my equipment.

At first I wanted to get the standard 500lb Aluminum Cargo Carrier, but it wasn't wide enough by 2" for my standard sized mower! Seriously? Who designed that?

The next option was the Aluminum Mobility Wheelchair and Scooter Carrier. It also carried 500lbs, had a ramp, and most importantly was wide enough for my mower. The only problem was that it was twice as expensive.

So, I did what I normally do: I patiently waited for an inevitable deal. One finally came where I was able to knock a little over 50% off the price... within $10 of what I was willing to pay for the other carrier.

Putting it together was super simple. It came in 4 large pieces and I just had to attach them together with nuts and bolts. I was able to do it all in a couple hours. I actually planned on taking a bunch of pictures to show how to make it, but the picture above kind of spells it out entirely.

I do have two changes I'll eventually make from the original design.

First, I'm going to make the ramp a quick-release so I can completely remove it. That will make it easier to move around and store. The carrier is just heavy enough, and the ramp sticks out just enough that it's really awkward to move around and store. A couple wing-nuts on the ramps bolts will solve that.

Second, I'm thinking about creating a wooden box I can put in the carrier. Then I'll be able to put tools and other goodies in the back without worrying about them falling out. I still need to think through the design, but knowing myself it'll be a foldable box so I can store it easily.

Until then, it'll be great to quickly put in on the back and go.

Working Vacation

Jessi and I are spending time in Colorado visiting family. We're here on a "working vacation". Basically, it's a combination of working and vacationing. For example:

Today Jessi and I both worked from the kitchen table this morning for a few hours. I had a phone meeting and made a report. Jessi worked on a flyer for an up-coming event.

Then we took off to go fishing. The river and canyon were beautiful! We could see the fish in the water and had a blast trying to land the fly right in front of it. Despite seeing the fish, we didn't catch anything, but it was still a ton of fun. Vinnie ran around like crazy too. Check out the scenery:

Jessi's brother, Abe, fly-casing:

Jessi spin-casting with a fly & bubble:

All of us happy after a good afternoon of fishing:

Then we went home and I worked for a couple hours more: replying to emails and such before relaxing some more.

On a different day, Jessi and I went on a double date with her parents. It's was great fun. We played mini-golf and ate a nice dinner. I really enjoyed it.

That's a typical "working vacation" schedule: work in the morning, relax or do something fun for a few hours, work some more, then have a fun evening. The trick is to have a job that can pretty much be done from anywhere. I realize not everyone has that privilege, but if you don't love your current job, working from a computer at home has some great perks. :) Since Jessi and I both have computer-based jobs, we can work from anywhere.

I also did take a couple full days off for larger outings (well... It was actually for the road trip to travel to Colorado). Vinnie was a great traveler too. He just slept and look out the window the entire time.

The advantages of a working vacation are huge! Officially, I took 2 days off, but we were gone for 11 days including weekends. It's a way to extend our time away. Since I like what I do, it's not a big deal to have to work. In many ways it's not a vacation, it's just traveling.

Some people go really extreme: they'll work from Paris for a month or two! If you go that long, you can rent out your home short term and actually break even on living expenses. I don't think we'll ever get that extreme because of Vinnie, church, and real estate commitments, but a couple weeks is very feasible.

I highly recommend trying it out. Our next step will be to try it when we're not visiting family. Maybe the next student loan we pay off will go towards that type of "vacation".

The Journey Starts With A Single Step

HP just finished another "Shape UP Challenge" where we track our steps and exercise minutes. In the past I just tracked around those times. This time I started around Labor Day because I knew I was going to run the Disneyland Half Marathon and I wanted to see how many steps I took. A lot! 45 THOUSAND steps. After that I just sorta kept going... 

As a reminder: 2,000 is about 1 mile.

Here's how to read the chart above:

• Blue dots are daily steps. Yep, I've been tracking for a while. I have a cheap pedometer and save them to Simplenote at the end of each day and then transfer them to a spreadsheet once a month.
• The green line is a cumulative average of ALL the steps. So over time that line gets more and more stable.
• The yellow is simply a 7-day rolling average with the yellow dots being the weekly average. It helps to draw out the pattern of the blue craziness.

The next chart is easy to read: It's my average steps each day of the week. The green line represents the overall average: 7,660 steps per day

A few observations:

• When I hurt my hand in November, my activity really dropped off. I think there was also a double whammy of it being winter.
• I'm definitely headed into a more active period, but not at 10,000 per day yet.
• Saturday and Wednesday are still my most active days. I typically go into the office on Wednesday and walk around the site at least once.
• I don't have periods of persistent "down time". At least once a week I get good amount of steps in.
• Vacations are good. I tend to do a ton of walking, like in Las Vegas.
• I'm probably the only person who actually finds this interesting... Jessi thinks I'm crazy.

I plan to keep going. With even more data, I can start to do some really interesting comparisons.

The Jeep Wave

Owning a Jeep is pretty fun. It has a rugged tough-guy look, a loud engine, the ability to take the top off, and it gets the occasional "nice Jeep" compliment. It's also really convenient: we can remove the back seat, pull a small trailer, and park in small spots. Pretty much the only thing that isn't awesome about a Jeep is the gas milage (~20 miles/gal). Thankfully, we also own a Prius which we use for the longer hauls (this last tank was 53.2 miles/gal!). That's made the Jeep more a "work" vehicle, and one we don't put a ton of miles on anymore.

BUT, there's one more SUPER fun thing about driving a Jeep: The Jeep Wave. I'm going to lean on the Urban Dictionary to help explain it:

Warning
Owning, registering, insuring, or driving a Jeep implies knowledge of and intent to abide by the following rules. Failure to obey the rules may result in your being ignored by other Jeep owners as you sit along the side of the road next to your stalled vehicle in a blizzard surrounded by Saturns, Yugos, and Hyundais. 

Definition
An honor bestowed upon those drivers with the superior intelligence, taste, class, and discomfort tolerance to own the ultimate vehicle - the Jeep. Generally consists of either a raised hand waving or 4 fingers extended upward from the steering wheel, but may be modified to suit circumstances and locally accepted etiquette. 

Examples of commonly accepted modifications

• Top off: One handed wave above windshield or outside body tub. 
• Top off during blizzard: Shiver and nod, hands may remain frozen to steering wheel. 
• Southern/rural locations: No wave, just a nod. 

General Rules

1. All Jeepers are responsible for upholding the tradition of the Wave. It seems that generally the Jeep wave is only practiced by Jeep owners driving the following Jeep vehicles; CJ, YJ, TJ, JK. 
2. All Jeepers are required to return the Wave even if it's a Grand Cherokee or Compass. 
3. Do not EVER wave to Hummers, even if you know the person. 

So there you go. Now, at this point you might think I'm joking. I'm not. Just yesterday (the inspiration behind actually researching this) I had FIVE Jeeps pass me. ALL FIVE waved to me. I, of course, waved back. The Jeep Wave is alive and well in Oregon.

Image: jeepfan.com

How To Have Fun In Las Vegas Without Gambling

I recently went to Las Vegas for work and decided to stay the weekend. Jessi flew in the final day of the convention and stayed the weekend too. We both derive little entertainment out of gambling, so we decided to do other things. I'd like to share some of the things you can do with gambling.


CSI Experience

Jessi LOVES CSI. This was actually the big reason she agreed to come with me. In the MGM Grand you can go on a CSI adventure. You have to process the scene of a crime, then get lab results... follow the evidence... and come up with a conclusion on what happened. It was really well done and a lot of fun.


Coca-Cola Store

The Coke store used to be cooler when I was a kid. It actually had a museum that talked about the history of Coca-Cola. Today it's just a store. BUT they did keep one cool part. You can taste different Coca-Cola products from around the world. We got this double tray of samplers and couldn't finish it. Some were amazing, most were okay. One was so horrible we both thought there must have been something wrong with the machine. Nope. It's just that horrible. This was surprisingly a lot of fun.


M&M Store

What's super cool about this one? For one, there are hilarious posters everywhere. You can tell working in their marketing department is a lot of fun. Also, they have a wall of M&M dispensers. You can mix and match to your heart's content of M&Ms. We may have mixed in about one and half pounds of M&Ms. Yeah - we didn't eat a big dinner that night.


Visit an expensive clothing store and laugh at their ridiculous prices

There are some really nice and expensive stores on the strip. I would never dream of buying anything there. Instead, we looked for the ugliest dress we could find and see how much it costs. It was a mere $2,000. We did find a jacket I liked (pictured above), but it was $450 - a little out of my price range.


Swim at the pool
Each morning we started out with a swim in the pool. In Las Vegas, it's already hot by 9am and the pool feels great. This was a great way to start off the morning! I came up with all sorts of crazy games testing our speed, stamina and strength. Jessi was a lifeguard in high school, so she beat me most of the time.


Watch a Cirque du Soleil Show

This was on Jessi's Bucket List. We saw Mystere in Treasure Island and it was fantastic. The stunts they did were amazing. I loved the strong men and trampoline acts.


Walk around the "block" and check out each hotel

The blocks are HUGE. It takes at least an hour just to go from one end to the other without stoping. We walked from hotel to hotel. We went inside of each one and checked them out. Once you got past the casino area, there would be some cool restaurants or attractions. It was fun to see what theme each of them had. The Luxor was my favorite type of architecure. The New York hotel was my favorite inside atmosphere. As a result of all this walking, we took ~29,000 steps each day (~2,000/mile).


Bellagio Water Show

Jessi loved this. Music would play around the lake and the water would coordinate with the song. Each show lasted a couple minutes (the length of the song) and would happen every 15-20 minutes at night. We watched 4 shows which had 4 different songs. Some days I think it would be cool to be an engineer because you get to work on cool things like this.


Mirage Volcano Eruption

This isn't has cool as the Bellagio waters show, but it's louder & hotter. We could actually feel the heat from the fire of the volcano! I stayed in the Mirage a couple nights (while officially there for HP) & I could hear the eruption each night, on the hour, until midnight. It was cool.


Grab Dinner
You can spend a lot of money just eating in Vegas. We did splurge one night, but it was for creme brulee which is Jessi's favorite dessert.



Have a Drink

Vegas is also know for the flowing alcohol. We didn't get nearly as crazy as some people, but we did try an Irish Pub in the New York Hotel. Jessi's parents recommended it. It opened around the time of 911 and so there were a are of patches from NY firefighters. Over time, it looks like other law enforcement from around the US also added their patches. It's was a fun atmosphere.

So there's 11 things you can do. Two days was long enough for us. We did everything we wanted and had fun.

Celebrating Graduations

Mom's Graduation

On Memorial weekend Jessi and I headed down to the Bay Area to watch a couple graduations. It was great to get away and enjoy the sun for a little bit. The first one was my Mom's graduation. She majored in Business Management at San Jose State University. The above photos are everyone celebrating afterwards. I especially like this picture:

Lisa's Graduation

We also watched my sister, Lisa, graduate. It was a LARGE event. Check out the panorama of all the people. We counted the graduate chairs, there were 3,000 seats. There must have been 15,000 - 20,000 people in this stadium. Lisa majored in Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Francisco State University.

Lisa did a good job of letting us know where she was, so we actually got to watch her walk in and walk across the stage. We also took a family photo which I really like:

To celebrate both their graduations we headed to Santa Cruz for some camping. Jessi & I got to spend the first night there. We ate well and walked a ton!

One of the more fun sites is the SS Palo Alto ship made out of cement. It was originally intended as an oil tanker in WW I, but never got used. So, it was brought over here as an amusement attraction, but that company went bankrupt within 2 years. It then became a fishing boat because it acted as a reef that attracts tons of fish. I used to play on this all the time as a kid. As you can see from the picture, it's deteriorated quite a bit, but the fishing off the pier is still pretty good.

Congrats to Mom and Lisa!