Author: Stan

Mar222016 by StanNo Comments

8 things about kitchen cabinets you (probably) didn’t know

As a real estate investor, I've done a few kitchen remodels over the years. Here are some of the tips I wished I had known earlier. The most finicky cabinets are the corner ones. You would think by now that we would have a ton of corner cabinet options, but most of those options are on the inside of the cabinet. The size of the cabinets still all tend to be within a few inches of each other. So don't expect to be able to squeeze a small corner cabinet into your kitchen. They don't really make 'em small anymore. Custom cabinets are not "the most expensive option." In fact, some carpenters/cabinet builders are basically as cheap as you can get, since they don't have much overhead in their business. Get some quotes, and you'll see what I mean, but warning: last I checked, most cabinet b...

Mar212016 by StanNo Comments

the book that changed my life

inspiration, life hacks

I'll admit that the title is a bit misleading. There are several books that have profoundly impacted me. But this blog is about, well, "life hacks and real estate" and other related musings that I find interesting, and not every book I've read over the years pertains to those things. But I would be remiss not to mention one that did have a huge impact in pushing me towards real estate and furthering my curiosity for life in general: The 4-Hour Workweek. Before going any further, I need to give a shoutout to my high school friend, Darren Squashic for recommending this book to me way back in the day. Darren is a killer photographer (check out his stuff here) who figured out long before I did that a person can make a living pursuing his/her passions. In fact, that's what The 4-Hour W...

Mar212016 by StanNo Comments

my (real estate) story

real estate

I didn't find real estate. Real estate found me. Kind of. Several years ago, my wife and I were served notice that our rent was going to go up nearly 20% for the second straight year. We didn't have a ton of money, but we had saved enough that I figured we could squeeze in a 3% down payment and some closing costs to avoid tossing away our money at landlords for another year. But our mission would not be simple. We weren't sure at the time if Greenville was where we really wanted to stay and bring up our family, and we also weren't sure when the recession that had deeply impacted both of us would actually end. So, we thought, we needed to find a home that had a tremendous amount of upside and equity - one that, even if the recession carried on indefinitely, would not hinder our abilit...