All Forum Posts by: Chad Lopes

Hello all - was wondering if anyone from Birmingham, Alabama has a good electrician referral, particularly for the Center Point area? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Chad

Hi Andy, I own a number of Properties in CP and surrounding area. Happy to share my experience. If your kids live 30+ minutes from the properties then you'll be looking to have the properties managed I'm assuming which is a critical part of success in CP. CP can be a good area to invest but it's not as easy as some investors around town make it out to be. PM me if you are interested in speaking. Good luck.

hey John. Send me a PM and let's set up some time to chat. I can be helpful to you.

35215 and 35235 are good area codes. Also, people like the Hueytown area and if you want to go upstream a bit you can look at Irondale, Hoover, Trussville.

Hi Kevin - I am a local investor in Birmingham and have no conflict of interest in my recommendation. I would not recommend this area for an out of state investor. It is a D area...high risk and high reward. The people who are successful in this area are generally local investors with deep knowledge of each street. There are some good pockets, but even the good areas are heavily section 8 with lots of headaches. There is little to no potential for appreciate. If anything it's negative appreciation. Happy to give you some more detail if you are interested, but this is a the classic area that people invest in from out of state and then lose their ***. 

Those are very reasonable interest rates. If you try to go to 30 year amortization you are generally going to be starting at 6.5 percent interest with the national lenders and local banks won't put you on a 30 year note. Longer term for LLC lending generally equals higher interest rates because the lender is taking on interest rate risk.

I invest in CenterPoint and surrounding areas. I don't think my advice would change, not worth pursuing a townhouse just because a SFR is not available. Again, just my advice.

Hey Sunny, I am a local investor in Birmingham, however I would ask a more general question about investing in a townhouse. Investing in town homes have the following downsides in my mind.

1. They are less liquid investments (there is not a deep investor base for town homes). I know that you are holding for the long-term, but liquidity is always, always important

2. You are subject to HOA fees and special assessments that are out of your control. Ever been stung by a 5K special assessment because of something that is not related to your property? It happens all the time with townhomes and condos.

3. You are subject to potential issues with neighbors.

4. You are also subject to potential rules and restrictions that the HOA may impose

5. Local property mgrs are not experienced with managing town home rentals like they are with SFRs.

Overall, as someone investing from out of state, I wouldn't recommend the town home option. Just my opinion. Best of luck.

Chad

I am very curious about legal liability related to pets. From what I understand, there has been quite a bit of change in in case law recently that may or may not put more liability on the landlord (Maryland case). What if you don't allow dogs and then a tenant sneaks one in after moving in? If something happens (dog attack, etc.) is the landlord liable? What if I allow a dog and the dog then bites someone? Am I liable in this situation? Does the dog breed matter? There are a lot of posts on this but nothing I can find address the latest and greatest in terms of landlord liability. I understand that only a lawyer can give me perfect advice, but any insight would be appreciated.

1) What are some of the main things I should be aware of? - responsiveness, I would test them, send them emails/calls, see how quickly they respond. Hidden fees and overcharged rehab costs.

2) What checks and balances should I have in place to prevent unscrupulous managers from taking advantage of me (I am located in Southern California and I have a full-time job as an investment banker). If you have to rehab the property and the price feels high, get another bid.

3) Because my rental is in a hot market, my property manager was able to rent it out in less than 2 days. I have yet to see the contract but the tenants are paying. Is it normal for the owner to see the contract between the PM and the tenant? You can absolutely request the contract. In fact, you really should review it to make sure you are comfortable with the terms.

I know where you are coming from. Given your background in ibanking, you probably think there are norms or rules and regs around PMs. The truth is that the PM world is the wild wild west and you can and should demand to have things done your way on your terms. Don't be afraid to be assertive and demand high quality. I can promise that no one cares about your property as much as you do so ask the tough questions and never assume the PM is looking out for your best interest.