All Forum Posts by: Al D.

If all you actually have is $20k, I don’t know if you should be buying investment real estate, unless it’s also for you to live in. I think that’s just risky. 1. Your first scenario of “DP for multiple 50k apartments.” Judging from some of the podcast guests’ stories on BP, I guess it’s possible. I’ve never done it. And I am presuming that you mean apartment buildings, rather than multiple properties that would be SFRs - different financing options. 2. “DP for a single family home.” If I were to do anything RE related in your shoes, this would be it (from your own options.) But you’d probably have to look out of state. 3. Since you also asked for suggestions: I’d suggest looking at “house hacking,” where you buy a 1-4 unit property in which you’d live as your primary residence and either: (a) get tenant-roommate(s) if it’s an SFR or (b) “real” tenants if it’s a duplex, triplex or quad. This option may allow you to use a low DP, lower interest rate than for an investment property, and - depending on your income-to-debt ratio - may help you qualify for the loan by using 75% of the current/existing rental income from the subject property. I believe there would be PMI payments, though. But, depending on the specifics of all details, you should still be able to cash flow (positively) - otherwise, I’d still advise against this. The reason I said that it’s risky if $20k is “all” you have is that you have to make sure that you can come up with funds for unexpected repairs in a hurry. That’s just my take. Others certainly have different risk tolerance.

My apologies, Diane G. , for appearing to not get your joke. Thank you for pointing out that issue in me. But please learn to read critically: I asked you what exactly there was to LOL about. That should suggest to you that I at least understood that your comment was intended as a joke - if only to yourself. If I were the OP, I would have found your (joking) comment condescending - and certainly not helpful. But I am not the OP. Perhaps the OP actually appreciates your comment. I spoke for myself. And then you answered (me) in another condescending way. I can take it - just clarifying for you how your retort looks to me. I don’t know how many of your over 900 comments are jokes, facts, or in any way useful to the topic at hand. Perhaps you’ve helped some people here with incredible advice - I have no idea. I simply did not find your original comment in this post anything but a condescending joke - I hope this part is now clear to you. And considering that the OP (clearly, for anyone with a conscience) needed support, I decided to provide it, again, now “thanks” to you. I love this forum. I am at a point where I seem to put in more than I get from it. And I am ok with that. I am still learning something. I did not know about BP for years after becoming an investor. Sometimes I - with my experience - will still need advice from others here. I expect that when I ask for it, I won’t be laughed at. None of us knows what’s really, fully behind the name and the story when a poster asks for help. Let’s try to be part of a solution, please.

For those who may not remember, today is MLK Day.  “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?”  -MLK, Jr.  I was not planning to do anything for anyone but myself when I woke up today.

But I must ask: What exactly is there to LOL about here, @Diane G.?

I, for one, cannot see your comment being in any way helpful to this discussion.  In fact, to me, your words seem condescending to the OP.  You must know her personally, I guess.

I probably was not “landlord material” either when I first started in this business.  No one told me that, though - besides myself.  I dare anyone to tell me that now; I’ll LOL at them.  I had no mentors when I first started.  I did not inherit anything.  I jumped in.  I had fears.  And because of my professional background, I knew they were real.  I’ve since mentored others on this “mental obstacle.”  It’s real for many.  But one doesn’t have to be born a landlord.

@Kristy F., “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” -Oprah Winfrey.

Josh C. , our flip just west of the State Fairgrounds got hit three times in December. It was a death by a thousand cuts: 1. All kitchen appliances (did not have a refrigerator) and some staging stolen in the first one, along with vandalized furnace (what did the mother board do to deserve it?) and one kitchen cabinet. Majority of the staging was left behind in the back yard, and was put back after the first burglary. I had the project manager install dummy cameras. I also told him to get an alarm - whatever the cop who took the report suggested to him (the PM had allegedly wrote down the name of the system, and would order it.) I was not yet worried about replacing the furnace, as we went all pex in this major rehab. I suggested we take it off the market until all security is on - and return what’s left of the staging. The RE agent said we should stay the course. We did. 2. All staging stolen in the second one. They also stole the downstairs 1/2 bath’s toilet. They removed the electric meter (possibly because they saw the cameras) this time. The PM discovered that the meter was removed after the cops left. Days later, the cops came back to look for prints on the meter - none found, but I was impressed by the effort shown by the PD, as this was an exterior item, exposed to the elements, and, from my recollection, has a porous surface. I no longer waited for the project manager to get an alarm after this hit - I ordered a system myself to come to his house for him to install it - should have been simple. My partner and I again suggested we take it off the market. We stayed the course again, but did not replace the staging. 3. With the electric meter still off and the security system left in the house unconnected (reportedly, because it would not connect - though, under normal circumstances, it can work for a number of days without external power,) this time, the burglars stole the system’s base upon their entry (it was not hidden, as I had instructed the PM - but it was still useless, because it was not turned on.) It was also discovered then that the AC was gone. As additional proof of competency by the PM, he said it may have been gone during the first or second burglary - he volunteered that he didn’t check. I like honesty. The listing was taken off the market. The stager said that all of his area stagings have been hit multiple times in December. A neighbor got the license plate on the third burg - stolen vehicle. Each cut has been below our insurance deductible. The PM gets paid share of the profit - if any is left. Real bargain. Sorry, not an actual “property management” story, but since this post has gone into war stories, including in Indy, I thought I’d share.

I am not aware of any Ohio law that mandates that the landlord provide a stove or refrigerator. I provide both of these for all my Ohio properties. These Ohio properties are in good areas (B and A class. That is all I have in Ohio.) When I look at rentals comps in my area of Ohio, I am yet to see any listing that expects the tenant to bring any appliances beyond washer and dryer. However, I do not provide kitchen appliances in Memphis, for example. That’s in C areas of Memphis only. My B/A Memphis properties, on the other hand, do come with stoves and refrigerators. I’ve heard it said that Memphis tenants are used to moving with their own kitchen appliances. I have not heard this about any part of Ohio. But this does not mean that in some parts of Ohio it may not be typical. So, this begs the question: are your intended Ohio turnkeys in good areas? Are these areas where tenants expect to have certain appliances provided by the landlord? You can look on Zillow for rental comps to get an answer on this. Even if it is typical for landlords not to provide kitchen appliances where you are buying “turnkey” in Ohio, I’d bet that these are not even B class properties. I would strongly advise against buying anything less than a B for your first investment. And I presume that you already know that not all “turnkey” are created equal. Some should be ashamed of what they call “fully-rehabbed.”

If they want your money - and they do - they’ll likely answer all the questions you may currently have. I don’t know whether they’ll still answer questions you *should* have to those answers. From what I see so far, unless you have disposable phone number and email, I wouldn’t bother asking them questions. A good business concept should not be to put up a public investment opportunity website for five months in “beta.” There is nothing to test here other than people’s potential stupidity. Even if the people behind this site have legitimate goals, the state of their fundraising website tells me everything I need to know to not to invest with them.

What Christina Skinnell said. And the domain name is registered to one Brandon Washington as of 8/15/17, prepaid for one year.

Depends on what you may need. Try @Denise Evans.

There is something else you can do, but you must be careful in how you go about doing it: If you have a good relationship with the other tenants, carefully (not obviously) ask them about their experience with the tenant of concern. Depending on the answers, you may be able to build a nuisance case - in the end, it’s not about what may annoy you; it’s about the comfort and enjoyment of the property that the other tenants have. You can speak with the lawyer about this, as well. And I would limit your last name to just show the initial to the public - this site is indexed. Your tenants seem to have a lot of downtime. If they get bored, they may accidentally google something like this conversation that will certainly be taken out of context.

I am not clear on which took place first, the eviction or the bankruptcy filing. In any case, this is to give you guidance on your latest question: http://www.cacb.uscourts.gov/faq/relief-automatic-stay-how-do-creditors-file I had the seller do all that for me before I would go through with the purchase of a property under contract, so I do not know the details. But it took a short time from the time I said that I would not buy until the seller’s PM firm had the stay lifted. I think that the Bankruptcy Court clerk can answer everything you need to know specific to Georgia.