All Forum Posts by: Alex K.

They made me wire transfer the EMD ($2500) the same day the contract was executed. The closing is 8/10 so a little less than 30 days.

They requested proof of funds right after I made the bid.

Thanks for the advice Mark H.

I looked at the place today with my property manager and she said more like $900/mo rent (she values the 24x36 metal building at only $75/mo). I used this number, a cap rate of 13%, and the improvements/repairs estimate of $6550, and including my closing costs and tax hit, came up with a sale price of $73,480 where I wouldn't care either way if he buys it.

I emailed him my counter offer with the explanation and he still sounds interested.

I just got under contract today for a property listed on auction.com. It was on the MLS for $69k back in January. It was lowered to $58 then $54k just before auction.com got the listing. I did a pre-auction bid for $44k total and Fannie Mae accepted.

I thought this was a good cash flowing property at $69k but I could not finance it due to a zoning issue (zoned industrial but it's a house with a metal building on the property). So 6 months later it still wasn't sold and now I'm buying it for $44k cash and I'm happy. I got a call today from a guy who wanted to bid but didn't have the POF documents in time. He offered me $60k cash and a quick sale because his wife is in love with the place.

Some of you might say take the money, but if I wanted to buy it at $69k, why should I sell it for $60k?

My plan is to bring my property manager into it this weekend and have her tell me what it would rent for so I can run the numbers more accurately. It's difficult to comp since it's an unusual property. Someone could run a business out of the metal building since it is zoned for it and live in the house. I estimate $1000/mo. Would you keep as a rental or make a quick $16k - closing costs?

I asked the guy if he would want to rent it from me and he said no.

The strange thing is that with his knowledge of the legal system he could work as a paralegal and spend much fewer hours earning the money to actually pay his rent instead of suing landlords. Sounds like a psychological disorder.

The problem we as landlords face is a bad tenant will keep looking for a place to live until his lies are believed by some unsuspecting landlord. So even if the percentage of really bad tenants is small, they apply more than anyone else. If a landlord is the slightest bit lax with screening, they are sure to get a bad tenant who has been rejected by everyone else. Scary stuff.

Once I talked to a "former property manager" who was referenced on an application. he went on and on about what great tenants these people were. Then I looked up the owner of the property they had lived in on the county assessor website and talked to the owner. She told me these people destroyed her house and stopped paying rent. The "property manager" was actually the brother in law of the tenant.

If only there was some magical database with a way to retrieve public records of property ownership by Lewis, Anthony in Dekalb county, GA.

http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/TaxCommissioner/search.asp

Thanks for the replies. I wouldn't include the TV itself, only the satellite receiver boxes. Marc makes a good point about illegal activities on the WiFi.

Hi everybody and thanks for the great place to learn REI.

I have a 4-plex that is almost renovated and I'll be turning it over to a PM real soon. I had the idea to get a satellite TV account and connect 4 receivers to one dish, and include TV with the rent. I could also do something similar with a DSL modem in the laundry room and include WiFi as well. The thought is the cost wouldn't be that much per unit and it would make my units stand out above the competition. Opinions?

From my limited experience a buyers agent is worse than useless. I was making lots of offers on REO properties using a buyers agent and always getting outbid and for one reason or another losing the properties even though I was willing to bid higher if necessary. Then I tried contacting the listing agent on a REO 4 plex I wanted. What a difference. I like the subtle "hints" about how much I need to offer and other things like "lets get this signed and submitted today because there is another offer coming in tomorrow morning".

My strategy in the future is to always go directly to the listing agent. They have the ability to swing the sale one way or another and you want them on your side.

I live in Reno, NV and I'm looking for a first investment property locally. The Reno area has a lot going for it that most cities don't (world class ski areas, Lake Tahoe, mountain and desert recreation, low taxes on businesses, no state income tax). Right now our unemployment is worse than Michigan's but that's because our housing boom was so extreme. Most people were working construction. After the dust settles I expect to have some good cash flowing properties in a growing economy.

Wait a minute, you guys are investors too. It's a war zone here!

OK thanks for the advice Wheatie.

I would like to add that the property (land) would be appreciating, and even if it's just keeping up with inflation, the return would be 8.1% after inflation, which no money manager would claim to match, especially with inflation at current levels.

The landlord hassle aspect is a very good point. Money managers don't call when the toilet breaks.