All Forum Posts by: Al Pat

As long as you know most people don't move with Christmas coming up in in two weeks so be patient. It will get rented. I plan on average five weeks of vacancy.

@Shiri Manor Nisenbaum , I just looked up the listing. Yes, there is some competition in that area. I recently sold my investment in Powder Springs. However, I still have significant investment in Cobb county. My nearest rental from you is 3BR/2BA that is about 10 mins drive on Thornton Rd in Austell. I rented that one for $1150 in about 4 weeks. I could have got $1200 for it but $1275 is pushing. My Powder Springs rental was 4BR/2BA and was rented at $1050 to same tenant for four years and was sold with tenant in it. They are still there! You may have to be at $1195 plus $25 dog fee per month. December is slow but I rented two of mine around this time a year few years ago. I tend to keep rent slightly lower to reduce turn over. Also, I don't allow pets but one in Powder Springs, I did allow it for $400 pet fee and no monthly charge but also collected two months rent as security deposit because they had bankruptcy that was three years old. Your location is desirable so it should move fast if rent is right. I hope this helps.

This will be pushing, if HVAC, water heater or roof repair will easily make you cash flow negative. Repairs are inevitable, it's matter of when. I personally would pass on this one unless it has significant upside potential of higher appraisal. Target about 12 to 15% cap rate.

I breakup my rental income in few buckets after servicing mortgage. Profit first, OPEX, CAPEX, Tax & Insurance and Owners Comp. the last one should go to PM if I were to get one. This strategy came from the book Profit First.

I recommend you to self manage your first property. I currently have several SFH and I also work fulltime like you. The key to success is knowing your short term and lo g term goals. I wanted to know ins-and-outs of rental business so when I scale up and eventually hand it over to PM, I kind of anticipate what is involved. However, after my first couple houses, I felt like I can actually manage it myself. I have put together a solid team of support staff that handles my issues on a minutes notice. The team includes a handyman who does electrical and plumbing too, but I also have a very economic certified electrician and a plumber as backup, a great realtor who drafts my offers in less than an hour. Good real estate attorney, however I use him only for closings and deed transfers, obviously a CAP. So what I do? Well, when acquire a property, I ensure it is fixed the way I would have my house fixed (not with expensive faucets or cabinets but reliable). it is clean and painted beautifully. it doesn't take lot to do all these plus apartment grade carpet. While I am working on the house, I list the property on zillow that automatically puts the listing six other sites. I phone screen the tenant using advices I have read here on BP or nonosenselandlord.com (Thanks Eric). If i like thier answers then i schedule to show them the property in the evening or weekend. always schedule multiple people to see in the time slot. That creats competition. I then use TransUnion's mysmartmove.com to run credit check and criminal background for the applicant of my choice. I review their paystub and do employment verification myself. of everything is good then I collect the security deposit and first month rent at the signing of lease. They get keys on the weekend before their move and have three days to transfer utilities to their name. I do all these while working full time. It is doable but not until you have your first property. PM me if you need more information.

I have few properties in Austell, right off the I-20 and close to airport, downtown and six flags. Do you believe it will be good AirBnb location?

I use TransUnion's MySmartmove to verify my tenants. It cost about $26 to $30 for credit check, 52 state criminal and background check and eviction reports. Tenant pay $50 application fee per head for every individual in the family who is over 18. I do employment verification myself. You can also find a discount code for the service as well. I have turned down several before accepting the right tenants. Often time, even when you tell them that you will do the checks, they will still tell you everything is fine with their records. Anyway, my recommendation is to start small, get your feet wet and see if this is what you want to do. Since you are a CPA and your wife is now a realtor, all you need is a good handyman once you find your first property so start thinking about it as well besides the areas you want to invest into. PM me if you have any questions.

Good luck.

Also check the recent sales history and comparable if available to see if the data is supporting Zillow's assessment. Often time Zillow shows zestimates but you may not find a buyer at that price.

@Andrew Bauer, why not post here if you have good recommendation?