All Forum Posts by: Alvin Sylvain

Quote from @Steve K.:

 ... Only about half of the eligible voters in the US even bother to vote,  ...

 If you want me to vote, you need to give me somebody worthy of voting for.

2024 seems to be shaping up to be another round of Biden v. Trump.
My skin crawls just thinking about it.

@Greg M.  provides a very detailed response, and I think you would do well to take a closer look at what he says.

My opinion is, I would not have purchased a 5/5 for purposes of renting in the first place. That is TOO BIG for a single rental unit. This can only reduce your potential market. OK, for a family of 10, it's perfect. In a reality where more and more people are choosing to have no children, it's overkill.

But you have it now, so today your conundrum is how to move forward from here. You might consider cutting your losses and selling it, or investigate STR options.

Quote from @Nicole A.:

I don't require it, but I highly recommend it and mention that in the lease. Besides, unless you check for proof every month/quarter/whatever, they could cancel at any time.

You can have them put you on the policy either as "Additional Insured" or "Interested Party", and you'll be notified of any changes.

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

I saw this happening 13 years ago and it's never stopped.

Watermark all your photos and it will stop. Search for "free photo watermark" for programs online. The free programs may take a little time, but you shouldn't have to do it very often. Paid programs allow you to watermark a lot of photos at once.

I'm glad there is a program that does this, for those who don't have the technical know-how.
For myself, I just used the "gimp" photo-editing program (it's free) and added the watermarks the hard way.

It's weird, tho. We've had folks come in saying that the "owners" said they were out of town, and if they wanted to look at the house, just come by and peek in the windows. Heck, we're getting more hits from scammers than from the legit sites!

Oh well, it's like I've said for a long time, we'll always have criminals. Today, they'll rob you blind, and you'll never know it until you check your accounts. A hundred years ago they'd rob you blind, but they'd have to bash in your skull first. Today, you're robbed blind and you're broke, but at least your skull is still intact!

@Matt Devincenzo

That sounds good. I had seen images with the PM watermark on them. Now I know why!

I've just run into two separate occurrences where the description and photos of my SFH for rent have been stolen and put somewhere else at a ridiculously discounted rent.

The first one was on Redfin.com, and it was the house across the street. Or the address was, anyway. The photos, the description, etc., was all taken from our property. At half our rent.

I telephoned Redfin yesterday and left a rather irate message. I probably should have been nicer, but what-the-hey, it was fixed by today. They deserve credit for taking swift action to rectify their listing.

The second one was brought to our attention by somebody who found "our house" on Facebook. What the hell is Facebook doing advertising rental property in the first place? I thought Facebook was just a place to go to trash people you didn't like.

Anyhow, that ad was a complete fabrication, included a lot of our pictures, inflated the size of the house, and cut the rent. It even included pictures of the "owners", my goodness, what a wholesome looking family. Probably lifted from a stock-photos company. Unfortunately, the one thing that wasn't fabricated was our address.

Clearly these villains are attempting to use our hard work and diligence to scam potential renters into divulging all their personal info so they can engage in identity theft. It's not a big deal for the landlord, except for when people drop by unannounced, no appointment, and get all bent out of shape when they find out it's only half the house for twice the rent.

But a scam is a scam, and it needs to be stopped somehow. Or slowed down anyway.

Now you might wonder how you can ferret out these scammers. The only suggestion I can think of, other than random browsing the different websites (and Facebook), is to use Google Image Search with one of your property images. There should be a number of hits, and most of them should be legit. But if you find one that is NOT legit, it's time to take action.

OK bear in mind that this opinion has absolutely no basis in fact. Indeed, you won't hurt my feelings if you stop reading NOW.

But that said:

I think you need to decide to go photography, or some other business, full-time, and don't worry about using that as an "inside track" to RE deals. First off, I'm thinking as one of your customers, and I'm thinking, why should I hire this guy? He might just steal my deal out from under me. All I want is somebody to take pictures, not compete against me.

If you want to meet agents, learn the market, and find deals, the thing to do is meet agents, learn the market, and find deals. Attend a local RE club meeting. Talk to agents in your area. You don't need an excuse, most people will be glad to share their expertise with you, if you have the right attitude.

Also, visit BP and check the "classified" section, where agents, lenders, contractors, etc. are peddling their wares. If they're on BP, then you already know they have an investor's mindset. Contact any of those in your area, maybe even meet some in person if you want. Keep looking, stay positive, you'll eventually find somebody willing to share off-market deals, and those tend to be much, much better than deals that make it to Zillow or the MLS.

Then just go out and photograph nakid wimmin, like everybody else. :-)

Quote from @Andrew Garcia:

Hi @Marlon Perez, there are a few things to take into account.

3. Construction could run over budget or take longer than expected.

 Count on it.

Going the construction route, just add those considerations into your plan. It's not just that contractors will paint you an overly optimistic picture, because they will (and not necessarily because they're crooked or anything, people are just naturally over-optimistic), but also there is bound to be something happening that nobody could foresee. Better to be ready for those little surprises than to be knocked on your keister when they happen.

Quote from @Nathan A.:

Quote from @Edwin De leon:

Ok, give me a link to a webinar you are recommending where do i find many Webinars that BP offers ?

They’re listed on https://www.biggerpockets.com/... I’m not seeing any upcoming installments of the Dave Meyer multi family webinars right now but you can catch a replay on the podcast show 694: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

I am glad you were able to point the OP in a direction to find those webinars. I've been on BP for a number of years, and my experience is that particular webinar comes up at least once a month. Always advertised on the Home page. How could could anybody miss it? I mean, it's like I trip over them every time!! :-)

Attend one of the many BP Webinars that cover "How to Buy your First (Second, Third) MF". It's free, and doesn't advertise getting the "Pro" membership too much. (that is, they do, a lot, but the solid information is well worth it).

As I recall, they will also cover using the BP Calculator for working out whether a given deal is worth the investment. You must become comfortable with working the numbers.