All Forum Posts by: Amardeep G.

Hello, 

Does anyone know of a good and responsive PM in Indianapolis?  I have a duplex in Little Flower that I've owned for about 2 years and I'm looking for a new PM.   I have reached out to a couple of PMs but gotten no response - I am looking for a company that is professional and responsive and I don't mind paying a little bit more if necessary.  

I currently have RPM as the property manager but they have really gone downhill recently.  They have missed utility payments multiple times, resulting in the water getting cutoff, forgotten to send the renter's new leases, and take about 2 weeks to respond to anything, even to urgent inquiries (see: water).  Not sure what is going on with them, but it's almost like they are trying to get rid of accounts or something - I've never seen service this bad, and I am angry on behalf of my tenants.  

Thanks, 

Sonny 

So I just purchased my first rental property in early March.  We had assumed that the tenant had paid rent to the previous seller for March and did not inquire regarding rent for that month (it was factored into the concessions we asked for and the ultimate purchase price).    

This month, my property manager informed me that when she spoke to the tenant he indicated that he paid rent for March and April to the previous owner.  This obviously raised some red flags because - why would he do that?  Nevertheless I checked with the seller through my real estate agent and the seller denies receiving rent for either March or April, meaning we are owed rent for two months.  

The PM is following up with tenant, but I don't see a good outcome either way.  Even if he changes his story and says that he will now pay, that means he was lying before.  If he maintains that he paid, then we will need to ask for documentation (and I suppose it is possible the seller is being dishonest).   

All you experienced LLs out there - how would you handle this? 

Hi all, 

My understanding of the new tax law is that it gives a 20% across the board deduction to landlords who are running their business as a recognized passthrough entity (LLC, sole proprietorship, etc.). I have no interest in filing for LLC and doing all the additional reporting and legwork that requires so my plan was just to list myself as a sole proprietor, since my wife is/will not be involved in running any rental properties we acquire.

I just purchase my first investment property - My question is, if I list both myself and my wife on the title for the house (the mortgage is in my name only), can I still be considered a sole proprietor for tax purposes?  Has anyone run into this before?   I definitely will talk to a CPA (if anyone has any recs in the DC area please PM me), but thought I'd get a general idea first. 

Thanks! 

Thanks everyone - I guess the answer is that this requires a closer look.  I haven't been to the house yet so I just wanted to see if it was one I could cross off my list.  

Hi all, 

I was looking at an otherwise promising property and I saw this photo with a couple of cracks in the wall.  I'm not a DIY'er and so I thought I'd reach to more experienced people - could this indicate serious structural problems or is it mainly cosmetic (or would you need an inspection to know for sure).  I don't want to waste my time with this one if this is a deal-breaker.  

Thanks in advance. 

Sonny 

I've been to Indy a few times and have been looking at properties there for a few years, but I'm a novice and I haven't worked with a wholesaler, so take my advice with a grain of salt.   Here's what I would consider: 

1) You don't say how far east the property is.  I think this deal is more attractive the the closer you get to Irvington and to Ritter and Washington St in particular.  That area has the potential for appreciation, more expensive rents, and attracts better tenants. 

2) Make sure the current landlord doesn't pay utilities.  The 1.5 % rule uses rents as a rule of thumb, but if your rents are low and you pay utilities, that can eat into your bottom line and isn't reflected in the rule.  In my experience, a lot of multifamilies in the area aren't separately metered and landlords pay the utilities.  If we're looking $600 rent per unit but the landlord pays utilities, you should really consider the rent to be closer to $400 a month and recalculate.  

3) Do you have 1040Es going back a few years? There may be tenants right now but that doesn't do you any good if the property is vacant half the year.  This will also flag properties that have recurring structural problems/high maintenance costs. 

4) Verify the market rents in the area every way you can.  Look at craiglist, rentometer, zillow rent zestimate, etc.  

Hope this helps. 

Thank you Ross, Joel, and Mike for the replies.  I think the common denominator of your posts is that I should probably be asking my agent to do a bit more legwork with providing general feedback on areas and additional info about particular properties.  

@Mike D'Arrigo, you raise a lot of good points.   I certainly don't want to outsource my due diligence.  I've been in the market for a rental property in Indy for about 3 years, on and off (due to various life events), and have had the chance to visit a few times and check out some neighborhoods and houses that I was interested in at the time.  

As a result of a lot of reading on here, visiting, and speaking with relatives who live in Indy, I am quite wary of multifamily houses. Some of the first properties I looked at (over 2 years ago) were multifamilies in Arsenal Heights and Bates Hendricks that were priced very low for the alleged cash flow. After visiting the places and the neighborhoods it became clear why (I have no desire to be a slumlord). That being said, there must be some neighborhoods in Indy in which multifamilies can be a sensible investment. The SFH market seems to have a lot more options, but for the time and effort that goes into owning a property, the cash flow for many of the SFHs within my budget just doesn't seem to be worth it. I'd also like the potential for appreciation, and that seems to come with some risk.

As far as neighborhoods go, I think I've developed a more thorough list of neighborhoods I am not interested in rather than neighborhoods I am actively targeting.  These no-go neighborhoods include Bates-Hendricks, Crown Hill, Arsenal Heights, West Indianapolis, Fountain Square (either too expensive for the cash flow or total rehabs in shady areas it seems), etc.  I don't doubt that a more experienced investor could find some gems in these neighborhoods, I just don't think that's possible for an out of state investor acting alone.  

The neighborhoods in which I have been interested for Multifamilies (Irvington, Herron Morton, Garfield Park) have very low inventory, are overpriced for the cash flow, or are simply overbudget (I am looking for properties under 200K).  I have placed some lower offers previously on duplexes near Irvington that I liked (but thought were overpriced) but had no luck negotiating with the sellers.  My relatives in Indy recommended the area near Butler but that also appears to be overbudget.  The areas I'm currently interested in are  Mapleton-Fall Creek, Meridian Park, and (less so) Beech Grove.  Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with these areas?  I know its patchy, but there seem to be a decent amount of true MFHs (i.e., not converted SFHs) in the Mapleton-Fall Creek area with decent rents (750-800 per unit).

Hi all, 

Long time reader on these forums but this is my first post. I am an out of state investor looking at properties in the Indy area for cash flow. I am open to both multifamily and SFH. I have an agent that I have been working with for a long time and am happy with but it is difficult for me to get out to Indy to view properties that I am interested in, particularly since all of properties that are priced right appear to get snapped up within a few days. There have been multiple instances where I was excited about a property and by the time my agent heard back from the seller there was already an offer in place.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a person or service that specializes in going out to properties on my behalf and taking photos/video and providing feedback?  I have relatives in Indy that give me feedback on particular neighborhoods and areas, but they are not involved in real estate and it would be helpful to have someone with real estate experience who could (1) go and check out properties for me on short notice and (2) provide feedback on potential properties.    

Additionally, I am also looking for property managers if anyone has recommendations.  I have already spoken with red door but they have mixed reviews.  I also reached out to Spouses Buying Houses a few times (due to recs on this forum) but haven't been able to connect with anyone there.  

Thanks in advance for any input.  

Sonny