All Forum Posts by: Andrew Cornstubble

@Beth Matherne I'm pretty new but one of my best friends of about 15 years ghosted me with about $800 back rent and a royally crap job "painting the living room for part of the rent."

You give an inch and they'll take a mile. I'm one of the biggest pushovers I know but I was fortunate enough to learn early on.

Make the rules crystal clear and stick to them. I understand as well as anyone how hard times can sneak up and bite you. I got injured at work. Went from getting along just fine to jobless with no chance of finding work and crippled for a year.

Would it have been nice for a landlord to help me out a little? Sure. But real eatate is a business, not a charity.

The sad fact is that life's unfair sometimes. And for some ungodly reason people will buy a $1,200 cell phone and then skip on rent.

It's your investment so by all means go about it how you wish. But if you do decide to let it slide I would at least give a stern warning and then follow through with the repercussions if the rules are broken again.

@Cole Black

I'm a little busy with work so I'm sorry if this has already been said.

Depending on how you choose to invest, paying things off can open you up to lawsuit theft.

I can't remember who coined the term. Buffett maybe? But they said it's best to own nothing and control everything.

Honestly I don't mind the bank owning my rental. I've only got 20% in it and get 100% of the profit I can squeeze out after the bills.

Heck, you never really own your personal residence even if you want to. (Property taxes.)

@Patrick Crehan

Any time bud! And just fyi, if you have more time than money most small home improvements can be handled in a weekend with YouTube and 16 trips to a home improvement store.

@Joe Frank

He also says cut up your credit cards. I did that when I had a credit score in the 400s. The smartest thing I ever did was fork over the money for secured credit cards after.

 I thank you for the kind words Mike!  Until very recently I've looked at this "investment" here as a giant albatross.  I spent so much time under this house that i cut an access hole in the bathroom.  After looking at other markets this thing looks like a blessing.  I stand to sell it for at least as much as the initial purchase price.  When you consider the amount of work that taught me a lesson here I'm already ahead.

It's pretty common. A friend of mine lived in a small apartment that was actually one of 4 units in a 2 story house in a college town. Things like this I have never even considered. I think it's fascinating. Especially if you descide to live in 1 and get the FHA loan.

(Don't try to scare me out of buying a property.. this is a confidence booster post!)

I'll spare you the sob story.  But I was injured and unable to walk when I bought first property with crippling debt and my wife making minimum wage.  We're shopping for a 4th property 8 years later.  She has an associates and i dropped out of community college twice.

If we can pull it off anyone can.  I've got random downtime at work and in the evenings.  I'm far from a professional yet, and our properties are nothing to brag about, but I could probably save you some headache if you decide to tackle some plumbing and run into trouble.  A few pics can save a lot of headache.  At any rate, good luck!  I wish you the best.  And there's a silver lining in every single problem you may face.  

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $10,000
Cash invested: $1

The house next door to my personal residence became available. It's a small but clean 1 bedroom and the price was right. It's on the right. It's the only pic I currently have.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It had an insulated cement floored office building i had planned to turn into a guest room at the time. It had a 2 car driveway attatched to our property. The living rooms are 12 feet from each other. I figured it would be best to pick my neighbors if they were that close.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I mentioned to the lady I purchased my personal residence from that I wanted it. I told her to call me if she ever descided to sell. 2 years later she called. I didn't really negotiate. We both knew it was a pretty good deal and already have a good relationship.

How did you finance this deal?

It appraised at 6k and ahe sold it to us for 10k for $0 down and $250mo for 5 years. We put about $5,000 into rehab doing most of the work myself.

How did you add value to the deal?

New kitchen floor, new toilet, mostly new plumbing, new shower, paint, carpet, vinyl.

What was the outcome?

I learned not to rent to friends if you can help it. Although i do have a good friend in there now. He's always been a descent guy and his dad is also a good friend. I've yet to hear loud music or see more than 2 cars over there. And if a sink drips they'll send me a text so i can fix it before it becomes a real problem. We make our last mortgage payment next month. We'll likely sell or refi for more capital soon

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned NEVER let a house sit over winter. I'm in southeast Kansas and it was a mild winter. Still had 6 leaks. 8 if you count the blown out shower water manifold and the toilet busting and running for 4 days. My challenge was finding someone that would pay on time and not destroy the place. I definitely learned not to let a so called handyman do ANY repairs while living there after he hit the natural gasoline with a sawzall and moved...

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

No. The lady I purchased my private residence from and I worked it out. She informs me of anything she has for sale and I help her keep weekend rentals full. I would definitely recommend her to others.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Sedan.

Purchase price: $21,000
Cash invested: $1

Bought as a personal residence while trying to get back on my feet. Literally and figuratively. I was badly injured at work and living on my mother-in-law's couch. Purchased with owner financing at 0% interest rate. Currently looking to sell it.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

After a year being injured and basically on bedrest I figured my mother-in-law would like me out of her living room.

It was owner financed and my credit was bad before I was injured and penniless for a year.

It had a new roof which happened to be the 1 thing I refuse to repair by myself.

The payments were $350 per month for 5 years.

It's a single family home that was a duplex prior.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I'm not entirely sure who my wife heard about it from. It was a customer at her last job that mentioned it.

I negotiated it when my wife called me. I was injured with a shattered heel and ankle and at month 13 on my mother-in-law's couch. My wife called on her lunch break and said we should look at it. I asked her if the roof leaked. She said it was new and that we should really go and look at it for a personal residence. I told her there was no need from me. I'll take it.

How did you finance this deal?

Owner financing (rent to own)

How did you add value to the deal?

We hauled roughly 30 pickup loads of trash off of the property. All of the rooms were painted after being cleaned. Gutted a falling apart bathroom and it became a walk in closet. Put a new floor in the kitchen. Spent several thousand on on rennovating and reclaiming the property from the falling down trees and misquito habitat. Saved the new master bedroom addition falling off of the side of the house.

What was the outcome?

The outcome was single family home that should either sell for approximately $40,000 or we may finance to the right person.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Basically I learned that bringing a fixer upper to a desirable home is a lot of work. I learned that purchasing a home ready for the bulldozer and resurrecting it while living in it is less than desirable.

My handyman skills did improve though. And while it still needs a lot of work it served its purpose. We purchased a home when we couldn't qualify to get a loan for a pack of gum. And now we are getting rid of it to say goodbye to that struggle and on to the next.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

No but I have had such a fantastic relationship with the previous owner that we are considering the purchase of a 3rd single family home and more in the future possibly. We have recomended each other to people for different things.

I'm new to the game as well, but I do have a rental property next door and I'll tell you, even that is too close.  

I find living with other peopke to be difficult.   Roomates can be fun, but it can also turn best friends i to mortal enemies.

If I were in your shoes I would buy the rental property.  Even if you have to rent a home yourself.  If you van make the numbers work out any kind of profit not having to share your home I would go that route.  In any case good luck to you.