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All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Account Closed has started 18 posts and replied 1514 times.

Post: Landlord rights in regards to Military lease early termination

Account ClosedPosted
  • Investor
  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
  • Votes 3,225
Quote from @Corey M.:

I purchased my 1st investment property from REI Nation last year and a major selling point to me was that the average tenant staying for ~5.5 years. This morning, after ~1.5 years, I was informed my tenant is terminating the lease early, without penalty, because of a military transfer. I looked in the lease agreement and there is no language to support this move. However, there is apparently a federal law allowing for military transfers without penalty. I wish I was aware of this up front, as I would've thought twice about renting to someone who is likely to be relocated during the lease term.

Re-leasing the unit is going to require me to make any necessary repairs and pay one month's rent to the management company for finding a new tenant. In short, this early termination is likely going to wipe out my cash flow for the first year-and-a-half of the lease. It's a huge bummer to have both repair and re-leasing expenses this quickly.

As a landlord, what are my rights here?

- REI is saying the tenant is only responsible for this month's rent, but in my brief googling, it appears they are also responsible for next month's. Is that correct?

- To prevent this in the future, is it within my landlord rights to tell the management company to only lease to a civilian? I want to support the military, but also don't want to lose money on this investment, which will happen if I keep putting in tenants who are likely to get transfers.

I'm sure there are seasoned landlords who knew about this rule, but it had never been brought up to me; I was a little blindsided by the financial hit. Some of it may be recouped by a higher rental fee for a new lease, but it doesn't look like rental prices have increased significantly in the area.

@Chris Clothier, would you mind weighing in?


 Your problem is not the tenant. It is believing Pro Formas. 5% Vacancy doesn't mean each and every year its exactly 5%. But even on average it going to cost much more than 5% of rent annually. 18 mo average occupancy is a fair assumption. Then add in 1 month vacancy and 1 month leasing cost. So the cost is 2 months rent every 18 months. Add that make ready costs on average 1000/turn. Then for a property with 1000 rent you are looking at 3000$ every 18 months or 18% for vacancy costs. Not 5%. The problem is no turnkey provider will be able to sell anything with the real numbers. And 5.5 years is highly unlikely to be a typical tenancy.

Post: When someone tells you "the government should provide housing"

Account ClosedPosted
  • Investor
  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
  • Votes 3,225
Quote from @Carlos Ptriawan:
Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

@Account Closed With all due respect, I/we don't want to live in Singapore. I'm sure it is a charming place, but it is not the good ole USA. What works in other countries does not work here.

Sounds like you have a great life there though.... :-)

 I don't think it's a charming place. It's just glamorized southeast asia center of business. haha.... actually property in the same quality that Anish mentioned is a way different quality than in US.

The Singaporean version of affordable apartment l(HDB) feels more like a ghetto in Chicago standard.
The SF residential near the city is good but price-wise it's like San Francisco market.

One good thing about US is the quality of the house. Generally, I will say the SFR in Huntsville Alabama with sec8 tenant is way better than santa clara house, even it's 1/10 cheaper. And SF in Alabama is way better than HDB in Changi,Bedok,AMK in Singapore.

And for you guys to understand this concept more.
The income-to-house price ratio in US/Canada nationwide 25-29
In Asia 60-80 (Hongkong at 65)
In India it's 160.

The very reason many Asian wanna move to US is because *property ownership is still so affordable  in US*


 You have no clue. I live in an HDB apartment. It is made of solid concrete, not flimsy wood. The grounds are impeccably maintained (with cheap imported labor but still..). We remodeled the interior to top not finishes from studs and rubble for less than 100K. Compared to ramshackle fire traps that most US construction is. And Singapore is the only place were someone making less than 30K per year can own their own home. To call the housing "ghetto" tells me you have never been here or read any reliable source of info on housing policy in Singapore. To me it is absolutely brilliant. Compare with Hong Kong, a similar small island without such housing and you can see the brilliance of the system. 

Post: When someone tells you "the government should provide housing"

Account ClosedPosted
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  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
  • Votes 3,225
Quote from @Joe Villeneuve:
Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

@Account Closed With all due respect, I/we don't want to live in Singapore. I'm sure it is a charming place, but it is not the good ole USA. What works in other countries does not work here.

Sounds like you have a great life there though.... :-)

It amazes me how many people in the USA point to other third world, or even second world countries, much smaller in land and/or population, and try to compare it to the USA...as an example of how they do it...so why not us.

 Dude, get a passport. Singapore is a first world country. I can hardly say that about the US anymore. Admittedly its smaller but that doesn't mean the US cant take some lessons on how to do things. If Americans got their head out of their asses and stopped believing USA is number one in anything except mass shootings, there may be hope for improvement. The main difference is a mostly non corrupt pragmatic government that governs on data and facts rather than ideology. True, its not much of a democracy but is the US even that anymore?

Post: When someone tells you "the government should provide housing"

Account ClosedPosted
  • Investor
  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
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Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:
Quote from @Account Closed:

 If you want to look at a successful implementation of large scale public housing I suggest you look at Singapore. Over 80% of the population lives in high quality, highly subsidized housing that is impeccably maintained. I live in one such apartment myself. If you actually have a non corrupt system where the government is not bought by vested interests and is willing to spend money on social benefits you most certainly can provide decent public benefits. And before you tell me I am living in some commie hell hole, let me tell you that the max income tax rate here is 15%, there are no capital gains taxes and no minimum wage. Singapore is one of the most business friendly places in the world. Now go wrap your head around that for a moment.


 Anish enlighten the folks on how much it cost to buy a car and license it in Singapore you will have a few of these folks fall off their computer chair  LOL.


 Yes, a basic car and license is over 100K and good for 10 years.  But you dont NEED a car in Singapore because every sq m of land is accessible by cheap and efficient public transport. And the upside is we have nothing like the traffic snarls common in US cities. I do have a car and I know its a luxury. But considering our housing costs essentially 0 (because the small mortgage payment comes out of my wife's CPF contribution) its easy to afford even an expensive car. 

Post: When someone tells you "the government should provide housing"

Account ClosedPosted
  • Investor
  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
  • Votes 3,225

 If you want to look at a successful implementation of large scale public housing I suggest you look at Singapore. Over 80% of the population lives in high quality, highly subsidized housing that is impeccably maintained. I live in one such apartment myself. If you actually have a non corrupt system where the government is not bought by vested interests and is willing to spend money on social benefits you most certainly can provide decent public benefits. And before you tell me I am living in some commie hell hole, let me tell you that the max income tax rate here is 15%, there are no capital gains taxes and no minimum wage. Singapore is one of the most business friendly places in the world. Now go wrap your head around that for a moment.

Post: Who's at the most financial/leverage risk in a recession?

Account ClosedPosted
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  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
  • Votes 3,225
Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

Scott,

You missed the safest player of them all.. the investor who pays all cash and slowly builds up a portfolio with zero or very limited debt.. All assets no debt.. there are more of these investors than many on BP probably realize and of course up until now the limited debt investors get drowned out on BP as crazy.. your leaving equity in the deal its dead equity blah blah blah.

But those are the folks that can weather any storm  I have bought many a foreclosure from number 4 when tenants trashed the units they could not get them up and running and just walked away disgruntled..

I know its not a popular position on BP  but since you brought it up.. So there is a balance for sure.. and that is why I like to suggest investors try to pay down debt when they can and try to have paid for assets and be very cautious on what type of assets they take debt on. 


 Jay..the sheer heresy!! But I agree with you. I have been saying that paid off rentals give the best consistent cash flow at the lowest risk. But that's just so unpopular here on BP.

Post: Everybody has a Pitbull 🤷‍♂️

Account ClosedPosted
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  • Singapore
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Quote from @Mark Gabryel:

This is not to say that there aren’t extremely nice pit bulls that people have raised from being a puppy, but in business it’s a numbers game.

Pitbulls & Large Dogs:

Pitbulls and Rottweilers make up 77% of all fatal dog bites, despite making up only 6% of the U.S. dog population

Pitbulls are 2.5x more likely to bite in multiple anatomical locations than other breeds.

Pitbulls are responsible for 60% of all injuries and 63% of ocular injuries.

Pitbull terriers are 31% more likely to attack an unknown individual than other breeds

Pitbull terriers are 48% more likely to attack without provocation than other breeds

Pitbull attacks have higher morbidity rates, higher hospital charges, and a higher risk of death than attacks by other breeds.

During 2005-2017, pit bulls killed one citizen every 16.7 days, totaling up to 284 Americans. Rottweilers killed over 105 days during that time period.

From 2005 to 2017, Rottweiler and Pitbull attacks contributed to 76% of dog bite deaths.

When comparing 2005-2010 to 2011-2017, Pitbull attack deaths have increased from 58% to 71%. Alternatively, Rottweiler deaths decreased from 14% to 7%.

According to a 13-year data set, pit bulls caused 72% of attacks that killed a person 10-years and older vs. all other dog breeds put together, 28%.

From 2005 to 2017, 54% of fatal attacks were inflicted by family dogs. Of that 54%, 64% were done by pit bulls. 52% involved killing a family or household member.

When examining a 13-year data set, 54 fatal attacks included a dog killing its primary owner. Pit bulls were the cause of 63% of these deaths, over 8x more than any other type of dog.

https://www.coloradoinjurylaw.com/dog-bite-statistics/#dog-bite-fatalities-by-breed

The studies cited are at the bottom of the page.


 And that data supersedes all the anecdotal stories everyone is trying to tell.

Post: Where would you move to start building your real estate empire?

Account ClosedPosted
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  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
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Quote from @Nadine O.:

Hi BP Family! Where would you recommend living in USA to start house hacking and building a rental property business? The intent is to relocate from a high cost of living area like the Bay Area in California (although we love it here) to another, lower cost of living city where we can start by purchasing a multi-family to house hack (we are newbies, but have read a lot) and eventually build a portfolio of rental properties to retire off of. Would love to hear your thoughts - thank you!


 It is near impossible to do what you are talking about. Those midwest properties will barely throw off any cash flow when leveraged and only a few hundred dollars a month each when paid off.And you will be hit with constant issues of maintenance, cap ex, eviction, vacancy etc. The housing stock there is all from the 60s and 70s and aging rapidly. The tenant pool is not great either. Before you embark on this path talk to people who have owned this asset class over a period of time exceeding 5 or 10 years. People have made fortunes in California on just one or two properties over time. Midwest prices are the same as 30 years ago especially adjusted for inflation. I speak from experience of owning several such properties and while I made a good profit it was pure luck of timing picking the up after the crash. That still doesn't make it a great asset class, especially at todays prices.

Post: Accredited Investor?? WHY!!

Account ClosedPosted
  • Investor
  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
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Quote from @Ryan Taylor:
Quote from @Andrew Hogan:

@Ryan Taylor

It's the government's way to try and protect investors from losing money or getting tied up in illiquid assets... but they allow you to invest in gamestop. Kind of silly but it's likely a large contributing factor to the growing wealth gap.

The SEC recently expanded the definition of an accredited investor. Look for other ways you coul qualify.

There are also vehicles such as a regulation A and a 506(b) offering that allow non-accredited investors. 

At the end of the day, you need to vet and make sure you're partnering with the right group that you would trust with your hard-earned capital.

Good luck!

My exact thoughts (about Gamestop) and the stock market in general. Dont have to be accredited to throw your money out the wi dow there...or drop the mortgage payment on the slots in Vegas...but the"Government" who we all know excels at losing money, wants to protect investors from losing money...lol...got it
Find a way I guess...sure cant beat em

 Thank you for your reply...much appreciated 


 Thats because Wall Street is a far bigger lobbyist than apartment syndicators!!

Post: Going to school to learn how to do it all myself. Realistic?

Account ClosedPosted
  • Investor
  • Singapore
  • Posts 1,581
  • Votes 3,225

Ask yourself this. What makes a successful real estate investor? Are most successful investors skilled tradespeople? I would guess not. The skills that really make you a good investor are financial skills and people skills. There are people running multimillion dollar businesses who would not fix their own leaky sink. I personally hardly know which end of the screwdriver goes in the screw. It doesn't stop me from being an investor. Now granted, I dont do flips. But even if I did, I would much rather have contractors I trust so I dont need to check on everything they do. I would focus on the overall plan, budget, schedule, etc.