All Forum Posts by: Basil Kostaras

Agreed with @John Underwood! Having a strong HOI policy (make sure you review with your insurance provider at least annually), holding your property in the correct legal entity (LLC if that works best), and possibly an umbrella policy covering all of your properties (and yourself) may be a good place to start!

If the rental rates make sense I don't see why it wouldn't be a good idea! Make sure you consider the HOA dues, in a golf course community those can be lethal to margins. There also may be restrictions for rentals in a community like that so make sure you understand the CC&Rs prior to purchasing.

Hi Karen, given that unpaid HOA dues can encumber a title in the form of a lien it may make sense to still pay those yourself and either pass it through to the tenant as a separate 'utility' payment or just structure your lease as a gross lease (where it's one flat fee and landlord pays majority of utilities).

Regarding deductions, I'm not a CPA, but have been advised by my CPA that I can and have deducted HOA fees in the past for properties that I own. There are some limits regarding if there are special assessments included in the HOA fee, but for the most part have been able to deduct a majority of the monthly dues as operating expenses.

Let me know how it works out!

Hi Mark, there have been a few posts about this previously, but I think one of the most helpful is below. @NathanG outlines a great summary on how to proceed while protecting yourself as the landlord. Good luck!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

It looks like there may be two issues here: violation of the lease and the ethics of evicting someone during a pandemic. It's important to follow the lease and State of MI tenant-landlord laws. I believe proper notice in MI (I too invest in MI) for nonpayment of rent is 7 days after the notice is posted (depending on how it's delivered). If you have more than one rental property you'll want to stay as objective as possible with how you're treating tenants. Sticking to the terms of the lease, and following State guidelines on eviction notice and process, is the easiest way to do that without exposing yourself to risk.

Now whether or not your ethically ok with evicting tenants during this time is a personal decision. Whatever you decide it may be helpful to ensure the evaluation process used is applied to all tenants who have similar issues. Below is a helpful link I've used in the past to educate myself with tenant-landlord practices and statutes in MI!

https://www.legislature.mi.gov...

It’s important to be objective with your prospective tenet evaluations, but I unfortunately have been the victim of a situation where a cat contributed to around $1.5K in damage because of irresponsible pet owners (key point). We had to replace drywall, repaint floors, and change flooring throughout multiple areas of the home. 

I believe this was due to a gap in our tenet screening process because we found the tenets also chose to shower without shower curtains after they had moved out. To everyone’s point above, with a good screening process and appropriate deposits in place there shouldn’t be a reason why pets (cats or dogs) wouldn’t be able to also call your rental home! 

This is an awesome question. My personality would lean to $10K/mo with all factors playing into my life today. As the famous Mike Tyson saying goes "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth". The punch in the mouth for me in this instance would be the instant injection of $1M. My 3 and 5 year plans today, while aggressive, are based on the resources I have available to me and can confidently work with. I can't honestly say I'd be able to move quick enough with the $1M to create more of an impact than what I'd be able to do on my current trajectory. 

Great discussions all around!

If you're planning to start with a property management company they may be able to refer you in the right direction. I too invest out of my area (and even state) and have always started with the PM company which was referred to me by the agent I used to purchase the property.

If that isn't an option I've also looked for flipped properties on Zillow/Redfin, identified who the agent was, googled them and gave them a call to see if they could refer me to the GC who did the work on the property they previously listed or are currently listing. It takes a little bit of leg work, but I've always found it's easier to make a few phone calls based on referrals to make sure the person I'm working with is aligned with my expectations. 

Hope this helps, keep me updated!

Great question. Depending on the properties you're looking at it may be directly related to the increase in demand for multi-family rentals when compared to single-family prices. Here in Phoenix we're seeing a big increase in median prices for single-family homes, but not a large enough increase in rental rates to maintain profitability. Because of that investors here in general are focusing on getting more bang for their buck with multi-family properties with higher rent potential.

It's a pretty basic explanation, but it seems like we're in a textbook economics supply and demand exercise. Are you seeing something similar? 

Hi Jorge, I don't live in Fresno, but invest out of my home state and have had to track down support services throughout my experiences. Below are a few recommendations on how to find a strong real estate attorney if you don't get a warm lead:

1) Reach out to the agent you worked with to purchase the property. Usually agents establish a network of support services either through their experiences or through affiliation with their broker

2) Reach out to the title/escrow company that you used to close on the property

3) Call property management groups in your area to see if they're open to providing a referral. Even if you don't intend to use them to manage your property it can still be beneficial for both you and the PM company if you're strategy changes in the future or you're able to refer someone their way