All Forum Posts by: Rob C.

@Curt Davis , are you able to provide the contact information of any foreign affiliate companies that are representing the foreign investors in US real estate purchases?

@Robert Chuang , do you know any particular agents with a large pool of foreign buyers?

I have a property in coastal California that I'm considering selling. I've heard that foreign investors (Chinese in particular) are especially interested in this geographical area, and so I'm wondering if I should consider marketing somehow to these buyers in addition (or instead of?) putting on the MLS? I'd greatly appreciate any insights you might be able to

thanks, Rob

@Account Closed , thanks again for pitching in. I suspect his volunteering is partially motivated because I told him when he moved in at the beginning of this year that I'm inclined to reward excellent tenants with a rent rebate around the holidays (e.g. half off december's rent). He and his wife have been outstanding tenants all year, and I definitely intend to make good on that rebate. 

As for whether to raise the rent, I've actually been wondering lately what to do about that. Market rents appear to have gone up a bit where my property is located, so a rent raise does seem justifiable. At the same time though, I don't want to sour the holiday rebate by introducing a rent increase right around the same time. And I agree with you that it's worth having a long-term tenant (especially a great one) in place at below-market rent, rather than frequent turnover to sustain market rents

Thanks @Raven Parmer , @Elizabeth Colegrove and @J Scott for your thoughts. Looks like there's more for me to think through after all. J, great point about the liability. I didn't even stop to think about that. 

Clever. Thanks for sharing. 

I use https://www.erentpayment.com. Similar concept where the tenant pre-authorizes the recurring payment, and it happens electronically. It's just a $3 transaction fee, which I think is well worth the convenience. I think quite a few others on this board use it as well. There are other solutions out there similar in nature that I explored initially, but this is the one I opted for based mostly on its price. I've been really happy with it

Thanks for your input @Richard C.  and @Account Closed . Much appreciated. Jon, funny you mention replacing it for the sake of the tenant. My tenant has actually offered to do the drywall patching himself. He used to be in construction and has experience patching drywall so he's fully competent. I thought that was nice of him to offer, and so I asked him what kind of reimbursement he thought was fair. He said not to worry about it; that he'd take care of it free of charge. Obviously a really nice gesture. And I don't really feel it's appropriate therefore to ask him to go above and beyond what he's already volunteered for; although, I would personally be more comfortable with replacing the stained drywall. I don't really like the idea of taking shortcuts on my properties (regardless of whether I personally live in it or someone else does). But I'm kind of getting the sense that it's not all that necessary in this case; it's not a minor blemish but it's not like it's soft and wet. For what it's worth a couple pictures of the stain are linked below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5PU7wS5Q5CIelBuM...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5PU7wS5Q5CIZGlUa...

I'm a pretty new landlord here, and I recently had a leak in my rental property from the upstairs bathroom going to the downstairs living room ceiling. Nothing major. I had a plumber come out today (about 72 hours after my tenant noticed the leak) and he concluded it to be the fault of the shower valve, which he repaired rather easily. He cut out about a square foot of drywall on the ceiling to diagnose the problem. The water stain though actually extends quite a bit beyond the hole he cut out in the ceiling. Despite the stain, the drywall is stiff and dry to the touch. I wanted to get the opinions of all the smart people on this forum on whether the rest of the stained drywall really ought to be removed (to prevent further problems, e.g. mold), or if it would suffice to just to let it sit for a little bit longer (i.e. to make sure any possible moisture is dried out)  before applying kilz and painting over it. Thanks in advance for any shared opinions, Rob

Ibrahim, were you able to download Hellosign as an app? I've been using it in conjunction with gmail through Chrome browser recently, and it's been a life saver. Signing offers is so much more efficient. If there is a way to do it all on my android phone, that'd be even better. I can't find it in android app form though.

Thanks Steven Hamilton II. I figured that was probably the case. Glad to hear it confirmed. Do you know if you have to prove somehow that the loan is used for that purpose? Or will the IRS just take you at your word on that one?

I understand you can write off mortgage interest as a business expense for a rental property. What about interest on unsecured loans used for the same purpose? The offers I see in the mail for 8-10% unsecured personal loans seem like they could be reasonable options to finance a $25k property I have an eye on (especially if the interest can be written off just like a mortgage)

What about setting up a digital home surveillance system? something like:

http://www.amazon.com/Swann-SWDVK-425504-4-Channel-Recorder-Smartphone/dp/B004VFGJQ4/ref=lp_524136_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1358921629&sr=1-23

I have no idea whether that particular product is any good, but seems like the right idea

And then stick a sign out in the front yard saying something to the effect that this home is under surveillance?

http://www.amazon.com/SECURITY-SURVEILLANCE-SIGNS-Decal-video/dp/B001FY0WDK

I've kind of thought that's what I'd do if I end up deciding to buy houses in "undesirable" neighborhoods (not to say yours is). I figure it would make it that much easier to rent, and could maybe even command a premium because of it. Not to mention (of course) it seems like a nice thing to do for a tenant.