All Forum Posts by: Bernard B.

Unfortunately, I had a bad bathroom sewer pipe problem in two separate  properties, what are the odds? The symptom was the same in both properties, when the toilet was flushed , waste would appear in the bathtub. At first , I went with the quick fix , cheap repair. Guess what, it reappeared  about a year later. I ended up spending a lot of money on both of these repairs, because I had to get a large portion of the main sewage line replaced. I bit the bullet and got the sewage lines replaced/fixed. So far , so good. 

I thought the regular "free" Stessa account was ok. I used it to track several properties. One thing to be aware of, and I hope that this never happens to any of you guys, is my connected bank link somehow failed or became disconnected? I tried the "fix it" option on the Stessa site, and it constantly gave me the error that there was a problem with my bank? My bank said no problems on their end, and I was never able to reconnect my bank for downloading transactions. I eventually just closed my Stessa account and called it a day. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up.

@Steven Rosenfeld,

I know that this may sound really obvious , but in my humble opinion, you may not want to state your detailed, personal , money amounts on the internet. Something safer may be to speak in generalities such as, I am doing ok with my 401k and my investments are performing well, and I am pursuing passive income ( just to keep most people honest). With that being said, maybe bank notes would be worth checking out , although they could carry risk.

Maybe a qualified property inspector, for this property and your future properties? Also, get friendly with the neighbors on both sides of your property and give them a business card. Politely ask them to call you if they notice anything funny/suspicious going on with your property. 

@Michael S. , 

I agree. Inventory is really low, and it is very hard to find any deals that will cash flow in Huntsville, AL. As a matter of fact , prospective tenants have been contacting us about rentals that are not even vacant or advertised for rent. In the past, our tenants would live in a unit for about a year and a half then move out, not now. None of our tenants have moved over the past few years. From the properties that I have seen sold recently, investors paid way too much for them. 

@Kevin Sobilo, @ Asher Richardson,  you guys are are straight out of my own heart ( see my comment about advice to my younger self in a different post). Sometimes, you have to be selfish and go after your goals. It is no guarantee that you will succeed in real estate investing. Do your homework, present books, videos, case histories to your spouse/partner and show them the benefits of real estate investing and request their support. If they refuse, as stated earlier by Mr. Kevin Sobilo, you have a right to pursue your goals and dreams , don't let anyone squash them, it can be up to you to succeed or fail. Ideally, you both could work together to achieve goals in the real estate game, but if not, you do your investing the best that you can ( hopefully, it will grow) and let her do her non -investing/self discovery on her own. One thing is guranteed, if you never try at something, you can't count it as being successful at it. 

I would have told my younger self to be more selfish and to focus on my goals and my purpose. I have wasted so much time and efforts, trying to help people achieve their goals, when they were not serious in the first place. Everyone, has to pay their own financial bills.  I should have stayed focused on my goals, concentrated my efforts, on my own achievements, later, if they wanted to join me great, if not, they could kick rocks, spouse included. 

Dang, 

You guys beat me on naming Sarah Taggart as a resource on tenant law. She and her firm , handled all of my evictions, and she also provides webinars and updated news on tenant laws in Alabama. She can create lease documents and advise you on legal issues as well. In the past , she also gave presentations in local Real Estate Investor Meetings.  

@Joe S. , 

About 2 years ago, I purchased a large pack of them( different colors, white, blue, green, gray) from Amazon.com. I purchased about 25 of them, and the average cost was about 1 dollar per curtain. I also use these to cover the windows when the house is vacant ( instead of new blinds each time), to keep people from looking into the house, and to give the new tenants some privacy when they are moving their stuff into the house. 

You could always call in a flooring professional. They may be able to tighten up the loose/spacey floor boards without removing the entire floor. Just make sure that the floor is not a safety issue.