All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Taylor Smith

@Hamzah Awnallah - We make use of a Verizon Hotspot at our vacant rentals, to which we then connect solar cameras obtained from Amazon.com. I would base your choice on which carrier has the best coverage in your area or at the specific property location(s). I find that is most often Verizon or T-Mobile.

@Sherman Cummings - In addition to Housing Choice Vouchers ("Section 8"), many locations have other voucher and housing subsidy programs. We participate in various programs for homelessness prevention, emergency relocation, transitional housing, veteran housing, vouchers from healthcare providers, etc... The latter includes persons on Medicare or Medicaid (I forget which is which) - and they even sometimes pay landlord bonuses.

@Adel Khatib - Well, two things can both be TRUE... YES, the agent IS trying to get a commission. But they could also be trying to HELP YOU in the process. As to your friend - are they experienced in commercial real estate investing? If not, it has been my experience that every friend or family member I ever asked anything about REI were always against it and recommended NOT purchasing whatever I was considering. They care about us and do not want to see us lose - and we won't think to blame them for something we didn't do based upon their feedback. But you may blame them if you proceed on their recommendation, and it does not work out. Therefore its far safter for the friendship to be against it.

And were I the agent, I'm not sure how engaged I would have been with your friend to ask questions, if YOU are the prospective buyer - but were not apparently interested enough to show up yourself. I may have taken that as an indication that you were just wasting my time. And that could certainly be a WRONG assumption - but we agents get people wasting our time frequently.

Lastly - as to the parking lot being mostly empty... I'm lacking needed information to assess the opportunity - but I'd expect that if the place was fully leased to booming businesses, then it would not be for sale at a 10 cap. Your question should be CAN YOU TURN IT AROUND? Is the area, location and other dynamics suitable for the price and upside opportunity - and do you have the resources and skills to make it all that it could be?

@Lisa Holden - I would certainly NOT stop paying the mortgage outright... But do contact your lender and find out what hardship options they may offer and learn if you must be behind on the payments to qualify. How confident is your Realtor in being able to sell the property at or near the listed price - and will that sale result in a NET gain for you or just lock in a loss?

If you were to NOT sell and get the other unit rented, would that potentially be a better outcome for you both now and in years to come? If so, you might just need to lower your rental criteria. I recently lowered my income required from 3x to 2x. I also do not have a minimum credit score requirement - instead using the score to in-part determine the security deposit requirement at 1x, 1.5x or 2x rent. I care more about liens, judgements and collections than I do about a low credit scores for other reasons - which is often related to medical bills or student loans.

@Parris Taylor - I provide "affordable housing" to a wide variety of persons in different programs. Beyond just Section 8, one such program is for disabled persons, and includes stroke victims, elderly, etc... So YES - I will make certain accommodations for the reasonable capabilities and circumstances of the person. To do otherwise would be cruel. You can't tell a stroke victim to figure out how to use the portal. So I have a staff member who such persons can call (NOT ME) to handle things like opening a ticket in the portal. But it has to be reasonable for the condition and circumstances of the person. Is there a legitimate reason they can't use technology?

@Parris Taylor... Each valid concerns that can cause problems for new landlords. Have you made corrections? For example...

1. I set my mortgages to auto-pay 3 days before a late fee would hit, which tends to be after the 20th of the month; whereas my rents clear well before that (even those who pay late).

2. Tenants do not have my cell number. And I make sure those who obtain it somehow (usually my lapse) never get satisfaction from texting or calling me directly. All will get the same response of "Thanks for letting me know - but I need you to open a ticket on that in the portal." - But I would make an exception to that for FIRE.

3. If they cannot sign the lease digitally or otherwise make use of online tools, they'd better get a family member or friend to aid - otherwise they do not qualify to rent from me, as I'm leasing properties in 2025, not 1995.

I find that you get from tenants (and people in general) what you accept. I set my standards and tend to stick to them. Most people thereby get on my page. And those who won't would have just been problematic to my life anyway.

@Matheus Souza - Why do you prefer NOT to house-hack? Were I getting started today (before wife and kids) - that is exactly what I'd do... I would have done it even after family if not too much of a downgrade or disruption - but somehow it never occurred to me back then. Does your $30K towards down-payment tap you out? Because you will also need money for closing and holding costs. And if doing the BRRRR strategy (my favorite), you'll also need reserve funds to get the rehab started. And is your credit good for best financing options?

@Thomas Paynter - What is right varies for each of us and differs for time and circumstance... I got into REI at age 43. And I had a very strong feeling that I was in the midst of what might be a once-in-a-lifetime low priced market where properties could be bought for less than their replacement cost and at all-time low interest rates. So I used HELOC, personal loans, retirement savings, credit cards, private lenders, lease-options, seller financing, etc... To buy everything I could justify to my wife :)

It turned out better than even I expected, but that was by no means a guarantee. And I took actions to make sure that a worst case outcome would not ruin us.

@Lance Turner - I've done several creative financing deals, such as lease-options, subject-to and seller-financing - where friends and family were heavily advising the seller against it (they always do). My own mother advised me against getting into rental properties. People who love you want to protect you from anything that is different. So, in some cases I suggested inviting the primary "advisor(s)" (who are against it) to join us at our next meeting on the matter. In other cases, I asked for specific details of their concerns that I could speak to. And ask questions to reveal the real concern... Many times you'll find that these "other people" don't actually exist.

Hello @Emmanuel Dawah - Welcome to BP! So what do you seek to do in Raleigh / Durham in the way of Real Estate Investing? What shall be your focus?