All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Taylor Smith

@Skye Penland - That might work, but my experience with contractors is that those with skills and focus / ethics sufficient that you'd WANT them working on your property - tend to be busy / in high demand. And thereby would likely prefer to get actual MONEY for their valuable work. It sounds like you're offering your place to them essentially as an "Airbnb" in exchange for their labor... So what would that otherwise cost at a similar place? That then becomes the ceiling of what they're getting, so you can expect their effort of labor to be about 1/2 of that value versus if it was CASH. Also consider that what you're offering will then require that they SPEND money that they'll have to get from some other job(s) to take this beach vacation. 

@Yakir Aloni - I would think it depends greatly on the lender you're doing the refinance with and if the property will appraisal as needed prior to the rehab being completed. Many lenders will require that the property be rented (or at least rent ready), and to get a finished appraisal value - not a "subject-to" valuation where it is based upon things being done / present that are not yet finished.
  

@Craig Cann - That's exactly what I did... Between purchasing my first and second investment properties, I got my license and got paid to be my own buyer's agent on that second purchase and most thereafter. I initially only got licensed for that reason and to have more tools / potential access to off-market deals, credibility with sellers and knowledge. This has allowed me to get some deals that I do not think I otherwise would have - such as by being able to offer more because of the commission. And if you're going to do things ethically anyway, then I do not see it as a problem to be licensed.

Hi @Jonathan Dornetto - Have you existing multi-family and new builds completed or seeking to get started in these?

@George Arredondo - The advice from @Drea Na is spot on. Real Estate Investing takes money... Even the low/no cash down methods, like seller financing, subject-to and lease options. You need SOME money to cover expenses (fix things) and cover vacancies. In my younger / early REI days, I relied heavily on credit cards and lines of credit for my reserves - but even then I had fairly high income from multiple sources to dig myself out quickly if I got into trouble. And I did it that way back then, only because I was trying to grow quickly when things were dirt cheap between 2015 to 2019 (and I was 5 years late to that party).

Hi @Kylia Wright - Welcome to BP... Where are you from / located?

I have recently started using Bill.com - but only because we started to participate in a local affordable housing program (not "Section 8", but similar) and that is the system they use to pay the program portion of the rent on behalf of their voucher holders.

@Tricia York - These days I start by running all such lease modifications by ChatGPT to get my concept and language right. Then once I've got all my proposed changes in place, I PAY my local experienced landlord / tenant law ATTORNEY to review and sign-off on the new lease version. And it is getting less frequent with each version that changes are needed from what ChatGPT came up with if using a sufficiently detailed and limiting prompt. I just don't want to end up in court with a ChatGPT lease that is not backed up by an attorney. 

But in general answer to your question (I'm in North Carolina, not South) - I have a provision in my lease that ALL person's age 18 or above (at the time of lease start or renewal) must have an application on file, that includes credit and criminal / background - and I have the right to an updated credit and background report from all adult residents prior to lease renewal. I waive the need for an updated credit report if there have been no late payments, and I have the right to adjust the security deposit requirement based upon the current credit. This is a further incentive to NOT PAY RENT LATE. I also must approve in writing, any business activity taking place at the property.

I wonder if this sort of "social host ordinance” that holds the landlord responsible for the actions of the tenant have been tested in court and found to be constitutional? And further, if it is in the lease that any such fines are passed onto the tenant, has that then been tested such that a judgement has been charged to an offending tenant on behalf of a victim landlord?

Yes @Lance J Benoit - I know many wholesalers and buy properties from them often. My business partner @Garrett White started with wholesaling (that's how we met) - but he's now a licensed agent. Its a great way to start out and brings skills needed to get off-market deals and negotiate. But there is a new law that kicks in next month in NC that wholesaling is considered a licensed activity going forward.