All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Taylor Smith

@Jordi Valado - I would say first and foremost, get to know the people and processes of your local housing authority that you'll be working with to accept the rental vouchers. I work with 3 different agencies, of which 2 are relatively easy to work with, but 1 is a nightmare. For example, two of them can process a Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) in a few days (sometimes in as little as a day), and the other takes multiple weeks - during which time the property sits needlessly vacant. Also, learn everything and all about the HQS inspection process.

@Romel Mayorga - I moved from the Tampa Bay area of Florida to Durham North Carolina back in 1996 (for a new better paying job) - and Durham is WAY better now than it was back then! I would HIGHLY recommend ANY of the Triangle area cities and smaller communities. I'm also fond of the Triad, such as Greensboro and Winston-Salem. Both the Triangle and Triad are heavy in tech and medical. My son went to a great charter school in Durham (of which there are many) named Central Park School for Children from K to 8.

I'm an investor, agent and property manager with several Section 8 properties in Durham, NC. I have a waiting list of prospective tenants who have vouchers that have been referred to me directly by Durham Housing Authority - as they know I have several properties for which I'm willing to accept vouchers. So, now I need MORE properties to rent under Section 8, for the following max first year rents...

Efficiency <= $1,128
1-Bedroom <= $1,134
2-Bedroom <= $1,315
3-Bedroom <= $1,669
4-Bedroom <= $2,031

@Maria M., answers to all of your questions would depend on where you're located and the landlord/tenant laws of your state. I'm in NC, and here, if rent is due on the 1st, we must provide a 5-day grace period before charging a late fee of up to 5% of the rent on the 6th. We must also provide a 10-day demand notice, so I send that on the 6th as well, so that if rent remains past-due, I can file for eviction on the 17th. But this will all very based upon your location. You need to review the landlord/tenant laws for your state.

I have used Lima One, and would/will do so again in the future. However, if using them is right for your situation depends on what the money cost will be with your stated PLAN-A. Also, what would be the potential opportunity gain if your conventional loan and HELOC remain available for another property by going with Lima One here? Also consider the likely difference in closing costs.

Depends... What is the value of the assets that need to be protected? Most getting started in REI do not setup LLC's until they reach a certain level of properties and assets - because most just getting started have little in the way of existing assets to protect. Plus, the LLC just adds complication, expense and an additional excuse NOT to get started. You can always move the properties to an LLC later.

Well, in addition to informing of the rent increase, I would also inform that rent will be due on the 1st going forward - and I'd make BOTH effective on August 1st. This provides 57 day's notice. But also confirm on state law that it does not require a longer notice period for rent increases (like 60 or 90 days) despite what may be stated in the lease.

Before moving to a paid PM software system, I made use of Cozy for a few years. It was fine but lacked some features I wanted. And if I recall correctly, you can block a tenant from being able to make payments online. Not sure if they sold data or not. But I know they made money from tenant screening and rent payments - so maybe that's the "catch"?

@Devin Voelker - Cash-flow is not the only way you make money owning rental real estate... There are 4 others, including appreciation, mortgage paydown, tax benefits, and inflation profiting. And if rates go down again in the future, you can always refinance at that time to lower your payment. But you'll be increasing rents each year. So, second year and beyond cash-flow will almost certainly be better than first year. Do you think rents and prices will be higher or lower in five years - and then five years after that? In 2018 I thought prices were too high. How can you know if in 2030 we're not all wishing things were as "cheap" as they are now in 2023?

If $302K is where you want to be, with it having been on market for over 50 days, I'd go even lower and request a closing cost credit and see if they reject outright or counter.