All Forum Posts by: Bob Stevens

Hi everyone, 

I am located in NYC and am looking to purchase my first property for long term rental investment here. I am still new to this and there is a lot to learn! Would appreciate any tips, insights, or areas of suggested research. I am looking at multifamilies in NYC versus single family homes in Jacksonville, FL (yes there is a significant price difference), and I cannot decide between the two.

Factors I am considering.. 

NYC:

- NYC will probably appreciate at a higher rate and shorter amount of time compared to Jacksonville homes.

- I will be able to find tenants sooner in NYC compared to Jacksonville. Depending on the area in Jacksonville, I see many listings that are 60+ days old.

- Lower down because I can do FHA loan

- With the potential rent income vs monthly mortgage price, I am probably breaking even if lucky

- Pro tenant

Jacksonville:

- Total cost of home is lower, even though I will have a higher down payment because I am buying it as an investment property

- With the potential rent income vs monthly mortgage price, I might make a couple hundred a month... which can eventually be used as a down for another property?

- Home insurance I heard is higher in FL

- More landlord friendly I heard

Any and all thoughts, critiques, suggestions, or whatever factors I haven't considered would be much appreciated. I've never bought a home before and am new to this!

 go to her broker, make it super difficult to work with. go after her license, go after everything and say all you want is a release. you are a consumer. the law is pretty clear. look up procuring cause. buy a different floorplan of the same house int he same neighborhood without those addresses and you'll get around it 

Hi All,

I have two door's and am collecting rent on different apps like venmo and cash, but I want to open an llc and collect rent on through that. What are ways I can do this without paying any service for a landlord portal? was wondering if there are ACH service that is free out there.

Thank you

We recently got into a contract with our real estate agent and toured about 6 properties (2 being new builds). We are considering going with the new build, but would like to drop our real estate agent. She agreed to cancel the contract, but mentioned that she was still "registered" as our agent at the two new builds. If we go through and buy one of the new builds do we still have to give her a commission?

@Bob Stevens  you know this rule just changed like 4 months ago?

 Do you have any contacts for a local agent in charge in the area?  This isn’t just a property manager, it’s someone who’s willing to be on the hook financially in the event the owner does not comply with city ordinances.   I cannot find anyone willing to sign the form.

Has anyone had any luck finding anyone willing to take on this role of LAIC?  From what i've seen, due to the way the city worded the form with this LAIC taking financial responsibility, I'm having a hard time finding anyone who will sign it.  So essentially as an OOS investor I'm stuck as far as registering goes at the moment.

As I go through the trainwreck of the new Cleveland Rental Registration Process, I wanted to help everyone else out and create a guide. It is not legal advice and is not guaranteed to be accurate. I'll update it as I learn more.

You may be thinking, "I already registered for my rental this year." I did too. But Cleveland had all their data destroyed in a cyber attack.  You have to do it again. A few properties are still registered, you can check them here: https://aca-prod.accela.com/COC/Default.aspx

If you do not have a rental registration, you cannot evict, and eventually they're going to start throwing out fines.

To get a rental registration in Cleveland Proper you will need the following:  - links attached

1. A certificate of Good Standing with the State of Ohio - LLCs Only - It costs $5. If you haven't registered your LLC with the state of Ohio, you'll have to do that too. https://ohio.gov/business/resources/certificates-of-good-sta...
2. A Lead Clearance certificate from within the last 2 years.
3. A Local Agent in Charge form - You need to have a person living within Cuyahoga or neighboring counties to be a "local agent in charge."  they don't have to do actually do anything, merely exist. Yes, the form must be notarized by the agent. Yes, there is the possibility of legal action if the property owner doesn't follow through.
4. Proof that your property taxes are in good standing. I'm not 100% certain how this one works yet, since most people pay property taxes
through mortgages, but you can download a pdf here: https://myplace.cuyahogacounty.gov/

5. If you have 4 or more units, you have to prove that utilities are current, and every year you need to get a HVAC Certification. Usually that means water/ sewer bills through Cleveland Water and NEORSD. Make sure you have a fax machine, cause you'll need to send your documents that way.

Rental registration is $70 each, plus convenience fee. All the documents need to be uploaded in the accela https://aca-prod.accela.com/COC/Default.aspx
More Details can be found on the city website. https://www.clevelandohio.gov/city-hall/departments/building...

A few properties are still registered, you can check them here: https://aca-prod.accela.com/COC/Default.aspx

Is this an intelligent method of getting a rental registration and improving the city? No. Is it the law my hometown voted for? Yes.

In the meantime, good luck and I hope this helps. Want someone to do this for you or need a Local Agent in Charge?  I'm probably the only one who's done the process all the way through. Give me a shout.

Data hack reference:
https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/cleveland/cleveland-...