All Forum Posts by: Lelith Walker

Its best to either have the LLC in the state that the properties are located in or in business friendly states like Delaware. Some people like to hold LLC in other places like VA and TX because the cost is cheaper and they are business friendly. Mine is in VA but my properties are not. I do plan on owning properties in VA someday though. NY is not too expensive for an LLC but it is not the cheapest.

You should speak with a tax attorney if you are going to hold them in Nevada or Wyoming. The laws are changing. Sometimes when you have properties elsewhere the state the properties are in require that you register your LLC in that state.

My 3 family is the most 250 for water and that is rare.  (Normally when there are guests over on holidays)

My heat and electricity are on one bill.  It varies from 125 in the summer to 600 in the winter.  This past winter we did not have too much cold weather so I don't think my bill went over 300.  I plan on changing this because I found out about a solar powered company that promised to cut my bills down.

Maintenance costs vary.  I do most of it myself.  Plus I get away with cooking for people (handymen) to cut costs.  Other men will do things for beer and wine.  Thank God for bartering.  For contractors I try to use the same company to get preferred customer credit.

Whenever there is high demand to buy and good inventory is a little low or even moderate.. that is a flipping market.  I think now is the best time to flip because rates are low and there are a lot of jobs in Dallas.  Its one of the top cities people are moving to.

 I am only familiar with Garland, Deep Ellum, Oak Cliff, and Addison. I am speculating on Grapevine due to the expansion of the trains and so many people got off on that stop when I was last out there 2 years ago.  Addison had mad car traffic out there and those buses fill up quick.  Now Oak Cliff I heard the government was putting a lot of money into it.  However, my guide who lives there said Deep Ellum was the place but I did not see anything there that sparked me plus what he showed me was like 300000.  I know it is not far from downtown but that's just me.

The pros is that the cost of buying real estate is cheaper and so are the taxes.  They probably have less earthquakes too.  They may suffer from other weather related problems like tornados and hail though so check insurance rates.

The cons is that you can get ripped off a lot easier and for a lot more money since you are not there to monitor what is going on. Contractors can get into disputes and make it hard for you to decipher who is telling the truth and who is not.  Traveling back and forth can wear you out. You may not know the culture, law of the states, or ideal neighborhoods well. 

You may want to get a project manager along with a general contractor to assist on the renovations.  Plus they should assist in cutting your travel time.

Its good to have a discount legal service to back you up and or a local lawyer.

If you are not going to physically see the property then I suggest hiring wegolook.com, freelance photographer, friend or family to take videos or pictures front, back, inside, outside of the homes and the neighborhood. Tell them not to doctor up the pictures with photoshop either.  I would not rely on the pictures from realtors and wholesalers alone because they are trying to sell the property to you. They may use a wide angle lens and add more light so the place looks larger than it is. A lot of times some will not photograph everything.

Upper westside, Upper eastside, Yorkville, Morningside Heights, Harlem, Spanish Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood is all part of Upper Manhattan. Prices vary in each section.  It souds like its way up there though.  What does this owners house have that the comps house did not have and vice versa?  Also besides having 4 units, what is in each unit?  How many bedrooms and bathrooms in one?  Is there dining room?  How old is it?  How much repairs is needed?  What type of floors?  Does it come with a parking space? What is the size of the place? How much is it currently renting for?  Is there a yard? If so whats in it?

You can use sites like zillow and trulia for a start but do not rely on it too much.  If you know a realtor then you can get a brokers price opinion.  If you know an appraiser in the area then it may be better.  The later two may charge you.  If you belong to a real estate group where these people are then they might give you a ball park figure for free. 

Another thing to do is see what the other homes in the area have been sold for or are selling for. You can ring peoples doorbell and ask them.  If you see a for sale sign in the window then take down the phone number.  In addition to the price ask how many bedrooms, bathrooms, basement, attic, pool, deck, size, rent (if it is multifamily), location (how close to beach, transportation, job), updated or outdated appliances or cabinets etc the house has.  You subtract or add to the home that you are looking to give you an idea of the appraised value.

Now as for the price you actually pay depends on how much repairs and negotiation you do.  Subtract the engineer inspector report price from that price.

I would stick to states that are close by rather than states that are across country. There are too many people who take advantage of local people whose mouths will water when they know you are out of state.    You want to be able to keep an eye on people and in some cases a hand.  Even if you have friends and family in those states that are across the country you may not be able to rely on them as well as you think you can.  NO body cares about your investment as much as you do because it is not their money.  If you are going to go across country try to partner up with a local investor who is going to put their money into the deal. 

Give you an example that I am facing now:  

 1.  I hired my cousin to install floors. He told me to get laminate because that is what he knows how to do.  The GC I hired later said that the floor is not good for GA due to the weather.  He promised he would leave the floors that my cousin did in one home and not install them in the other home.  GC also promised to return the rest of the floors for me so that I could get my money back and he would go ahead and install the right floor which is luxury vinyl that looks like wood.  A month or so later the same GC says he cant return it because it takes time and he has been called on other jobs so I have all this extra floor in the house.  I can't ask my cousin to return it because he was not doing a good job and ripping me off.  Now the new tenant buyer says the flooring that my cousin did was not good and he got a bid for $350 to repair what was done.  In some ways its probably good that the floor was not returned because if anything what was left can be used. 

2. When I bought the house it came with mirrors.  The tenant buyer and realtor asks if she will get them.  I ask around and nobody knows where those disappeared to or will admit to them being there in the first place even though I have video and pictures to prove that they were there.

3.  For one month when no one was supposed to be in the house I got a gas bill for $370. Now GA is way hotter than NY. My 3 family in NY where I pay the gas for my tenants is $250.  Why did this happen?  because my cousin decided he was going to live in my house down there while he worked on it.  He is originally from a warm climate and 65 degrees to him is cold.  This was not part of the deal.  

4.  I had a project manager that told me he checked a whole lot of things and even sent pictures and video and so did the subcontractor I used.  I even went down there and visited the property.  Now tenant buyer is saying those things do not work.  I sent instructions on what to do to test but being that I am in another state I cannot be sure if it was done.

Did the previous owners give you any warranties on any of the appliances?  I forgot to get that on my recent purchase and now the tenant buyer mentions that there may be a problem.

Do you have all the keys? apartment and mailbox?

Sometimes its the obvious that escapes us.

Did you do a final walk thru and make sure everything is correct?

Did they leave a contact list of all the people that they use for repairs like the handyman or plumber or electrician or hvac?  You do not need it but it may be best to use people who are familiar with the house.

Check bank account make sure all the money is there especially if you have a joint account or anyone else has access to your account.

Do you have insurance in place?

@Joe Haines

Yes, so far it is buy and hold.  Two are lease option.  Whether the tenants choose to own the home or not I do not plan on holding on too long.  However, I have started an investment group and we may do a flip to see if we can work well together.  If that turns out well then we will do buy and hold.

You can actually get investors before finding property by letting them know what your criteria is going to be in choosing homes. 

If you want to wait until after you find a property and give them actual numbers then make sure you get 3 quotes for the repair cost and the after repair value.  You do know what ever the repair costs they give you that it should be doubled or tripled?