All Forum Posts by: Bradley Bogdan

Hi all,

Most of the landlords in my area have blanket no pet policies, which are rarely negotiable. Clearly, they're aimed at dogs and cats. Some are ok with caged pets (birds, hamsters, goldfish, etc.) while others are strictly no pets at all. How do these kinds of pets fit into your pet policy? Do you charge pet rent for them? Do you mandate renters insurance? Are you likely to even notice a guinea pig cage?

Curious to hear!

@Michael Sherwood I would love to move back and invest if the rest of my life (wife, job, schooling, etc.) makes it possible. I loved growing up there and am always pleasantly surprised to see the progress being made when I come back to visit a few times a year. I'm also jealous of the apparently very strong BP community in town!

@Account Closed I'm sure it did. I run into similar stories when helping vets investigate what benefits they are eligible for, which depends largely on the nature of their discharge and time served. Its amazing what one officer will bring the hammer down on someone and leave them with no benefits for while another will arrange the discharge in such a way to not impact the person negatively later on. 

Sorry for the thread drift! :-)

I assist my parents in managing their 6 units in Buffalo, and am encouraging them to expand to help support their coming retirement. There isn't as much of a resurgence as in Rochester, but Buffalo is growing around biotech and the local universities, as well as attracting some solid investment over the last 10 years in the waterfront and downtown areas which had long been neglected as the city contracted. There are definitely rentals to be purchased at the low and middle tiers, and definite potential for higher rent properties when buying in the trendy areas of town (like allentown or the older waterfront). Home prices are generally very affordable, so a low barrier to entry is nice as well. 

The only downsides I see are that with the population contraction over the last 60 years, much of the rental stock being sold is fairly old, and with the low rent prices compared to most areas, I'm guessing management fees could really shrink your margins. My parents manage their own units, so I can't speak to the local managers with certainty, though. 

@Roy N. All of the states I have lived in have a public registry that also lists the offense, so I'd assume that that makes it public information. 

@Dawn Brenengen I have to agree with those here that have said to verify the story/charge, and assuming it checks out, go ahead and rent. This person will be a tremendously loyal tenant that won't likely be able to move elsewhere without a lot of effort and luck. As for the neighbors, I'm guessing most don't know you personally and most won't call you up to complain. I don't know the reporting requirements in your state, but if there isn't a notice requirement (where you have to notify neighbors when moving in), most will never know, as who regularly checks the registry for their neighborhood after they move there?

As a short aside, some of the veterans that I've helped locate housing for have been registered sex offenders for some ridiculous things, the worst of which was an exposure charge when one gentleman was home on leave, got drunk in a small town with a couple HS buddies, went behind a dumpster to pee on the way home and was busted by the sheriff, who clearly had a bit of a grudge. Its made finding housing virtually impossible for him, fortunately we were able to help him find a small plot of land and a cheap trailer he was able to get financing for so he wasn't homeless, but such things can haunt someone for a lifetime. 

@George Fitz Yeah, prices have had a general downward trend over the last decade with the end of CAMP (the semi-militarized air raids on outdoor grows) in the area, as well as a ton of a ton of cheap, low quality marijuana grown by Mexican cartels, mostly on public land flooding the market. Colorado's lax legalization has led to a big bump in prices lately, due to the sudden jump in demand (and stores in Colorado had to have something to sell day 1 of legalization), but when local supply there catches up, prices will fall again. The production costs of running a grow operation in the boonies in Humboldt will eventually become a long term prohibitive factor once large scale production starts elsewhere. Fun fact: The last time California voted on full legalization (I don't remember the prop number), Mendocino (probably the largest grower county by volume) and Humboldt had the LOWEST percentages of yes votes of California counties, mostly to protect the prices and lifestyle up here. 

@Jay Hinrichs Shelter Cove is such a beautiful place. Talk about remote, however. Anytime I want to visit, I have to debate whether its easier to drive or fly, and I'm not even leaving the county! You can definitely pick up land cheap there, though I have to imagine building is pricey, no?

@George Fitz I can certainly see some potential up here (I live in Eureka, Humboldt County), but for slightly different reasons and in different patterns than most areas exhibit. 

First of all, there is ample water here, one of the few areas in the state that has little to no worry about having a water shortage in the main residential areas. There is talk of some of the local water being diverted to the Central Valley, which should tell you just how much there is here to make such an effort worth the $$$. 

Second, real estate here is VERY influenced by the marijuana growing. Ranches and rural properties are VASTLY overpriced, especially ones without any water rights, due to the ability to grow large amounts of marijuana to pay the mortgage. When full legalization hits the state, and marijuana prices drop, there is the potential for these properties in southern and eastern Humboldt to drop through the floor. Scenery-wise and outdoor opportunities-wise, these are amazing areas for a vacation, and probably vacation rentals, once the majority of the pot trade fades. 

Third, there are a noticeable number of properties in the urban areas that would cashflow nicely. There is a fairly restricted number of units in the area, and rents aren't quite high enough to spur more development, so the right properties definitely have the potential to cashflow well at Section 8 levels of rents (even if you're not renting to Section 8). Nicer units don't command as much of a premium as they may in other places, but you can certainly get an extra $100-$200/mo if you allow pets locally, as almost no one does. If I was planning on staying in the area longer than I currently am, I would definitely pursue a couple. 

Finally, while the county will never physically get closer to the Bay Area or Redding, and transit time from Redding isn't really improvable due to the terrain, there is ongoing efforts to make Humboldt more connected to the south. Current projects around Willits (in Mendocino) and southern Humboldt could cut travel time by 20-40 minutes when complete, making the drive up/down a bit less daunting. Opening up a secluded area like Humboldt a bit certainly has the potential to up property values as Bay Area folk look for places other than the Sierras for vacation homes or retirement homes. 

This is my first visit to the thread and I am horrified. I've had some ridiculous legal wranglings before, the most onerous being an EXTREMELY poor former employee at a non-profit I serve on the board of, but that only took just over a year to salt away. This is insane. Best wishes @Will Barnard , I know many have sent their best and it hasn't seemed to help, but one more person's well wishes can't hurt! :-)

@Mohit Madaan People have their own stories and backgrounds, so I wouldn't consider your potential partner a bad person for his relationship choices, however if you are asking the question here, you don't trust him. Don't do deals with folks you don't trust. It can be tough enough to feel confident and make things work well during challenging times when you're working with people you do trust, don't start off on the wrong foot. There are other investors out there. 

@Christopher R.  I have a few suggestions:

1. Network with some local landlords to find out what kinds of rents you can reasonably expect to charge. The posted FMR rates ARE NOT what you can usually charge for rents, as they're supposed to also include tenants' expenses for paying part/all of their own utilities. They are also not a blanket rate for the whole area, if there are cheaper neighborhoods, the PHA can cap the rents in that area lower than the rest of their territory. They don't always, but can.

2. Follow @Dawn Anastasi 's advice for units. Think simple, clean and durable. 

3. Ensure the neighborhoods you have/are purchasing rentals in are actually desirable. The more attractive the area, the more people will want to live there and the more choice you will have in tenants.

4. Be vigilant about your properties, as you would with any rental. Remember, though, that your reputation as a landlord will spread within a community. If you're checking up on your tenants every other week and it becomes annoying, your tenant pool will shrink. This goes for screening as well, the tenants you want in your units will have choices about where to rent. A speech about how you'll blow them in if the set a foot wrong will likely drive good tenants away as fast as bad ones.

5. Contact your local HUD-VASH program. It is financially the same as Section 8, but is for veterans and comes with VA services to ensure tenants are doing well in your rental. They will likely be very interested in providing you tenants if you're telling them about your vacancies. The program has a great success/retention rate, just be forewarned that the veterans in the program have mostly fallen on hard times, that's why they're eligible. If you're unable to find a local contact for the program, PM me and I can look up who heads the program in your area.

Good luck!