All Forum Posts by: Brad T.

@Adam Haman 

I am trying to go down the same path that you are.  I currently have a stressful job in engineering that I would like to be done with by age 40 (in 3 1/2 years).  I should end up with about $4,500 per month income and a paid off personal residence.  I am planning to work as a home inspector along with managing 10-12 rentals.  The rental income is great to let you only take the clients that work into your schedule, so that we can spend time with our kids.  Best of luck to you!

I also use a utility trailer.  It is 5' x 10', with a drive on ramp and wood floor and sides.  It can haul about 1,500 lbs.  When I got rid of my truck, I needed something to haul rental stuff.  Now I like using this better than a truck bed because it is bigger, lower, and has the built in ramp.  By the way, it cost me about $1,000 brand new.

@Account Closed 

Nick, did you ever find a house that worked out for you?  I have been thinking over the basement and garage decision also.  When I crunch the numbers in my area, I get the below numbers roughly.  The numbers seem to favor no basement or garage.  The acquisition cost is $8K-$9K cheaper for the $75K house, so I could add them faster.  What are your thoughts? 

- $75K house without a garage or basement (easy to find) renting for $1,050 - 16.5% ROI

- $105K house with garage and basement (harder to find) renting for $1,225 - 11.4% ROI

Thanks for your replies @Michael Noto @Michele Fischer and @Account Closed 

Michael, yes the domestic issues were with each other.

Michele, placing my screening criteria on my listing is a great idea.  I hadn't thought to do that before, but it will make for less wasted calls, showings, and background checks.

Joe, our law in Michigan is a maximum of 1.5 months rent for deposit. 

I have decided not to rent to this couple, since they have a felony and misdemeanor for domestic violence between them.  I will for sure turn down felonies, but I need to decide on misdemeanors.  As long as I can keep finding good tenants, I will just stick with no past criminal records as my criteria.

Hello Everyone,

  I have a house up for rent right now and some prospective tenants are interested in renting the house, but the husband and the wife both have domestic violence charges on their records.  They have been up front about their records.  I know that we need to treat all applicants equally, but what are your requirements for this type of issue?  Do you turn down all applicants with any type of criminal records?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Brad

Welcome to BP, @Robert M. !! What area of Metro Detroit do you focus on?

70-100% equity does seem like a high number to use. I just used 20%-100% on a list I purchased. They need some equity to help you get a lower prices, but 70% seems high to me. Good luck! Let us know how it works out.

Welcome to the site @Michael Harden !! Good luck in your new venture!

Thanks for your replies @Jon Holdman @Lynn Dee Murrow !!!

I will definitely keep the hard money to conventional option as a tool for houses that need a lot of work and/or would not qualify for conventional financing up front.

By the way, Lifestyles Unlimited seems like a great group and I wish there was an office in my area. Do you think the online option is worthwhile? I would be missing out on all of the local knowledge, contractors, lenders, etc.

Hi Everyone,

I have been listening to the podcasts from Lifestyles Unlimited. Their main strategy for buy and hold is to purchase houses and fix them up with a hard money loan and then convert the loan into a conventional loan. They do this to roll the repair costs into the conventional loan. What are your thoughts on this? Seems to make sense if there is a decent amount of repairs needed on the house, otherwise, the closing costs would cancel out the benefit.

Thanks!

Brad