All Forum Posts by: Brandon Penn

In your area you will most likely need to find off market deals. I would suggest going to some investor meet ups in your area. Check out the local apartment associations and look to connect with folks who have done what you want to do. The other option would be to invest outside of your area, but it is always easier to manage properties close to home. Feel free to dm me if you have any questions.

Do you have a local apartment association? A lot of times they can do it for you for a fee. If not, then just google pa docket sheets, and then click on the magisterial district link. you should be able to put in a name and county and it will pop up with any criminal history they have in that county. If you are just getting started I would probably stay away from D class property though. You won't make us much money the the B and A class however they are much easier to manage.

I have baught many properties where the security deposit had been used for damages, or late fees, etc. Best thing to do is to make him have the tenant sign an agreement that they know the security deposit was taken. Have him give you a copy of this agreement. After you close on the property you can either make the tenant replenish the security deposit or just move forward with the understanding that they will not receive a security deposit back when they leave. You will most likely have a full turn on your hands.

I live in the same area as Dennis. I do agree that doing a credit check is useless in our area of D class neighborhoods. I do however still make them fill out an application. I charge a $20 fee and look at the public docket sheets to see if they have had any evicitions or criminal history. If I am ever on the fence about someone I make them pay last months rent in addition to first and security. I find that making them pay $20 per adult for the application gets rid of a lot of the junk tenants that I wouldn't want to consider. 

In my oppinion there are 2 different options that could really work out nicely for you. The first would be to invest in areas outside of your hometown if you are unable to make good cashflow where you are at. Ideally within a couple hours, but you can go anywhere as long as you have boots on the ground you can trust. The second option that I see a lot with people that get a big chunk of money is to lend. You really have to vet the people who you lend the money to, but that is really a great passive way to make a good return on your investment. I would be happy to expand on either of these if you would like. Just dm me.

PA laws protect the tenant more than they do the landlord, which is why it is very important to have your lease spell everything out, and protect yourself. Most landlords in my area use the lease the apartment association made. It gives great protection to the landlord which is why I personally use it myself. A normal eviction process takes about 30 days as long as you do everything right on time. Most of the judges in our area tend to side with the landlord as long as they did everything legally and held up their part of the contract.

That is pretty common. When you take over a property the existing tenants are going to tell you about all of the issues they have with their apartment. In this case I would tell them that either they can replace the dryer or you will replace them with coin operated units. for the door that should be fixed/replaced. If it is tenant caused damage then definitely bill them for it.

I do it everyday. I live in Erie, PA so only a couple hours from you (love cedar point by the way). We have little to no appreciation in our market, however it is a great place to buy for cashflow. It all depends on what you want out of your real estate portfolio, but for me I am long term buy and hold. As long as it gets me a healthy cashflow every month I don't care about too much else. It makes me money now, and in 15 years will be paid off making me even more money.

Firstly I usually use a $50 late fee. I'm not sure what rents are going for so I don't know if this is better or worse than you are getting but definitely would make it at least $50. Secondly there are 3 major aspects to whether someone is a good tenant. 

1. Do they pay

2. Do they pay on time

3. Do they keep the property in good condition.

Personally if it was me, I would renew her lease if she is paying the late fee everytime and is keeping the property up nicely. If she lives like a slob then I would suggest ending her lease.

I hold the standard of no more than 2 occupants per room. So if it is a 1 bedroom I would say 4 is way too many unless there is some kind of bonus room. The other thing I would add is to listen to you gut if it gives you a negative feeling. We all know not to rent to someone just by gut instinct, but I will say any time that a person looked good on paper but my gut said no, it turned out badly if I rented to them. Also I find children tend to be more destructive to an apartment than animals. So how would you feel if it was 1 person with 3 dogs?