All Forum Posts by: Brian Phillips

I use Cozy. That platform allows me to share documents with the tenants and do some other things are convenient. My bank doesn't let me use Zelle for a business account.

I don't think the issue is so much about a city as it is about a particular neighborhood or area. In any city you might find good areas and bad areas to invest in. And even then, it's about the particular property. I prefer to invest in neighborhoods that I know well and that are close to me. I have 6 properties that are within 10 minutes of one another. It makes it easy to keep an eye on them.

I bought my first flip property without seeing the interior. I was a bit uncomfortable in doing so, but I knew the neighborhood well so I knew what the layout would be. I assumed worst case and the deal still made sense. When I got to see the interior, it wasn't worst case and it really was a good deal. But the seller was also the owner and he moved out willingly. That's a lot easier than having to evict a tenant. My point is that sometimes we have to fly a little blind. We can't know everything. But we can know a lot and anticipate a lot. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. If the worst makes sense, do the deal.

I did a flip with commercial property for a back door neighbor. I was told that it wouldn't sell, but I got the highest price the neighborhood had ever seen to that point. The neighbors are important and shouldn't be ignored, but they aren't the only factor to consider. And you could use the neighbors as a negotiating point to reduce the purchase price.

I use Cozy for 7 of my 8 tenants. Cozy makes it very easy. The 8th pays by money order. I've been more lenient in the past 9 months regarding late payments given the pandemic, but late fees start on the 5th and it's $15 a day.

I don't think that it's just designers pushing the idea of painted cabinets. Much of my painting work is in high end homes, and they often have cabinets with dark stain. It can make the kitchen seem smaller, and if the client is replacing the countertops, stained wood may not work. They often want to brighten up the kitchen, and that is easier done with paint. As a contractor, I tend to like painted cabinets (we also stain them) because of my clientele. As an investor, I prefer stained. Very different contexts.

I am a painting contractor in addition to being an investor. I would stay with the stain/natural finish. As you note, paint will flake and chip. That often requires repainting all of the cabinets. Minor dings in stained cabinets can often be fixed with a dab of stain.

In 2015, The Texas Legislature passed a bill that prohibits local governments from forcing landlords to accept housing vouchers. Sen. Royce West has submitted a bill that would repeal that prohibition and make it illegal to refuse to rent to an individual on the basis of his source of income. Housing advocates claim that, because a large percentage of voucher users are black, the refusal to accept vouchers is veiled form of racism.

Landlords can have legitimate reasons for refusing to accept vouchers. The process for a property to be accepted into a voucher program can take months, and during that time the property is vacant and producing no income. A landlord may validly conclude that the hassle and expense of accepting vouchers is not worth it.

I have been a landlord for more than ten years. Nearly all of my tenants have been black, and I have never accepted housing vouchers. My refusal has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with the additional expenses and the hassle of the process. Forcing me to accept vouchers would make my judgment, and that of every landlord in the state, meaningless. It would mean treating us in a manner that we do not deserve. It would be an injustice.

You might be able to install a new beam right next to the old one and not have to remove anything. If the rot is really bad, I would cut rotted section after installing the new beam and then add another beam to create a "sandwich" with the old beam in the middle.

When I first got into real estate, I too was reluctant to raise rents. But after a few years, I saw my profits slowly declining. I don't want to play Santa Claus, so I usually increase the rent a modest amount upon renewal. I haven't had a single tenant move because of it. Moving costs them money too--usually a lot more than a modest increase in the rent.