All Forum Posts by: Brian Van Pelt

3 Years and 4 Months. It started . Nothing like going through probate when the owner passes away and the siblings contest the will.

Cash is King
(Example of 
.  Purchased a 50,000 Condo
.  Rents for 1,200 per month
.  5,000 in renovations (mainly paint and minor fixes
. Expenses (Condo Fees $175/month
. 0% vacancy 3 plus years)

. 23% Annual ROI aprox (12,600/65,000)

. No external Maintenance
. Low rent means no vacancy/Low turnover

Sure I could leverage properties to have a massive portfolio and would take 4-5 properties to equal the RIO of 1 Cash property, but who needs or wants the headaches of that ?

CASH will always be KING

A Realtor does not determine whether you make an offer or not, the Buyer does. Realtors can offer insight,opinions, etc.

#1 Reason  ....... Global Pandemic

@Jennifer Maiolo

You can polity ask, but "the horse has left the barn doors open with the AC on".  Never make open ended agreements.

Count yourself lucky that they are not hosting a server farm for Bit Coin mining.

Asking nice is the best start, expect them to say no, terminate the lease at the end of the rental period with lesson learned.

@Randall Alan

The most it takes off your bottom line is zeo, Condo and Home Owners Associations provide the one thing you cannot control, How the whole community looks,is kept clean and presentable. They keep all of the homeowners more or less in line with exterior maintenance and keep costs of exterior items like roofs,railings snow removal down. Why would you want to handle exterior maintenance which cost you TIME and MONEY and in the end has the same net effect on your bottom line.

If your condo fees are too high then you picked the wrong property from the beginning.

So many people gripe about condo and hoa fees, that I'll bet 90% of them operate marginal properties and spend more money on rent court and evictions than condo hoa investors. Average Condo and HOA tenancy in my experience is 4 to 6 years with NO expenses other than routine interior maintenance. Think about that if you are replacing a tenant every 1 to 2 years you loose 2-3 months rental. The math works out in favor of Condos and HOA almost every time.

People who are afraid of HOA properties don't understand how HOA are a benefit to property investors.
. Review HOA financials before purchasing to ensure they are solvent.
. Review all Capital Improvements by HOA for past 3 years
. HOA's pay for things that investors would pay for anyway on a non HOA property..

My HOA properties pay for Roof,Exterior Maintenance,Landscaping,Common areas,and pool costs. All of the things that attract a higher class of tenant.

Every investor who knows what they are doing have a line item for External Maintenance. HOA fees.

As far as the 50% line item in HOA rule. unless a HOA can show you via a certified survey that the neighborhood is already at 50% non owner occupied then that is NOT enforceable. Courts routinely tell Condo HOA's that they can designate building as non rental building.

The idea that a HOA tels you that you cannot

I look for properties where the HOA fee is no more that 8-10% of expected rent and expense it off for what it is Pre-Paid Maintenance and Capital Improvements.

@Linda S.is incorrect that HOA's can change fees at any time. HOA's typically raise rates a few dollars every year to cove increased maintenance costs and things like replacing railings are a Capital Expense for tax purposes.

@Robert S.


Since you are going to offer to have the work done. 
. Meet with the neighbor
. Once the neighbor agrees. Have your contractor meet neighbor and create a separate contract for the neighbor which the neighbor signs.Neighbor then has liability, you just pay the invoice.
. This allows contractor to have access to both sides without creating liability for you or putting you on the hook for an possible roof issues once the partition is opened.

. If the neighbor refuses, there is not much you can do except through Condo HOA or courts. Courts can get verrrry expensive.

@Lorenzo Martinez

Not really and you are cursed. Mobile homes are considered vehicles by most lenders. Consider a loan from friends or family . Offer attractive terms like higher interest rates and you might find a sucker, I mean investor. Check around with hard money lenders the same way.

@Robert S.

First off, you need get out of the adversarial mindset when dealing with people. You'll find most people  work with you without stirring up a mess that will cost you more $$$ in the long run. Becoming a Landlord is easier by  building relationships with Tenants, Neighbors, Contractors Etc.

Protect your Investment by remediating the Mold asap.
Learn not to share information about your plans with people who don't need to know.
Build Bridges with your neighbor as a good relationship can mean have an extra set of eyes on your property.

Your first reaction is probably WTF is this guy talking about.

It's about helping you avoid become a successful Multi Property Landlord, unless you are one of those people who thrive on prplems, then ignore my post.