All Forum Posts by: Bryan O.

@Justine Scheuher it depends on the type of landlord you plan to be. Personally, I would tell them since they are also my neighbors and the tenants I typically prefer like to know I am investing in making the place nicer. I would not talk specific numbers because those may change as you start to understand who is a pain and who is saving you more than that $50/month by taking great care of things. Other landlords want their tenant to know they are a tenant and will follow as close to the specific deadline dates as possible because they want their business to be impersonal and have as clear lines as possible. If you are within the landlord/tenant laws of your state, everything else you do is just how you like to run a business.

@Alexander Gill if the person is worried about plumbing, let him know that he can hire a plumber to inspect the plumbing. Your typical tenant knows nothing about plumbing, and your typical homeowner only knows a little more. I would not refuse the work, but would let them know that they need to support it with the inspection report, and if it isn't so major to be on the inspection report, then with a plumber's report.

If there isn't really an issue to resolve, consider offering to do whatever the work is, but to increase the amount of the purchase price by that much plus 10%. The buyer may be overly cautious or just demanding. This lets you know what their motivation is: if they are overly cautious they may be grateful that it isn't their problem and happy to let you run that repair for their peace of mind. If they are just demanding, they won't like the offer and you'll know not to care too much.

@Mike Shahi they are apples and elephants. Flipping is a job, plain and simple. It is not an investment anymore than being a Realtor is an investment. It is a self-employed job.

Rentals are investing. Is it always passive? Heck no! Any investment without middle men will not be passive. You can get property managers and such to reduce that headache. I found with the units I manage that I started to dread checking email after a couple of years. The reason was I am super busy and the time it took to drive there and back (1.5 hours) and do the work was just too much, but I knew how much money was being saved so I felt obligated. I ended up making my time into fun math:

(Cost to have Contractor do it) / 2 = Fun money!

I do not have much discretionary income, so having full-on guilt-free screw off money made it worth it and I don't mind calls anymore. Maybe there is a simple root cause for you. Or maybe rentals are just not your flavor of "passive" and you can look into performing notes, lending, or something else, or maybe you just want to flip and build capital. Best of luck!

@Lucas Duce just look online. Don't use Rentometer, look for rentals like you are a tenant in your area. Get on Zillow, Hotpads, or whatever you think your tenants will come through and look for rentals in your area. You will be able to see what is out there (2 or 3 bed) and what the sizes are, then you will know what it means for you.

@Larry Alexander it looks like you have better clarity there. Keep in mind as well that STR is active income, taxed like regular W2 wages. Long term rental is passive income. Make sure if you STR it you are aware of that difference. If your reserves are that low, I would probably recommend item 1. You can reinvest into higher cash flow and ROI and hold some cash back to ensure your reserve fund is sufficient. Best of luck!

@Peter Cooke see if your landlord will replace it with a eRentalLock... they do not require wifi and they can create long term or short term keys (tenants vs contractors). It is my favorite lock if the building does not provide wifi. If it does, they can get any of the wifi locks and be set. Problem solved permanently in their favor and the tenants'.

@Zachary Steidl Assuming there are no "almost broken" items, I like to have the cost of whatever your largest repair might be, plus 3-6 months of rent. If you have good insurance coverage then maybe your biggest repair will be equal to your insurance deductible. That should cover you with some to spare. That should get you through all but the nastiest turnover as well.

@Wade Penner I remote manage most of my units. I have the ability to generate time-sensitive access codes. My tenants are recommended to be there, but they do not have to be. I require the tenant to have Renter's Insurance, so if anything goes missing they can make a claim on their own. Some tenants care a lot about being home. Others couldn't care less. I won't be there for anything unless I feel like there is something I need to personally handle.

@Larry Alexander you don't mention what your actual goals are. Is this property there as a store of value and appreciation play? Are you trying to get good returns on an investment? Are you so busy you want a single A+ property and A tenants? There is some advice here to consider, but without telling where you are going you can't really ask how to get there.

@William Thresh it's just a google away!

"FHA security instruments require a borrower to establish bona fide occupancyin a home as the borrower's principal residence within 60 days of signing thesecurity instrument, with continued occupancy for at least one year."
https://www.hud.gov/sites/docu...

So no, you can't move in after 4 months. I did this with an FHA, but my offer had the requirement that "unit x" was provided vacant and in broom swept condition at closing." That was enough to set the lender's mind at ease and put the burden of buying the tenant out of their lease on the seller, not me.