All Forum Posts by: Calvin Thomas

You are mostly correct.  People see on the TV shows how easy it looks to jump into real estate. It's not easy, it's quite hard.  Ask any property manager who's taken over a building or two from a self-service landlord.

There are two things one needs to get into real estate investing.  One, capital, and a lot of it.  Two, common sense.  Sadly, most go into real estate without either.

The best teacher is experience. I always recommend to anyone start with a duplex, manage it from there and then grow.  Hands on experience is what's needed.  Mistakes are your best teachers in life.

 Pretty sure one can just Google Youngstown Ohio and know that the place is crumbin' down (get it?).

Any investor looks for places which have a bright future, not one's where their downtown is closed due to crumbling and unsafe buildings.

https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/gas-explosion-in-youngs...

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/03/12/what-buck...

https://ysu.edu/center-working-class-studies/renaissance-who...

https://www.propublica.org/article/these-companies-got-milli...

As Bones would say, it's dead Jim.  Don't blame me, I didn't kill it, it's been dead for a while.. 

 Perhaps, but they are starting to take a page out of NYC in terms of residency requirements.

https://www.steadily.com/blog/airbnb-short-term-rental-laws-...

Maybe true, but horrible tenancy laws though.

 Don't invest in to dumps.  This is not 1803, and Youngstown Ohio is past its prime. Just listen to the song Youngstown by Bruce Springsteen.  

First off, you politely say to the tenant, I treat everyone with respect and, and I expect the same from the people I am talking to. Next, if the AC is broken, no problem. You just install window units until the central AC is fixed.

Done and done. No need to get into a pissing match with her. Also, Adam is right, never threaten or tell a tenant you will not be renewing the lease. It may be your house, but it's their home. Should, at that time, you opt not to renew, then serve the proper papers and get on with life.

 These are really ugly and dated cabinets.  Getting a good quality tenant with these cabinets, painted or not, could prove challenging. Now, if you want a section 8 tenant, then yea, it's doable. 

Nothing worse than owing money to a family member. Family dinner tastes different when you owe someone else money. If it was me, once you've repaired it and rented it out, refinance or HELCO the building. However, you will have some difficulty there since it's not in your name. Should a family issue arise, you have zero ownership and basically zero legal say. Therefore, the building should be purchased in an LLC, where everyone is a partner, and you can then buy them out at an agreed price. As it is right now, it is not a good deal for anyone. I can see a problem down the line where it can cause some friction within your family. You don't want that. Put together an agreement between you and your parents, and with an agreed price, you can buy them out once the home has been fixed up and refinanced. As always, speak to a lawyer to ensure everything is done correctly.

Even the best intentions can go bad. No building is worth your family.

Welcome to the club. I've been at this game for decades, and it's usually the same story, just different actors. Listen, despite what people see on TV, real estate investing is tough. Plumbing is the #1 cost we have to deal with.  It's one of the reasons why I have two plumbers on payroll.  The mistake you made was single-family homes.  The second mistake is that you must beef up that emergency fund for your investments. For example, one of our mid-multi-family homes needs new siding.  30k for the work, and we have to wait a few weeks while the tenants continue to complain. So sad, but sometimes, so is life. 

You need to roll with the punches and don't give up.  Listen to @Dave Foster and 1031 those two buildings into a multi-family building.  Once stabilized, you will appreciate the flexibility of the multi-family building.  You'll be fine, don't give up.  Consider these learning experiences.

I wonder if this would eventually make CNBC's American Greed?  They really need to make a show called American Stupidity.