All Forum Posts by: Cameron Marmon

Thank you for all the replies folks! Y’all have been very helpful!

Hi - I successfully completed my first year as a landlord. Overall, things went well and the tenant left the property in good shape. However, there were a few repairs I needed to make. 

I'd like yalls opinion on how or if you would charge for these repairs. 

Also, can I charge a reasonable rate for my time to make some of these repairs since I did so myself (i.e. fixing the wall, touch up paint, cleaning the carpets, etc.)?

Repairs:

- I had to get the front door re-stained to fill a nail hole and cover dog scratch marks. The door was showing very minor signs of wear at the bottom corner, but did not need to be re-stained. Her dog ultimately ruined the finish to the point it had to be re-stained, not to mention the nail she put through the metal front door.

- Had to clean up a few stains on the carpet (NOT normal wear and tear) , which required me to buy stain remover 

- Had to have a DirectTV satellite removed from the roof. The satellite was not required to have cable at the property. There are other affordable providers available.

- Had to fill and repaint a decent sized wall gouge that was put there when moving her dresser down stairs. That required me to buy wall putty and repaint.

- Had to do a lot of paint touch up in the stair well area. Im assuming from moving stuff upstairs/down stairs. Not something I would consider normal wear and tear given how marked up everything was.  

I appreciate your thoughts and opinions!

I pretty much rely on Dallas Morning News and Dallas Business Journal. Bisnow is decent. You can select your cities and areas of interest so I stay semi up to date with DFW, Austin, and Houston developments. 

Hi everyone, I’m familiar with this rule and believe I qualify. However, I have never sold a home before and I’m curious how is this proven? Do I need to start gathering proof of my 2 year occupancy? Do I sign a form at closing stating I lived there for at least 2 of the last 5 years? Any help on this is appreciated.

Thank you!

@Robert Steele and @Erion Shehaj Thank you both very much for your detailed replies. I greatly appreciate it. Gives me much to consider.

Hey @Robert Steele. I was hoping you would chime in. I actually saw a previous post of yours where you mentioned you have sold a few of your properties, which made me start to consider selling.

Why did you rent it out to begin with? This has been my plan since I was a teenager. Buy a house, live in it for a little while, buy another home, rent the previous....My Dad's friend did it and owned almost a whole street. So it has just been a long time goal of mine. Obviously, his situation and timing was different than mine. It is not working for me haha.

Is this your only rental? Yes sir. This is my only rental.

Do you need the equity? I do not necessarily need the equity, but it is holding me back from making further RE investments at the moment. If I sold, I can be in a better position to buy 2-3 properties or make some alternative short term investment. The more I think about this sitituaion the less it makes any sense, especially with the AC going out on me. Add in the risk of the high-end finish out getting damaged, the cost and time of re-leasing, etc.

Do you need the cash flow? Fortunately, my salary supports me fine. However, if I do not get someone in the place almost immediately after my current tenant moves out then it will be a tough time as I will have to cover 2 mortgages.

Thank you @Alexander Felice. Great points.

Hey @Bruce Lynn. Thank you for your reply. I answered your questions below. I appreciate your feedback.

There's a few things in your post that cause me pause.....why $1750 in rent in January 2018, but $2100 next year? 

Unfortunately, I did not have the property ready in time to catch families moving for school. During the process, I was getting interest from people at $2,000 to $2,100, but they had to be in sooner than it would be ready. By the time the place was ready, school had started and the best I could get was $1,750. I am speculating at $2,100-$2,000. lt may be tough due to the timing the lease ends, January 2018.

What appraisal came in at $316,000? Did you refinance?

I requested for the PMI to be removed which required a new appraisal.

If you bought for $252,500 and can sell for $325,000 - 7%-8% sales costs I would think you'd clear more like $45,000 or so. That's my quick math.

I only owe about $208,000.

I'd like to see you buy two or 3 $125,000 that cash flow if you can vs the more expensive single family....or maybe a 4 unit.

I totally agree. I think that may be the best strategy.

@Diane G. and @Hiron Fernando

Great points folks. I greatly appreciate you taking the time. 

@Chris Carlson thank you for your reply. I bought it for $252.5. I don’t owe that much due to my downpayment and 3+ years of payments. Additionally, the taxes have increased about 32% since I purchased the home. I’ll also be losing the homestead exemption for 2018 and onward so the taxes will increase even further and won’t be subject to the maximum 10% increase.