All Forum Posts by: Carl Hebert

@Dave Meyer Good idea, finished survey. 

@Eli M. be sure to call her work and references to verify everything and run a background/credit check anyways to see what pops up, also, although I have never done it myself, you can ask for a parent to cosign for them.  

The other thing I do if everything else checks out is get an increased deposit. In Maine I am allowed up to 2x rent as a deposit. The score is low or non existent up the deposit.

I would also be nice and tell her to get a credit card and start building a solid credit history "only 26" is not a good reason not to have a credit plan...

@Chris Corey I agree with @Charlie MacPherson find your own agent. Also I am almost positive that Penn. requires property disclosures just like Maine does. Again YOUR agent would know this tidbit of info.

Happy hunting!

@Allison Meggison I would stop into the Lewiston city building and talk to someone about the property and the requirements. I do recall there was a change recently about leased land in Lewiston and how they wanted to eliminate it, not sure what happen with that, but it is worth looking into before buying property that has leased land. 

@Allison Meggison give Rocket Lawyer a try, they have specific contracts for each state. Otherwise I would do what the other have already suggested, get a lawyer or a contract out of the BP area.

@Fedor Volkov I agree with @Evan Hutchins, those look pretty minor and you could have a mason repoint those for you or do it yourself if your a bit handy and can follow a good youtube video. 

@Brooks Beisner great info above from from those familiar with the area. From a buyers perspective we looked at all the new 3/2 duplex’s on the market in the third quarter last year in Cape Coral and found them with smaller bedrooms, especially the master, than we wanted. The construction was something to be desired also lol.   Our budget was 500k so we didn’t scope out those above that, but it seems you would be building something on the lower end anyways. 

That being said most were fully rented or at least one side would be and that’s really what you want as an investor. 

We ended up finding a nice roomie 2/2 with the same footage as the new 3/2’s with nice clean construction also. Did some minor repairs and maintenance on the other unit and rented it out. Love living down here on the canals!

You really can’t go wrong with the 3/2’s in my opinion, they seem to rent well. There may be a particular time of year that would be better to have your new duplex ready to rent, maybe someone here knows that info. 

Good luck and keep us updated, would love to hear how it goes!

@Cliff Terry thanks!

@Lisa Cutshaw I actually print out new leases 1-2 months before the end of the current lease and ask the tenant if they plan to stay after their lease is up if so here is your new lease and show them any changes to it which includes rent increases. 

Let's say the tenant is not the best tenant, pays late a lot, noisy, complaints from fellow tenants. I discuss the issues and say I am putting them on a month to month lease and if the problem is not fixed they will get a 30 day notice. This has worked great for those that constantly pay late.

@J Scott has there been a date set for the next meetup?

Thanks!