All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Do any of you guys charge tenants for maintenance request that end up being their fault?

i.e. - garbage disposal broken but you find out its because they accidentally dropped a shot glass down it, having to cable out a drain and find that its their hair and mess that caused it, etc.

If so, what other items do you charge for and how much do you charge?

Hey, I'm from St. Louis. What route are you looking to take in real estate and what are you into? I'm always down to meet up with people and talk about things.

I'm looking for more efficient software to use for managing 500+ units. I am currently using a system we built on FileMaker Pro although it doesn't really track and organize everything that well. What are you guys using?

I've used Yardi at a previous company and its great but expensive as hell. Is there anything equally efficient that costs less?

I've heard of some 3% down conventional loans. Does anyone have any experience with these? Obviously there is going to be some sort of mortgage insurance. Are the rates higher than fha's? The reason I ask is because I have a duplex where I live in one half and rent out the other. I used an FHA loan for it. I've almost lived here a year (FHA requirement) and plan to buy another duplex and do the same thing as a way to help grow my portfolio. My mortgage broker told me I can only have one FHA loan so getting the second building with a low down payment will be difficult. This 3% conventional loan sounds like the answer but I don't know the details.

I have a unit that tenants just moved out of. After doing the move out inspection, there were so many damages that they surpassed the deposit. Some of the damages include: -Cigarette burns on both vanity countertops -Pet, ink, and bleach stained carpets -missing shower heads (she said the old ones had mildew in them so she threw them away then took hers that she bought when she moved out) -serious paint damage past wear and tear (plus they smoked so the walls have to be painted to get rid of the smell) -beat in drywall holes -broken light fixtures -they didnt clean at all so cleaning costs -some items left (tires in basement, hangers, food in pantry, etc) -broken screens -etc. The tenants are not happy and are saying I stole their deposit. If anything I think they are lucky I wasn't planning on recouping the rest. Just recently I got the sewer bill in the mail and they hadn't paid the past 3 months, equaling just under $130. I called them to ask for payment and they replied with "why don't you just pay it with the deposit you stole from us?" then told me I was a crooked landlord and to "f*ck off and have a nice life" then hung up. I know all my charges were very justifiable. I worked in property management for 2 years managing 800 units with a small team of people and have done around 300 move-out inspections. Should I pursue legal action? The extra charges are over $300 plus the $130 sewer bill. Not to mention they illegally had a pet which the lease states $50/per day which equals $12,000 I obviously don't want the $12,000. I just want them to rightfully pay what they owe. (Disclosure: these tenants were in place when I purchased the building and I didn't originally screen them and wouldn't have normally rented to them)

If you plan to do anything in real estate I suggest getting your license. With wholesaling it gives you the freedom and ability to look up reliable comps at your own convenience. You can also monitor your market much more closely with more detailed info. At least in my area, it gives you access to realist which allows you to search the tax records similar to list source without having to pay individually for each list. Plus the knowledge you gain from all the training helps you understand the intricacies of every aspect of the real estate industry. Why not become more knowledgable and have access to the reliable information you need, you know?

I just had new tenants move in to a unit. The unit has washer and dryer hook ups. The tenants brought their washer and dryer in and realized the hook ups are for an electric dryer and they have a gas one. It costs $250 to get a gas line over to the dryer and its being installed now. Should I have to pay for this?

Just did the move out inspection for one of my units. How would you charge for this? I can't just screw it back in because the board is damaged and a new vanity seems like over kill.

Sorry the pictures are sideways...

Almost a year ago my girlfriend and I bought a duplex to live in one half and rent out the other. I also own a couple other properties with my dad.

I got the duplex with a 3.5% down FHA loan. Since you are required under fha guidelines to live there a year, the plan has been to wait until the year is up and then buy the next 3.5% down duplex.

My income isn't very high so I assume I will run into some issues when I apply for the loan on the next one. Hopefully I can get a lease on our unit before we move out so the debt to income ratio starts to look better.

We also thought about quit claiming the current one to the LLC I have with my dad for our other properties and refinancing it into his name so it would open my credit line back up.

If we do that though, the banks might want him to have at least 20% equity.

Does anyone know a way I can pull this off?

Are most of you guys just doing letters/postcards? I hear from a lot of people that they just send them out and the calls flood in.

I've sent out over 400 letters this week to very qualified leads. Most of these are on the 2nd or 3rd mailing.

I've gotten 3 phone calls. One was an angry guy that yelled at me, another was just curious, the other wanted to sell but wanted retail and wasn't nearly motivated enough to come down even a little.

If you're not getting the responses you need do you take it further and call people or go knock on their doors?