All Forum Posts by: Chas Lumley

 Thanks Caleb! So is the rider something I request before making an offer? That's what I requested because I was wanting to know who was in charge of paying utilities and lawn care/how much lawn care is. I feel like that's a reasonable thing to ask before making an offer because that will affect the cash flow significantly.  The sellers have not been responsive when asked to provide that information, which is why I was wondering if it's a typical practice prior to submitting an offer.

I have an agent, but he hasn't closed on a multifamily yet. He has only done single family (non investment) properties. He doesn't really seem to know the process for investment properties. I'm asking him to gather all these docs for me (and he is) but I'm wondering if that's even the norm, or if most investors look over all that during the due diligence phase.

Hello all,

I'm looking to make my first offer on a duplex and I'm needing help deciding what to request now vs what can wait until the due diligence period. 

Is it reasonable/expected to ask the seller to provide all their income/expense reports. Additionally, is it reasonable to request the current leases and what I believe is called the rent rider form (please correct me if that's not a real thing) prior to making an offer?

Half of me wants to gather as much information as I can before making an offer, but the other half of me wants to just make the offer so the seller knows I'm serious, then check all the leases and expenses during the due diligence phase. 

Any advice on the normal process you use prior to making an offer would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

 That's a crazy lawsuit! Claiming a stair is defective is mind blowing, but I'm glad it didn't cost you very much. Thanks for sharing, it definitely makes me feel better about just having a 2 million dollar insurance coverage. 

That's great advice! I hadn't thought about the corporate veil being pierced by having the loan in my name and the deed in the LLC. Thanks for the input!

In your experience, have you ever seen a landlord get sued? Whether it was for negligence on their part, or a freak accident? I'm curious if million dollar lawsuits are even that common that.

Hey all,

I'm looking to make an offer on my first rental this week and was wanting to get different inputs on LLC vs Umbrella policies.

I will be using a conventional loan and I was told by my loan officer that I can not buy the property under an LLC, but I could transfer to an LLC after acquiring.

This is just a duplex, so my total number of rental units will just be 2. I own my own house and I own some land out of state, so I have assets I want protected.

I have quotes and will be purchasing an insurance policy that provides 1 million in landlord liability and I can also purchase an additional 1 million in an umbrella policy.

My question is, is it even possible, or has anyone heard of a landlord getting sued and losing over $2 million on a simple duplex? I feel like I'd have to do something crazy negligent to even possibly have a lawsuit that severe. 

All inputs are appreciated.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, I'm stationed at Offutt and my wife and I are looking to buy several small multifamily properties (2 to 4 units). I have already used my VA loan and my wife is not interested in househacking or moving to use it again.

I'm looking for any advice or strategies for the local area (Omaha, Bellevue, Plattsmouth, Blair, Gretna and Lincoln). 

I have an agent sending me properties and I have ran the numbers on dozens of properties, but the crazy high taxes and insurance have killed every deal I've analyzed.  I'm still running the numbers on properties every day, but I was wondering if anyone had other suggestions, or tips for investing out of state into a better market. 

All feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

 Thanks for all the great advice Henry!

I love your first idea, but that won't work for my situation. I'm recently married and we are living in my house that I bought using the VA loan. I tried convincing her that we should buy a new house every 2 years with the VA loan and rent the old one, but I can't get her onboard haha.

I'll start looking at the most distressed houses in great neighborhoods. I hadn't really considered buying houses that need a lot of work because I have no experience with hiring contractors for large projects, but that might be the only way to get a cash flowing property here right now. Turn key investments are at such a high negative cash flow that I don't think it'll be a viable option. 

Do you think it's worth making offers on the turnkey properties that have been on the market over 3 months? I'd have to offer 20 to 30 percent under asking for most of the properties to work out for me. Am I wasting my time and insulting the sellers offering that low? 

thanks again for your reply!

Hey everyone!

I'm new to the real estate game and wanted to try out the Omaha area since I'm stationed at Offutt AFB. I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks for this area dealing with the insanely high property tax and insurance rates? The taxes and insurance are absolutely killing every deal I analyze. 

I'm focusing on multifamily properties, so if anyone has any tips I'd be all ears!