All Forum Posts by: Amanda Hensley

Just read your last post - I think that's a good choice for a major!  Best of luck to you!

Coming from a liberal arts background myself, I would actually suggest AGAINST getting a degree in something you're passionate about (as many folks here have suggested).  Unless that something is also a field where you KNOW you'll get a great job in it.  And I hate to say it, but it typically isn't one of the traditional liberal arts (history, english, law, political science, art)

I have a very good friend who is passionate about history - do you know how many jobs are available?  Almost none.  She was pressed to go to law school because she had no other viable choices (especially given high student loan debt).  She hates her job and she's stuck b/c now she has over 100K in student loan debt (and she went to a state school for law).  She's not the only friend I have who is in a similar position - financially stuck because they chose majors they loved, versus majors with employment opportunities.  

I respect studying liberal arts because I think it teaches people how to think critically, and also how to communicate, but I am very hesitant to recommend anyone get a degree in these majors right now.  I have a hybrid Computer Science/Business Administration degree, and it has served me very well these last 15 years.  I like it fine, but it doesn't define me.  I try to always do my best, but I don't take it personally but I'm not over the moon about it, either.  It's a means to a (hopefully successful) end.

So my advice would be - find something you like well enough, but more importantly THAT WILL PAY YOUR BILLS.  Your job doesn't have to define you, so keep an eye on what will get you hired - you can follow your passions as your hobby.  Might work out better that way anyway (since you have control over your hobbies).

I tend to agree with @Joel Owens on this one.  And please, be very, VERY careful about how you screen / interview your prospective employees as now that you've posted a job position you will want to make sure you're not breaking any employment fairness / discrimination laws. 

I think the licensing component aspect is also important - I'm not a CPA, but I don't think this person can be an independent contractor, if they are going to show homes and draft leases.  Unless they're licensed on their own...?

Tread carefully :)

Actually, this blog post from @Ben Leybovich may help you find a good property management firm - I thought these questions were extremely good:

http://justaskbenwhy.com/rental-property-management/

We use a local property management company - they're not part of the AMO/IREM but they are hands down the best in that small town. They KNOW the market, they have a stellar repair team, they market our homes very well, our performance is aligned (meaning, they charge based on rent only, they don't nickel and dime me), they have good accounting practices, and they use a web software that I can log into so I can always get the financial reports, details on repairs, etc - anything I need. Our rental homes are in East TN.

YW, anytime.  

In my opinion, so many people react negatively to 1) things they don't understand or 2) things they wouldn't choose to do themselves.  Don't let it stop you :)  Good luck in your search!

@Allan Glass, I have had one rental (4B/2Bth) property about 2700 miles away from where I live, and I've had it about three years.  The first year was a little rocky b/c we didn't find all of the maintenance items that it needed when we bought it but it has settled down nicely and stays rented, to good people who take care of the home.  We just bought another in that area.

But we also 1) know that area REALLY well as we grew up there and not much has changed and 2) had trustworthy contacts from day 1 on all aspects of the acquisition and maintenance and 3) have a really good PM company.

So my experience with out of state investing has been good, so far.

I used SunWest trust to set up my solo 401K.  I did the banking end myself, and admittedly that was a pain in the a$$ - I had to go to 5 local banks before anyone understood what I was wanting to do.

This was in 2010 I think, and cost about $500 total.  

This is a great thread to read!

We are researching our next property acquisition and have decided that it's not going to be in TN where our first two are.  Right now, (actually thanks to a comment that Ben Leybovich made on another thread), we have added Cincinnati OH to our list of potential cities to research.

My question here is about Cincinnati - does the BP Nation have any recommendations on a good investor-friendly real estate agent in this area?

Thanks in advance!