All Forum Posts by: Chris Wange

Hi @Joshua Mercado.  Just start doing a ton of research here on the site.  Read the forums.  Watch the webinars.  Use the calculators.  You can learn a lot in a short time if you devote the time.  No one can tell you what to invest in since everyone's situation and goals are different.  There are many areas in which you can focus so only you can decide what is best for you.  Being that you are young, you may want to do some wholesaling to start so you can raise some capital, but again I don't KNOW what is best.  Maybe you're sitting on a million in cash and want to invest it.  This site can provide a wealth of info if you're willing to put in the time.  Good luck.

Hi Christopher Esparza. I'm also new to the REI scene, but I've been to several meetings already. New faces are always welcome, and the best way to learn is to jump right in and start networking!

I personally have been using Cozy.co for my rent payments.  I'll probably have to move on as I move up from the 2 rentals I currently have.  It's limited in that it only allows for payments via CC (with a fee) or by connecting your bank account.  I believe tenants also have the option to have their payment history reported to one of the credit bureaus too.

 I'm a newbie investor too and have been to a couple meetings already.  New faces are always welcome!

The total cash invested is how much money you still have in the deal after you've been able to refi and pull some or all of your cash out.

I've recently talked to about a dozen local banks and credit unions, and it was difficult to find one that offered a LOC on an investment property. I think there were 1 or 2 who offered a loan (I can't remember because I wanted a LOC). I'm working right now with Huntington Bank to get a LOC, and they were the only ones who did. If they are in your area I'd check with them.

I only have two rentals at the moment, but both have taken on water damage over the last 5 years.  One was nearly a gut remodel of the whole home.  Another thing to remember is to get enough coverage in the worst case scenario.  We did not on that property, and I ended up doing some of the work to keep costs down.

But my vote is for RCV as well.  Like @Brian Medansky said, peace of mind is well worth it.

Being that you are in a tenant-friendly area I can understand your thinking.  I think you can be firm without coming across as a hard a**.  Being lenient is different than being a push over though.  I had a tenant who would always pay towards the end of his grace period.  The first time he was late I texted him that day to tell him he needed to pay, and he immediately did.  I did not charge him any late fees because overall he was a good tenant.  He did this a second time and asked not to be charged.  I told him that I would need to charge him because I let it slide before and needed to make sure rent was paid on time.  He was never late again after that.  Even tenants who abide by the rules throughout the lease can damage your property on a whim so you can't appease them at every turn just because you fear they might cause damage.  I really feel your initial due diligence is your best protection.  If you have a nice place at a fair price, hopefully you should have plenty of people to choose from.

Personally I set move in/out from noon to noon so I will hopefully have a full 24 hours to get things ready.  I set the late move out charge at $50 per hour to give them a good reason to meet the deadline.  Admittedly I have not run this by an attorney, but I don't think there would be an issue since the tenant is fully in charge of moving out on time and the penalty is known up front.

Glad to see you have that in the lease.  The first thing that strikes me is that you mentioned "negotiate" about the move in time.  I don't know if you truly mean negotiate, but remember that you are the landlord and YOU are the one in charge and set the rules.  It is stipulated in the lease and non-negotiable.  If a potential tenant doesn't like it then I move on.  I charge a per hour fee after noon on the move out date and state that move in may be earlier, but it is at my discretion.  I don't mind making modifications to the lease for clarification purposes, but this is a business and I need to adhere to my processes.  So if I don't have a (financial) incentive for a tenant to move out by a certain time, how can I schedule my contractors?

Not to make a negative remark towards you, but looking back at your history with this tenant, do you feel you have been too lenient at times so that the tenant may think they can call the shots?  Were you perhaps in a hurry to find someone that you initially accepted a tenant who was less than ideal?  But, I guess only you can decide whether or not pursuing a lawsuit to reclaim what you're owed is worth it.  If you think the tenant has the means to pay for them maybe it is.

What does it say in your lease?  It should say explicitly that the security deposit is not to be used in lieu of rent.  In such a case you should have sent a pay or quit notice when rent was late (and started charging late fees) and started the eviction process as soon as your state law allows.  Again, these steps should all be spelled out in the lease.  Hopefully this would make a decent tenant change their mind, but perhaps your tenant is not this type of person.

Obviously that isn't much help in this particular situation, but it may help in the future since you mentioned you always have a hard time when your tenants move out.  Regarding move out repairs, I also have it spelled out in the lease that the move out is at 12pm on the last day, and the move in is at 12pm on the first day.  I'm hoping that this will be enough time to schedule anything needed, but I've also been fortunate so far in not needing all that much.

Good luck.