All Forum Posts by: Prashant P.

To me, it sounds like you have to think about your business plan. It seems your are stuck between a property manager and a general contractor.

What I am getting at is if I were to hire you, I would want to do everything related to the property. Find tenants, screen them, take care of maintenance issues.

If I needed a handyman, I would hire a handyman.

I would wait to get your real estate license and offer full blow property managment services.

In either case you would need need a license to be a general contractor too.

Philadelphia has rental license program. It is pretty expensive since you have to obtain a business license and rental license.

They do require inspections. However, most of the time they do not do them.

I was tell tenant that I work for the company that owns the property. For some reason tenants are always calmer when taking to a "employee" than an owner in my experience.

Also, when a tenant makes an outlandish request I can always say that I have to check with my boss and hopefully the forget about it.

It is best to put the rentals in an LLC to protect your assets or your parents.

If you manage the promptly and charge your parents a management fee, they can use the fee as a expense on their tax returns.

If you are both tenants are equal and the only difference is that one is long term and the other is short, then the answer is simple, long term.

If both types of tenants are paying rent on time and the only difference is wear then the long term tenant wins. You should have enough money being taken out of your cash flow for maintenance. Hopefully this reserve will take care of those issues.

It save time and money in marketing the house, screening tenants and cleaning.

Just to add on to George's comments. In some states like PA, you have to post an offical eviction notice and an order to vacate on a visible place of the property. For example to the door.

Check your state laws.

I would call up a few places and see how much they charge. My realtor is a good friend so he does not charge me.

A realtor is a good connection to make. They can help pull comps, let you know of deals and help you sell this house after you are done repairing it.

Justin Morris use a realtor to pull your comps. Using Zillow will give you inflated values. Paying a few extra bucks upfront will save you thousands later on.

I would get a inspection done on the property. Maybe there are some hidden issues behind the walls. Like: knob and tube wiring, foundation issues, pests.

Also look at external factors. Is it close to a major road, are the boarded up houses around, alot of crime.

These are possible reasons the house may have not sold.

I would have a company come in and test if for asbestos.

If it is asbestos free, you can spray it down with water in a spray bottle and scrap it off. Small sections at a time.