All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Katie, it sounds like you have worked through the issue and know what you want to do. One thing I like about owning rental property is that I'm always learning something. Having a retail background is helpful. Good customer service is important, but I wouldn't let customers pay half price for the merchandise, or take merchandise now and pay me in ten days, or damage my store without penalty. Yet some tenants expect to treat rental property that way. People are funny, managing them is challenging sometimes, but you’ve heard some good advice here and it sounds like you have sifted through it and made your decision. Good luck, and please update on how it all goes for you.

Where is the property? Urban, suburban? What's the supply/demand for rentals? Crime stats? I think all of those factor into your decision. You could upgrade the unit but if your area "isn't that great" due to factors beyond your control, you won't be able to raise your rent that much. 

Regardless, on the flooring question, go LVP all the way if you plan to hold the property for five years. It will pay for itself over time and will probably add value when and if you sell. I'm putting it down in all of mine as fast as I can. Plus renters love it. Carpet in a rental is nasty. Find some LVP on sale and don't look back. 

And congratulations on your first rental! Welcome to the crazy world of REI.

@Jeremiah House I'm sorry, you have probably already painted by now! Just a personal preference. I have a house with a lot of brown (floors, cabinets, some paneling that I am too cheap/lazy to paint) and the Agreeable Grey just didn't look right. It could have as much to do with natural light as anything. What did you decide to do?

I'm in the minority. I don't think it's a bad deal. Everyone's situation is different. If your market has been experiencing strong appreciation and you expect that to continue (emphasized because I don't know how anyone can predict anything right now), it may be worth a try. Again - you know your own situation better than anyone. It may not be a home run but I think it could be a base hit.

We have a STR in a vacation spot. We do all right, but there are a lot of expenses. If I did another one, it would be a 30+ day and I would market to medical professionals like Holly said above. In fact I agree with everything Holly said and would only add that I would keep it small - a 1 or 2 BR condo or small house in a safe area. Less turnover, fewer expenses. Look at Furnished Finder to see some examples of what you could rent for in your area in this market. Good luck!

SW Agreeable Gray or Accessible Beige. If your properties have a lot of brown wood, Agreeable Gray may not work. 

If I had to pick one, probably appreciation. My first investment property was essentially cash flow neutral but I got huge appreciation. Sold that to buy another house with great cash flow. Around the same time, bought another for appreciation. Rinse and repeat. Now have 2 of each and I think I’m done for the time being. I’m semi-retired, not looking for the Big Bang, just trying to diversify and still grow my portfolio. Plus I actually enjoy real estate, as opposed to investing in stocks which mostly gives me indigestion.

Had a similar situation. Month to month, definitely. Sounds like when the 94-year-old goes the money stops. I would try to put things as kindly as possible, saying you need the others listed as occupants in case of emergency, etc, and get emergency contacts for the other sibs if you don't already have them. I think kindness goes a long way especially with the elderly. Plus it's the right thing to do. And who knows, your 94-year-old could outlive one or both of the "kids"

Texas here. Turning people away in droves. We were lucky in that we got part of Spring Break before the shutdown and things reopened before Memorial Day. Right now we are booked almost solid until Labor Day. That said, with the rapid increase in cases I wouldn't be surprised at all to see some people cancel. I don't expect another total shutdown on rentals but even if it happened in say a couple of weeks, we wouldn't be too far off previous years because we've made more in the first half of the summer. I personally feel much safer in a STR where your family has the whole place than a hotel or resort with all the shared space, I think others feel the same.

#3 what Tim Hendricks said above. I think the exit strategy is particularly important with co-buyers. Do you plan to hold for a certain amount of time? If not, what triggers a sale? What happens if one partner wants to sell but not the other...etc. Don’t just assume you’re on the same page. I have done it and it worked but a LOT of people tried to talk me out of it, so I tried to think it all through very carefully.