All Forum Posts by: Jeff Bridges

What if parents choose to stay longer than 2-3 months and the applicant is just put their name on the lease for them? What if they stop paying the rent and you have to evict the parents? I would want every adult 18 or over named on the lease so that I could have a lease the binds all of those adults to the terms of the lease including rules, terms etc... asking to leave them off the lease is asking them to be exempt from your lease terms as well which doesn't protect you that much... Further, those applicants can seem great, but you can't screen them since they aren't going to be on the lease so how do you know they are great after all or don't have priors? just asking questions that might give you perspective...

What you are experiencing is that the Broker/agent you are using is having a problem getting you insurance because he is small time and doesnt have the license reach to cover all your bases. He's not admitting to you that you should use another broker for your entire portfolio of insurance because he doesnt want to lose your one account. That's unfortunate.  It's time to move on and switch all your policies over to a bigger broker that is local to you who can adequately help you. They dont need to be local to your real estate. They need to usually hold on to all of them because umbrella needs to match up to liability amounts for your other policies so you are properly protected. they cant monitor that if they are with a diff company.

When I came to the limits of using Geico/Farmers etc. with their limitations on the number of rentals I could hold, I sought out the top 100 independent insurance broker in my area and used them to get a quote. They can shop policies for all of the companies, find you the best pricing and options and manage them all for you. They can also allow you to get policies on more properties as you grow without running up to silly insurer imposed limitations for that single insurer. The smaller ones are usually  "captive" to one company to shop policies and that's basically all they offer, which is limiting when you want to grow in future and if you can truly get the best rate.

try these guys and get  quote for your policies. They have a manhattan branch for you. you might be surprised with your rates. I have no experience with them however (they are a top 10 broker in the nation):

https://integrogroup.com/who-we-help/individual-in...

source:

https://www.insurancejournal.com/top-100-insurance...

They sell these locks that everyone above is recommending above at home depot or amazon. It's called a "storeroom" type lock that self locks as soon as you open it with a key. All brands carry it. It remains always locked from the outside and cannot be left unlocked since there is no push button or disabling function on the back. problem will be solved when you put this one in.

example is below:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Schlage-Apollo-Satin-C...

 Also, know that even with the cash out refi, they will only lend 75-80% on the new appraised value. So if you know the current sale value, you would have to find 75% and then subtract the existing balance (and 2-3% in closing costs for the new loan) to find out how much new money you can actually pull out to use for spending on other investments. Just something to think about.

It's better to address and replace the things you know will be close to or at end of life prior to placing tenants, because you dont have the same luxury of bidding it out and finding a vendor who could install in a reasonable timeframe to accomodate tenants if they were already living there. You cant wait a week for a new water heater or heating unit for example in the winter. Also with your multi-unit, you they usually require a HW policy for each of the 3 apartments , so it makes less sense to spend 400-600 X 3 units per year, when you could be putting 1800/yr in a reserve fund for repairs anyway, and it only gets spent if there is a repair. In a couple of my units, I used a utility company service protection plan for the end of life HVAC to squeeze out a little more life in it. They covered repairs but they wont pay for full replacement. It bought me 3 more years and then I had to replace it when the heat pump died and couldnt be repaired any further. I've had bad experiences with many HW companies except the limited HVAC and WH service plans covered by local utility if offered. I replace any end of life water heaters always at acquisition because they present too many risks of water damage if they leak and emergency plumber costs to replace vs. bidding it out prior to occupancy. If you had a rusty old WH that failed, they say rust is a pre-existing condition and they will not cover replacement anyway. They ask for maintenance records on HVAC to make sure it was serviced within the past year or will deny claims. Its pretty brutal and frustrating... policies are not worth the paper they are written on... good luck!

I will ditto advice not to use any Home warranty except maybe the one offered by your utility company to cover HVAC and WH, since their repair techs are usually on staff and do not need to be sub-contracted like most home warranty companies. I have tried several of them and they struggled to find an assign someone to even get out to the property. I cancelled them and got my money back when it became clear they could not get someone to even assess the situation. Avoid HW and develop your own reserve fund each year for the 500-600 you would have spent on HW. arrange all repairs yourself or through your manager so you are aware of issues and ensure they are adequately repaired, not 3/4 repaired, or ignored repairs to avoid paying the deductible (because they will avoid that at all costs).

If you are worried about losing money at the sale, Maybe also consider selling using a flat fee MLS brokerage using their full service option. you'll still have to pay 2.5% to the buyers agent but you'll be spending 1k or so to the flat fee brokerage vs. 6k for traditional seller agent fee at 3% on 200k sale. so extra 5k in your pocket at the sale.

I've used a service in MD and had good results. no experience with below group so do your own research. expect to handle more of your own staging, photography, time etc. in exchange for some additional savings.

https://www.flatfeegroup.com/NorthCarolina/

You don't seem like your close enough to do your own long distance management adequately and have the experience to do it professionally enough to keep things in order from afar. I would sell now and avoid becoming a landlord for this non income producing 2nd job you would be inheriting. I only want hassle if it gets me income, not working for free in a 2nd job:)

put a calendar reminder to check in with him once a month and see if he (or the probate process) may be ready at that time. It might have sentimental value or he's not invested in wrapping that up for whatever reason, but sometime in the future, he will be ready. Make sure you check the buildings sale comps so you can be very certain you'll get the ARV you are expecting from the flip. and make sure others have successfully sold recently in the building or see if there is something wrong with financials of the HOA. just something to keep on the back burner for later for future deals...

No, I think what people are saying is deposit the check into YOUR account. Then write another check to the contractor for the deposit shown on the written contract. This way you pay them the 2nd, 3rd payments when they complete the items they promised you in the contract and are satisfactory. If you hand over the entire amount to the contractor, you lose all control and they can run off with your money and have no incentive to do your work in a timely manner. You said you did not hire this contractor. Why not? Who recommended this guy and does he have references you can call? Do they check out? Did he provide you a new written contract? If not, Ask for one. Don't let him bully you around and say that you have to pay him everything from that check. thats your money, you should protect it. How do you know what 40% of the job is and how do you know that you would still have enough to complete the project if he handed you off to a new contractor? I would hold off paying off the first guy until the project is complete to make sure you can pay to complete all repairs. He might not have done 40% of the work and expect you to pay him 40% and you still might need to pay the 2nd guy 100% and then you end up pay 140% of a job that should have only been 100%. that looks like a mess.

you're starting to ask technical questions that BP is probably not going to answer for you. Regular machines have their own wash cycle timer installed at manufacture. Then you add an aftermarket coin timer, you'll have to rewire internal components and test extensively to ensure proper operation and that both timers dont conflict with one another. These also need to be strong to withstand vandalism. You dont sound like that guy who is going to do that successfully DIY style.

If you want to appeal to the younger generation, you put the machines in the units and charge higher rent to account for that amenity and additional water use. Or better yet, sub-meter and charge the tenants for water use to reduce expenses. Otherwise buy/lease a coin-op machine and be prepared for a 2nd job or to pay someone else to do that job for you.

http://www.monarchcoin.com/support-laundry-convert...