All Forum Posts by: Chris Pastrana

@Bill S. I definitly will not just take a tenant without running all of the numbers like I would with any other tenant. Thank you for your input on this. I was leaning towards not doing it but wanted other opinions. Thanks for the response

I have a situation unfolding and even though I have a feeling about this already I felt like asking other landlords for their advice... and it doesn't hurt to add stuff like this to my knowledge base. I'm from Fayetteville, NC by the way.

One of my units is now open and just about ready to be rented. A tenant from the local slumlord came by to use the phone and, god bless my wife, turned the woman's complaint about her unit into an advertisement for ours.

Apparently her lease had no pet clause in it, so they bought a dog. After the landlord found out he freaked and brought them to court where the magistrate reviewed the lease and said the same thing about there being no policy saying they couldn't have a pet. The tenant told them they would just move and the magistrate said that was fine.

(Question 1) My worry is that they are breaking their lease and could be lying about this. I personally will not take anyone who breaks a lease. Do magistrates actually do this? and is there a way of double checking to see if there actually was some kind of document to support this?

Continuing on, The current landlord is refusing to return the security deposit to them because he says they are in violation of their lease because of the dog. (Question 2) Should they go to court to force the landlord to return the money?

If there is any other information you need or want to know just ask and I'll fill in anything I forgot. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you all soon.

Hello Travis,
If I had someone wanting it before it was finished it I would sell it. Get him to give you a non-refundable deposit to show that he's actually interested and go from there.

Clayton, To be honest it's hard to find good handymen sometimes. What I do is speak to my properety mananger and ask for people she recommends or uses often. I'll speak to them and then hire them on for a small job, fix a door frame or something like that. If they're good I'll use them again.
I think an issue with handymen and contractors in general is that they need to be managed well. If you don't make sure they're doing the job you might get burned.

Christine you're right. There isn't anything wrong with starting out with a flip. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have some experience managing and deligating, that's actually a pretty big problem with lots of people. I personally started by buying a quadplex and learning how to do lots of hands on stuff just for experience. I may do flipping in the near future but I've been focusing on building a strong network base and also getting my negotiating skills down.

Hello @Qulia Brunson ! I'm only a few hours east of Charlotte. I have similar goals of growing from North Carolina to New England.

Try asking the seller how much they want for the property. They may offer some thing that surprises you. After you get an answer negotiate it if needs to go lower.

Welcome to BP Clayton! I hope you accomplish all of your dreams in real estate, and life.
To answer one of your questions I personally am not very good at handyman work either. To offset this I have to deligate the work to others. It may cost a little more but I plan for those expenses from each reant check I get and save a good chunk for emergencies. Hiring others is also faster since I can't always be availible to do the work. This is important if you ever want to expand whith flipping. As for finding good workers to help you...that's the hard part sometimes haha

Hello Mindy, welcome to BP! It's great that you're finally jumping into the game. I wouldn't worry to much about buying a property too close to your primary house. I live in my quadplex with three other families. My only advice would be to keep your house in the same manner as the ones you want rent, that way you're setting the example for tenants. Good luck with your investments!

Hello Michael, the first thing I did when I wanted to begin investing was learn the different niches and strategies involved and picked what fit my ability and desires. Look around the site and get a feel for what others are doing. Another great resource are the podcasts which will give GREAT tips and advice on all the different styles availible to you. Hope you have reach all of your goals!

@Andy DeFruscio Welcome to BP! I hope you find everything you're looking for here!