All Forum Posts by: Damaso Bautista

@Johnny L.

Hey Johnny the only way I see this working for you is to find a start up contractor in your area.  Find someone who is as hungry as you are to show the world what you are capable of.  Both of you are going to set the world on fire together.

Of course your risks will be increased but you may be able to hit your numbers financially this way.  

Other then that I don't see why an established contractor who has too much work to choose from would lower his cost for you.

Just a thought.

Good luck!

@Eli Kallison

Hey Eli,

I think at minimum you need to figure out what the properties in that area would rent for.  Once you have that information you can work that number in for cash flow and cash on cash return based on a number you pay for a house.  You can use different down payments and even all cash scenarios to figure out different numbers.  

After doing these exercises you can come up with the perfect number to offer on a house based on your investment criteria.  

Your offer shouldn't be based on market value, it should be based on the returns on the investment that you are seeking.

If you don't know how to analyze numbers on a rental I would suggest watching a youtube video by Brandon Turner called "Calculating numbers on a rental property using the 4 square method"

Good luck!!!!

@Baltazar Granados

Hey Baltazar, 

I think you are confusing HOA with FHA.

An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration. With a minimum 3.5% down payment for borrowers with a credit score of 580 or higher, FHA loans are popular among first-time home buyers who have little savings or have credit challenges.

What has worked for me is going to University and getting a great career.  Saving money for a down payment.  Making sure I never paid any of my bills late so that can have an 800 credit score.  

Last I had the guts to lay down my hard earned money to start investing.

It is really that simple.  

The problem with the way I did it for most people is that there is no short cut, no magic pill or wand or trick to pull so that the process goes faster.

I hope that helps good luck!!!

@Adan Cordova

I feel that is the best way because when you are in the business you have all types of connections to people that do work all the time.  Those connections are what are going to make your rehab go smooth because someone's name/referral is on the line.

@Adan Cordova,

The way I did it was did a walk through with my "compadre" who is also a contractor.  We went through and wrote down everything that was needed to be updated on the home.  

I start with major systems:

Roof- does it need to be replaced

Electrical- has the panel been updated and has the wiring been updated

HVAC- does it need to be installed or updated

Water heater- does it need to be replaced

Then we looked at the cosmetic and value add items

Does kitchen need to be updated

Do bathrooms need to be updated

painting interior and exterior

After walking through, he has been in the business so long that he gave me a cost for each job.  The cost of a job is impacted by many things.  

If you owner build and hire out it is less expensive then a contractor doing the whole job for you

If you get some paisas from home depot to do all the work it will be even cheaper.  

He gave me ball park for all options.  He did all my electrical because he was giving me the family price and he is also a licensed electrician.  

from this walk through I was able to make a pretty good working budget.  

I worked off of this budget but still went over due to things that came up.  

I hoped this helped.

@Lydia Bohac

I also like being upfront with my tenants.  The thing that is hard to get used to is being nit picky about everything.  You may have tenants who don't place their trash cans lined up neatly the way you would or park their car crooked or do something that is not bad but just not to your liking.  

When you are their to see every little thing that is not completely in line with what your own personal expectations are, you really have work through those issues and focus on the price.  Sometimes it is very hard to do.

I think of it like this:

1. Do they pay their rent on time and in full.

2. Is what they are doing taking money out of my pocket.

3. Is what they are doing illegal.

4. Is what they are doing going make me civilly liable for anything.

5. They are paying you for the right to live there and to have a safe comfortable place free from an overly bearing landlord.

I think #5 is the hardest one for a live in landlord because it is almost like human nature to nit pic.

I think @Ola Dantis said be professional.  Don't let emotions get in the way of business.

Good luck!

@Chase Harper

Is this a stand alone garage or attached to the main residence?

If it is a stand alone and it doesn't affect the main building, I would personally overlook the cracks in the garage floor. I guarantee you I can walk into about 90% of homes and find small cracks in the cement garage floors.

If is attached to the main building then I would explore further and try to project what the costs of fixing it will be.

I wouldn't just throw away the project due to this.

just my opinion.

@Alex Kreeger

My lease identifies the tenants who are jointly liable for paying the rent (the adults) 

The lease goes on to identify the minor children that will also be occupying the home.

"These premises will be occupied by the undersigned tenants and the following minor children" Then the children are listed by name

I think this should suffice.  

The lease spells out who is liable for the rent and the minor occupants their children that will be living in the house.

I hope this helps

@Chris Gould

Hey Chris I believe every individual has their personal line and their own ethics.

I also personally never judge anyone for doing something that is legal.

I learned many years ago that trying to place your values on someone else doesn’t work.

If your business is doing well and you are not breaking the law, then go about your business.

Don’t worry about what other people think.

On the other hand try your best not to judge someone when their values are not in line with yours.

Just my opinion.

Keep making money 💰 💰

@Peter Morgan

This is pretty simple.  

Just stay hard and fast on your criteria for the rental what ever you use.

Just like income requirement, credit score requirement, no bankruptcies in the past 5 years and so on.

Staying hard and fast will also keep you out of litigation later when someone can show a pattern that you lower rent for one type of person and you don't for another.