All Forum Posts by: Daniella Sanchez

Get yourself approved for a single family home or 2 flat and make your first purchase. Keep your full time job so you can keep your income coming in. Resell the single family after rehabbing (if it was a fixer upper) or rent it out. As for the 2 flat, live in one and rent out the other or rent out both and cover that mortgage. 

Hi Nikki, congratulations on taking the jump and deciding to get into real estate! It's ALWAYS the right time to buy. I'm an agent and although yes, there are times the market is moving and other times when it's slower, THERE ARE ALWAYS GREAT DEALS TO BE FOUND. Each seller is in a different situation, and there are always sellers who are in a pinch one way or another and need to sell fast. These are the ones you need to hunt for because you have a greater chance of getting a low offer accepted. There are also other sellers in different situations that work in your favor. Either way, never stop hunting!

Behr is really good. When it comes to paint its the only brand I buy. But I also know Rust-Oleum has worked for me many times when I do work on furniture. Also, I don't know what your steps look like currently but just from experience sanding the wood even a little bit before applying the paint goes a long way as far as it sticking. 

Hi Bryan, 

You've definitely come to the right place to connect and get quality advice. Welcome! Although I'm in agent in IL, to help you find homes I recommend you get in touch with an agent you trust and have him/her get you set up on the MLS. This way as soon as properties go active you can receive a notification.

As far as meeting other investors, this is the perfect place to start! Utilize the services they offer here like finding events near you and finding hard money lenders. This can be found under network. Good luck!

Completely agree with @John Underwood. If anything, you and your husband should take that as a compliment and step up your game as effective and successful landlords. 

Refer to the signed contract. Does it just say the fixed rent amount? Do you have a clause included stating there may be rent increases? 

I had a landlord that would come by the apartment and clean up the yard, organize the kid's bikes, check the laundry room etc around rent time. I definitely think he was trying to remind us. He would also call a day or two prior to tell us when he'd be in the office. That was another indirect direct way of reminding us.

Hi Shelby,

Just my thoughts, here are a couple things I would consider right off the bat:

*I'm assuming the interior of the house has also been adjusted to accommodate a handicap? If the house has already undergone expensive and intensive changes, it may be worth it to keep it and see if you get any bites the way it is. On the flip side, if it's really only a few changes they made in the interior to accommodate a handicap, it could be better to reverse those changes, just the major ones, as handrails and smaller adjustments are great safety features for anyone. 

*Where is this located? If this house is in a more densely populated city you may have a better shot at finding tenants. On the flip side, if it is less dense, I would reverse the changes and increase your chances of finding tenants. 

*Take a look at what is currently available for rent in that area. Are there many places available? Are there few? Any handicap? This may be a niche property OR you may be in a competitive market where you need to make the apartment as available as possible.

*Lastly, consider your financial situation. Do you need to get this rented out or you'll be tight financially? Or can you afford to leave a For Rent sign out for some time while you gauge the market for a handicap friendly property? 

Hope this helps in any way. Good luck! 

Hi Lam, can you gauge how difficult it would be to split up the house and rent out separate apartments? You will make more money renting out 3bd + 1bd + 2bd... rather than renting out a 6 bedroom. Finding 6 students who want to room together may be more difficult than finding 3 students, 1 student and 2 students...

I lived in a 1 bedroom apartment in a 6 apartment house. It was a HUGE, old victorian single family home that the realty company split into 6 apartments. Here are some other things to consider: 

I don't know what university this is, but if you rent out the entire house you could attract fraternities or sororities. This isn't a blanket statement, but many of these groups like to host events, party and might not take good as care of the house and individual tenants. 

Generally the rule of thumb for university students is: the more people you room with the cheaper the rent. So from your perspective the more you split up the bedrooms the greater the chance you have of profiting.

And lastly, another BPer mentioned this but more than likely you will be told it is unlawful to select your tenants based on gender. This would be considered gender discrimination.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Daniella

Hi Lance, I'm sorry to hear that. How big was your price drop? I would consider another price drop. A house priced right will sell. That is the bottom line. It doesn't make a difference if you're in a buyers or sellers market. Although it is true the highest probability of selling a home is in the first 2 weeks it's listed, you can still take measures after that time period to get it sold.

Is your agent hosting open houses? Has she reached back out to everyone who expressed interest when your house first went on the market or after you accepted the offer? She should call all agents and tell them the house is back on the market, to let their clients know. Hopefully this helps in the slightest, good luck!

Daniella