All Forum Posts by: Paul J.

Evernote will definitely help you organize your receipts and paperwork, with cloud integration so you can photograph receipts in the field with your phone, throw the paper away if you choose, then have access to the images from any device. When I save my receipts and bills digitally, I save them with a title like "Feb water 123 main street $63.54.pdf" so that when tax time comes, I can just scan my list of receipt and bill files and I don't need to actually open each PDF to get the dollar amount. They all go into a folder in my cloud storage, which has subfolders for receipts for costs already tracked in my PM software and another folder for incidental expenses not related directly to any property. Last year was my first year as a landlord for tax purposes and it was pretty easy to find all the info i needed for the CPA quickly and subtotal amounts.

OK, fine, finally did it :-)

Thats what I was afraid of. I found out who the bank is via public record, will still try to give them a call anyways but they're a regional bank and I have a feeling I won't be getting too far. Thanks for the insight, I've never purchased a foreclosure and wasn't sure how it might work to try to get to it before it hits the market.

Hi all,

I just found out that the property next door to my one and only investment property wass foreclosed upon last month. I know which bank foreclosed upon the property and I also know that the home was built just before the crash and was very deeply underwater in a marginal market prior to foreclosure.

For the right price, this would be great for me to be able to control this property and consolidate holdings in the neighborhood.

So as a greenhorn, how would I approach this situation. My first instinct is to phone the bank and inquire but im not even really sure who to ask for. Id like to make a cash offer withthe hopes that the bank may like to wash their hands of the property but I'm not even sure if this is something that happens without an auction.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

I think it was a great podcast. Everyone made very valid points and I think it clearly illustrated the fact that there are different styles for different people and that neither Brandon nor Ben are wrong in their approaches as long as it suits their ability and resources. That said, I identify with Brandon as someone who jumped in, got feet wet, underestimated repairs, paid tuition in that respect, and on the back end of it have a cash flowing property and know how I will do things better next time. I think hearing the counter arguments from Ben on this line and being able to say to myself that I am still comfortable with the path that I took helps me feel confident about continuing in this field. The 'Crossfire' format is excellent in that respect, and I also enjoy the side conversations, as well as the depth that 2 hours allowed for. Good job folks!

I am looking into Wells Fargo right now, they told me over the phone they would do a HELOC at 80%LTV on a rental property, at any value of home. We will see how that plays out but sounds promising so far.

Thanks for the tip on TD Bank I will call them as well...

I do what Tom just described. My Lease states that rent does not cover appliances, and that you are welcome to use mine or I will remove them for you if you'd like to bring your own - but that I do not repair them if they break. My rental is in Pontiac.

You might also see if your lawyer can flex at all on costs. I purchased a duplex with 2 sets of tenants just like yours last July. after going thru the process with the first ones and paying a flat rate, I was able to negotiate A split rate for first the filing and then the court appearance. This afforded me the leverage of having filed and served, then using that to tell the tenants that if they were out and signed papers releasing possession of the apartment before court then I in turn would relieve them of the judgement for back rent. This would have gotten me my apartment back faster and cheaper than going to court had my guy decided that he didn't care about judgements.. Good luck anyhow but if it was me I'd be filing now instead of later...

I cant speak for others, but I bought a residential property that had a single gas meter and I converted it to separate metering for the gas. I have to have my tenants fill out a special form for the gas company so that I can be notified in the event of any potential disconnect due to non-pay.

I can see wanting to keep tabs on it enough to become the middleman, either because the tenant is ineligible to get the service turned on in their name or because in the event of a service disconnect you could end up with frozen pipes.

My lease stipulates that any utility costs incurred during the tenancy are the responsibility of the tenant, regardless of who the bill is going to at that time, and that the rent money is credited to the back utility costs before it is credited to rent. This is working for me but I could see someone not wanting to deal with following up with the tenants to make sure services are in their name, or otherwise processing move ins/move outs with the gas company, keeping the account in good standing, etc etc etc...

The deposit-only ATM will accept any deposit. The system I had going with Chase is that I kept track of which cards I had issued to whom and I had the ability to cancel them online if I needed to. The lease makes reference to the ATM deposit method being offered as a convenience and if at any time the card is lost, stolen, or not working the tenant is to pay by mail. In the event I were to have a tenant that started playing games with it or getting to the point of eviction, I had the option of discontinuing the card.