All Forum Posts by: David S.

If you are comfortable doing this yourself and it is legal in your municipality, look up pest control products on:

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/

Suspend SC is a good one and has a long residual of several months, which means it keeps working for months.

Pest control companies use this product for general pest control and they typically spray along the entire outside walls (bottom part) of the house and all of the baseboards inside the house.  They typically charge $65-$85 a quarter for a yearly contract, or you can invest in the product and a garden sprayer for about less than $50 (if you don't have a severe infestation).  You can do his twice before moving in, maybe a couple of weeks apart if it is not that bad.  If there is a bad infestation....it may take many, many treatments to get it done.  If it is bad, you may have to finish them off with bait.  Maxforce FC Magnum is one of the best.  Don't bother with the ones at Lowes or HD.

Termite treatment is another story and require trenching and depositing a large quantity of product.  This is big money for this treatment whether you do it or them.  It may also require some boring into concrete and treating the interior walls by plumbing fixtures.

You should seal up the exterior to prevent rodents if that has not already been done.  Great Stuff (sold in hardware stores) is good for a lot of the sealing.

As long as it is cash flowing, or if you are in an appreciation market, then you could keep it.

In order to keep it, you must have excellent management in place before leaving.  The property manger should be able to handle most vacancy and repair requests without you.  However, you would want to be notified if a major emergency occurred.

If Austria is anything like some of the Western European countries I'm familiar with, the landlord is responsible for far less than in the United States.  In some places, the tenant has to provide light fixtures, appliances, kitchen cabinets, and also must paint and do minor repairs upon moving if needed, etc.  That is just completely opposite of the US where tenants expect complete service!  Therefore, the only major concerns would be vacancies, potential tenant damage, and major issues.

Relatively low rent for sky high purchase prices is those areas described.  If you would like to cash flow down there, you might look at some of the suburbs, i.e. the Westbank.

Caution and due diligence on the flood zone would be warranted. If built after 1978, then an elevation certificate is required.  This can cost hundreds of dollars. If built prior than 1978, then one is not needed and the insurer uses a standard rate.  A bad elevation, i.e. the structure 2 or 3 feet below the flood plain, would lead to flood insurance in the thousands that would make the purchase less profitable or even lose money. 

Caution is warranted because the flood program is directed through the federal government and rules can arbitrarily change overnight.  I have seen property become nearly worthless and unmarketable due to a change in the rules.  This scenario, however, has come after some major event.

If you are worried about flooding, then you should check with residents of the neighborhood, or any other source, how often the area floods.  You may find that it has not flooded in a hundred years.

You also may run into issues with your mortgage company requiring a certain amount of coverage.  On occasion, they have required coverage of 200 to 300% of market price. 

With all of this being said, you can still make money if the numbers work.  Get in touch with a good insurance agent for detailed guidance and pricing.

It all depends on what your lease says about the methods of payment and when it is due. Does it say that it needs to be paid by end of business on the day of the grace period?  Also, what are the payment methods spelled out in your lease.

I would highly discourage payment of rent at your place of residence.

Payment by mail, direct deposit, online services are the ways to go. 

One thing I would look at is if your state has passed stricter laws on his.  Oklahoma did this a few years ago, possibly criminalizing renting to them.

I don't really think that the number of pools or types can be a good judge of how good a neighborhood is.

What I like to see is good upkeep of each property in the neighborhood.  Are the yards kept up?  Do some houses need a fresh coat of paint?

Also, I would ride by the area at different times of the day/night to see what kind of people live there.  Families?  People hanging out, loitering? Selling drugs?  For a neighborhood, it is definitely better to have more owner occupants as opposed to every house being a "rent house."

You also may want to check out crime statistics with your local police department.  Often, I ask the officers patrolling the area I am interested in to see what kind of local issues there are.  There are some websites, such as Trulia, I believe, that gives a crime score, but I prefer the boots on the ground approach.  There truly is no better way to get a feel for a neighborhood than actually being there.  Google Earth and Google Street View, in my opinion, are good tools to use from time to time, but not to be used in lieu of true due diligence.

When I renovate an apartment, I put ceramic tile throughout the entire apartment.  This is the most durable and will last the longest.  On rare occasions, I get questioned whether I would put carpet in the bedrooms.  When this does come up, I recommend to the tenant to go buy some area rugs and put them down in their bedrooms.

Carpet is definitely the worst way to go.  One bad tenant and your entire flooring is finished.  Stains, pets, bubble gum, irons, pest infestation, or anything you can think of will ruin it.

When I still had decent carpet in some units I acquired, many people would ask, "Are you going to pull the carpet up?"  I cannot make money if I am replacing flooring on yearly basis in each unit.

I would recommend you go with 16 or 17 inch tile.  It looks much better than the 12 inch tile and makes each room look larger. Lowes usually sells that for $0.79/square foot.  Make sure you keep an extra box of whatever tile you get for future repairs.

If you do put laminate flooring in some areas, such as the living room, then I would recommend the 8mm wood laminate that sell at Sam's Club.  It already has the vapor barrier and sound insulation and sells for about $1.80 a foot.  It is very thick and durable, being nearly commercial grade.

In renting houses, it may actually be more preferable to tile the kitchen and bathrooms, and put a good wood laminate for the remaining rooms, including the bedrooms. 

If you accept pets, I can tell you that the pet lovers are very attracted to an apartment without carpet.

Mike H. hit the nail on the head!

I agree, 50 houses is maximum.  If you have apartments or cheap houses, then maybe 35 units would be maximum.  This would be due to the higher "hands on factor."

I just wanted to reiterate a few quick points which I use:

1.   SYSTEMS.  I set up as much automation as I can to minimize time: automatic bill pay for re-occurring bills, grass cutter on schedule, tenants deposit rent into bank account, late reminders to tenants via text around the 5th of the month, eviction of non-payers on the 10th (or pre-determined date), and my jurisdiction allows via FAX. Most of my tenants know the best way to contact me is to text me.

2.   RELIABLE TEAM IN PLACE.  AC repairman, electrician, carpenter, cleaning person, painter, GC.  Repair is assessed via text or phone call and then I text/call my repair guy.  A major issue will require my presence and my repair guy. Also, I have a "helper" that shows my vacant units when my schedule does not allow it.  I often forward a general text to prospective tenants to "contact my assistant manager to view the apartment."  This is really a trustworthy, long term tenant that I compensate fairly. In this way, I don't pay the full month's rent.

3.  REPAIR DAYS.  I go to the properties once or twice a month to plan improvements or actually perform them myself.  Minor repairs are also completed on these days (urgent repairs are done within a day, so this day does not include those).  Make readies may also be done here. I may also deliver material for my contractors.  Although, I am starting to get away from this chore and have them delivered, if possible.

#1 and #2 can be done while you are on vacation.  I bring this up because there is usually one or two major issues that come up every time I go on vacation.  Last Summer, it is was a dead compressor on an AC unit and a main breaker failure.  I am expecting these calls due to this track record.

I am not a big fan of rent pick-ups.  It wastes valuable time, gas, and energy.  Further, cash pick-ups will put a big target on your back.  After a few payments, you may be hauling around thousands of dollars!  If you come on the 1st of every month, it is fairly obvious what you are doing there.   If you have one unit 5 minutes from your house, it may be easy to do a single rent pick-up.  What if you have 10? 20?  In different parts of town? What if some tenants work nights and others work days? That could be 2 full days work involved in coordinating your schedule with theirs.  What do you do if you're on vacation?

I have also acquired several properties where the previous owners did rent pick-ups.  I immediately have the new tenants sign a new lease, where my payment directions are spelled out.  I then proceed to "train" new tenants on my payment methods. I give them pre-filled out bank deposit slips for a deposit only account and tell them where my bank is located (it has several locations all over town).  I also allow tenants to mail rent to me and if that is their preferred method; I give them envelopes with my mailing address stamped on the envelope.  I usually only do this for my long term tenants who have no readily available transportation, such as retirees.  As of now, about 90% do the bank deposits and 10% mail it in.

Surprisingly, when I first rolled out with the bank deposit method, many of my tenants actually loved it!  Many were accustomed to bringing in certain payments (i.e. electric bill, car note etc.) and paying in person. Also, many loved saving the couple of bucks they used to spend on the money orders and stamps. I had no idea that saving 2 dollars excited them to go the bank! I was extremely apprehensive in setting up this system, as I had my doubts that some could not do it due to cultural or language differences.  There have been struggles in years past with mailing the rent because if they did not have a pre-filled out envelope, they could not even put the addresses in right spots or correctly.

I do not see a problem if anyone wants to do rent pick-ups-it's just not for me.