All Forum Posts by: David Chwaszczewski

@Steve Rozenberg @Mike Hanneman I don't think the score is as important as the information you are given when you pull to qualify a tenant.  I don't care if they have a score under 600 (over that i am happy).  I look for WHY they do.  I look for if they have debt such as hospital bills or student loans that they will have to pay every month Vs. revolving debt that is unsecured and they didn't pay it such as CC or store credit account.  Looking into a potential tenants credit history will tell you more about he tenant then a score.  Hope this helps!

@Kurt Gardner I make all tenants get renters ins.  It is nonnegotiable and in my lease.  I make them provide it before they move in.  I do have tenants that need help with obtaining it, so I put them in touch with my ins agent and then I fill out form for renters ins, have them sign it, and just add to the monthly rent.  They deduct the renters ins from my account, but i get it in the rent.  I also charge $5 a month for this.  Ex..I have tenant at $800 a month and her renters ins is $16.  I collect from her $821 per month.

Haven't had  a tenant need to use it yet (knock on wood), but when the time comes i am sure i will be glad i did.

@Warren Romig  I use Landlordstation It works for managing properties i own and only costs $10 per month. I don't know how well it will work if you are managing other investors properties as i would think you would want better reporting tools.  Mostly keeps track of all the basics (applications, repair requests, tenant info, online payments).

Also i use quicken for MAC to keep the accounting for my rentals.  Just find something that you like and stick with it until you need to be more detailed with reporting.

You need to find investor friendly lenders.  I was able to close a few loans with Lima One and they all were in my llc.  Try them.

@Joe D.  definitely get a home inspector if you are just starting out.  This is a great way to make sure that you didn't miss anything and you are including any additional repairs to you budget.  Any items you missed could be the difference of turning a profit or taking a loss.

Are you planning on moving into the property?  I would not close on a property i was planning to move into with a tenant who still has 60 days on lease.  I would look to have current owner remove tenants after the day of purchase, or schedule closing for after the lease is up.  You are asking for too many problems if you close and then you have to deal with ant issues that may come up.

@Matt Harris Try landlordstation.com They have a free version and upgrade for $10 a month.  This may be all you need to get going.

@Christian Sifuentes you can try lima one capital.  I believe they do MD.

@Barbara Chan Beware of companies like this. Some are legit, however most are not. You can setup an LLC with an attorney and then start to build credit yourself. For new businesses you will have to personally guaranty the loan. Start small with accounts that report to Dun & Bradstreet. You can do staples, office max, Walmart, apple etc.. Trick is you want 4-5 companies that report to them to establish credit. Also length of time the company has been in business plays a lot on lenders decision.

You don't want to mix your operating company with your holding company.  If your operating company defaults on a loan you don't want it tied to property held by your llc.  

Here is how I setup our llc's:

Operating LLC: Has business credit - all of our day to day goes through this LLC

Holding LLC: This only hold the property. No business is to be done out of this account.

Flip LLC: This only holds the property while we own it. No business to be done out of this account.

You can hold multiple bank accounts in your LLC's so you don't mix funds. Hopefully this will help get you started.

@Jason Small You always need to give yourself an out.  On all out offers we put in a 10 day inspection period to make sure there are no issues that could derail the deal.  We know our market and our area.  We have a formula for what we put into our flips and rentals.  We make offers based on our numbers and then if we get into an negotiation we will go look at the home.  We do all of our inspections (been doing it for years) so we know if there are hidden cost that may come up and we negotiate based on that.  Most of the time you will get a counter offer and when you actually go to the property, and there is more fix up then you had in your budget, you can then just walk away if both parties cannot agree on a deal.