All Forum Posts by: David Lee Hall, III

I have a rent schedule as an addendum on my lease. It is just a table I create in Excel with what is due when. Similar to an amortization schedule from a bank some lenders provide. I have it signed with the lease and provide a copy to the tenant. There are no questions then when things are due even for prorated months. (Haven't had to present it in court before, but I am sure a judge wouldn't complain about the additional documentation.)

Self-management is fine from a state perspective. Local ordinances may be more strict so it is always good to check with your municipality. If you get a PM, note that in PA the property management company must be a licensed real estate broker. Do not accept anyone that is unable to produce that licensure. I self-manage some of my rentals. As I am not a licensed broker, if I was to do it for someone else it would have to be a joint venture where I owned at least 1 share or 1% of the units as otherwise it would be considered practicing real estate without a license.  

I actually like Whitaker but never have managed to close on a home there (tried several). A lot of nice little streets with some mildly rougher areas mixed in. Not nearly as bad as say Duquesne for risk. The one thing my PM has always told me is you can get good tenants there, but it may take you 6-months to get that good tenant instead of settling. (Which is the main reason I never would budge on my offers.) Just my $0.02 since I haven't managed to close on one there yet. 

@Lee E. - are you desperate? I mean you have a number of flags there and are dancing a fine line. At 9 days employment, any employee is going to be probationary. While I can say I have rented to people that are hired and haven't started yet, they have had clean backgrounds and been positions such as teachers or RNs where someone else also conducted a background check just in case I missed something (and the employers confirmed in writing that there were no contingencies on their hiring). Everything is personal judgement, and if you are questioning it, you might find another reason to disqualify the prospective tenant. 

I have used Lima One Capital and RCN on deals. 

 Just wait until they see you write those words and then have a confused look after you been saying "ver-sales" for the past 10 minutes. 

NAL but my understanding is that a PM company in PA simply has to have a broker's license. This could be a shareholder with 1 share that is a broker or it could be a parent entity that is a brokerage. @Alex Deacon would be a good resource to reach out to on the specifics as he has his own RE Brokerage and PM companies. 

Plan on 250 if that is the case. You may also be able to request a cost or income based appraisal which could prove higher if your lender would accept those types.

I can't say I have ever paid a title company up front. I have paid a deposit when a lawyer was doing the closing. 

Here is what I have:

Lien Letters: I always have these, it is the fee processing from townships to make sure no liens are in place. I pulled my last 5 HUD documents and these ranged from $85-$250

Abstract Search Fee: I do not have this on any of mine, but there are several items rolled up into "services" and I do not have the itemized breakout so these could be in there.

I would ask why their Lien Letters section is so high - especially with pre-paying. Mine very every time and I asked about this and was told it is due to the number of entities that must be contacted depending on township and if any exist follow up work associated. 

@alan Gilmore 

For Insurance: Tiffany Nolan @ i.e. Insurance