All Forum Posts by: DJ Cummins

Hi @Peter Darby,

We charge a $30 application fee(seems to weed out some of the bad applicants) and we use this fee to run an online background check.  These two steps have worked well for us so far.

Good luck, and congrats!

DJ

Hi @Michael Breedlove

We started with a 4 unit, and it isnt to much to handle.  It has been really good to us.  I would say go for it if you find the right place.  It will definitley help with vacancy costs.  If you have 1 sfr and it is vacant, there isnt any income.  if you have a 4-plex, 1 vacancy doesnt hurt nearly as bad.  

Good luck!

Hello @Filipe Coimbra,

Can you not take out a longer term loan/mortgage?  It sounds like you are stable and can take the monthly hit, but A LOT can change in four years.  Seems like a big risk to me.

so we evicted a tenant a few days ago...there is quite a bit of kold, mainly in the bedroom and bathroom. Its very weird and gross. we got a bid yesterday to have it fixed...in doing so, along with cleaning/remediating, they will be tearing out the bottom 4 feet of all the walls. they do not fix the walls, so thats another added cost. my qiestion...can i just go in myself, tear out all of the walls, and put up fresh dry wall and flooring? is that ok? if so, is just throwing that moldy material in a dumpster ok or is there a special procedure? any advice is appreciated. fyi....me ripping out the walls, and having it professionally drywalled is cheaper than the remediation bid alone.

@John D. --good for you!  In my market, 6k is about 1/2 way to a down payment on a single family home.  I am sure that in California, you will need to keep saving unless you work on some of the no/low money down strategies.  If you can keep saving for a couple more years until you are out of school and can work full time, you will have a tremendous head start on 99.9% of investors.  

keep on learning, keep on saving!  If you do both of those, i would be that in the next couple of years, you will be more than ready to get started!  

Hi @Jamison Wiersema, I am from the Illinois side of the river, about 20 minutes from St. Louis.  We have a good market here as well.  I have a good agent over here, who is also an investor.  I can get you her info if you like.  I am also glad to help if you have any questions for me.(i own 5 units, so i wouldn't say i am an expert, but i know a thing or two about a thing or two) :)

If its for a rental, i love the slab foundation.  Ive never had issues renting one out, and basements here in the midwest are 99% of time iffy at best.  I have looked at 50 homes in the past 2 months, and ruled our 75% of them for the basement alone.

Find a small bank or credit union.  I financed one for 43k a couple months ago.  Plenty of places will be able to help you out.

Thanks everyone!  We were able to reach an agreement and the judge signed off on it.  Tenant will be gone in 48 hours, and we arent fighting for any back rent.  We just want the guy gone.

thank you everyone, i appreciate the input. I think we are overly prepared, just nervous and anxious!