All Forum Posts by: David Thomas

As a fellow dog owner I understand both sides but as a LL the lease terms were violated. What other terms would she or any tenant violate? Not worth the risk as Matthew mentioned. I commend @Matthew Paul for taking swift and decisive action to protect his interests. Flexing to her violation now points to more trouble down the road and makes it look as if he would bend other rules.

Hello @Hassan Johnson , welcome to BP! This is a great community for you to learn and meet people.

Check out the article on wholesaling by @Joshua Dorkin founder of Bigger Pockets, if you have not already.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2006/11/25/wholesaling-real-estate-basics/

What part of Jersey are you moving to?

Hello @Nick Leamon

I would certainly take a look at the advice from some of the seasoned investors here when it comes to reserves. You are 3.5 years from the PMI drop off and its almost guaranteed you will have an unexpected expense/possibly a large one, that eats into your cash by then. Are you putting all of the $245 into a reserve or savings? If not, I made that mistake on my first rental and I was fine like you are now, until the tenant of 2 years stopped paying, trashed the place the last two months and cost me thousands in repairs that lost all of the small profit I made each month over 2 years. Your rental is now at the mercy of the tenant and part of your plan appears to include the "hope" clause, i.e. - hope the tenant is perfect at maintaining the premises and hope that no major repairs or improvement come up in the next few years.

Also, I don't understand why you would forgo higher rent and ultimately cash in your pocket with a tactic of "below market value, but I'm more interested in quality, long term, low turnover tenets". My opinion is that a quality tenant is found by doing your due diligence on their income/work history/prior landlord references/credit checks, etc, having nothing to do with rent rate or number of people calling to see your rental. A great apartment at market rate will always rent!

I share these thoughts as someone who has learned a lot since my first rental and want to see you succeed, not making any oversights that can be costly and are in your immediate control.

Best of luck and keep us posted over time!

Hey Adam Settelmyer First, congrats on your commitment and dedication to preparing yourself for RE investing! My recommendation is to immediately reach out to local Realtors that work regularly with investors or even better, are investors themselves. Do a quick phone screen and let them know what your goals are. You need a local expert who can show you solid comps so you know if that "great deal" you see on a website is worth pursuing. Also, what will be your do focus? Rehab and flip? Rentals? Best.

Hello Tim,

Congrats on starting your real estate journey and welcome to the BP community! Nice to see another local resident here and I would certainly be happy to meet up and connect as @Darren Sager mentioned.

There is a ton of information here and you'll find great people to assist you. Take a look at Investment Calculators under the Analyze tab. Also check out The-Book-On-Flipping-Houses and The-Book-On-Estimating-Rehab-Costs both by @J Scott - an expert resource on BP and active investor who is highly regarded. It is a fantastic resource and worth much more than the $22 investment.

Hi Stephen, I'm familiar with the area but no expert by any means. I lived & worked in NE PA for 5 years and NJ for the past 4 years. My first reaction is don't get too caught up with the sticker prices there, ie-much lower list prices than many areas in NJ/PA. But since you are from the area you likely know that plus most of what I will say regarding investing in the area. However, solid due diligence on the property and tenant histories will be critical - view the leases, cleared rent checks, utilities and maintenance, etc etc. if the current owner will provide those. Also take a close look at the employment and income data for those areas and see if it's something that fits your risk profile. The average household income is much lower than the rest of the state. The plus side is that there is a decent employment base from the healthcare field and manufacturing services in surrounding areas such as Bethlehem/Lehigh Valley in general. The healthcare and hospital system has been growing and expanding there for the past few years. Find an investor friendly realtor or other local investors through BP and the right property will eventually come to you. Be conservative with numbers and plan for worst case scenarios. If you haven't already check out the rental analysis tools on BP. Best of luck ! And keep us posted on your progress.

Any chance there was ceiling work done (ie-drop ceiling installed or a second layer of ceiling panels) that actually closed in a detector? Sounds silly but you never know. Reminds me of the neighbor at my old rental unit who insisted we had a faulty alarm beeping in the semi-attached house. Turns out they had an old alarm stuffed in their own kitchen cabinets. Worth a laugh for sure !

Brandon,

Have you connected with local landlords and investors in your area (ie: meet-up groups, local REI associations, lawyers, etc )? The internet and BP are great sources of information and ideas, but nothing will beat getting out there and meeting people with experience in your local area. Bigger Pockets likely has some local people to get you going.

I made beginner mistakes with my first rental and it was because I relied solely on reading and doing it solo. Great things happen when you branch out!

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Welcome Marcus! BP is an outstanding community with a ton of resources and great people to learn from.

Best of luck in your RE ventures.

David

Greg Jastrzab

Hi Greg,

I can say first hand as a renter for many years (with a well behaved dog) that in NJ it is very difficult to find dog friendly apartments that do not try to rake you over the coals for every penny (i.e.-non refundable deposits, ridicoulous monthly pets fees, etc), for the "just in case" scenario with a dog.

If you really want to stand out from every other landlord you should welcome dog owners and might be surprised at how happy and responsible your tenants can be. The fact that these potential tenants have already said upfront that they will "work a clause in the lease to pay for any damage to the carpet specifically (cost $1k to install) and offered additional security" tells me that they may have experienced the same as I have - many rejections and really want a nice place and someone not so prejudice against pets because of the the bad stories LL's hear yet never experience.

My advise is charge a non-refundable pet deposit of $500 or whatever you and the tenant agree upon, as it is quite common in NJ. Plus, it will help you sleep a bit better at night.

PS. - my last tenant and her kids destroyed my rental property more than any dog could have. I'd give THEM a $1,000 if I could have traded the kids for a dog and undo the mess they left me! I should have charged a "wild animal" deposit and monthly fee the way those kids were.

Best of luck.