All Forum Posts by: Edgar Claudio

Hi Derrik,

I'll try to fill in as much as I can from my own personal experiences. 

I had hardwood flooring installed in one of my homes and had the same concerns as you. 

Not sure how the rental market is in Columbia, but here in Orlando, it's pretty crazy as you can list a home to rent and have multiple applications by the end of the day. So if the rental market is hot in your area, this means you can be much more pickier. 

My tenants have two labador size dogs. I charged a non-refundable fee of $250 per dog and they quickly paid because most other places either weren't as nice and/or didn't allow pets. You could charge more or less. I used the $500 dollars to pay for a home warranty plan for the year. Now your AC/Hvac, plumbing, things like that are now covered. 

Cash flow of $500 is pretty darn good. There should be some additional funds to put aside for contingencies. For my homes,  I put 20% of my cashflow into a continent account. 

You can always hire a property manager and just use their services to locate you a good tenant. You can omit the monthly management services and do it yourself. Easier to manage a good tenant than to locate one in my opinion.

Hope this helps

Richard,

Again, thanks for all your advice and knowledge in being a long term landlord! I've followed the same method when it comes to tenant screening. I feel that stricter screening on applicants means better quality tenants and I've been fortunate to have tenants who continue to renew their leases year after year with little to no headaches in between. 

I think I will introduce the annual meet or stop by and drop off something like a $50 dollar gift card during the holidays to show my gratitude towards them. I myself have a handful of tenants so they're managable at this time. Thanks for the great advice! 

If you have any questions or concerns about MFP's, feel free to reach out to me. I've been working with them for several years now and it's almost hard for me to stray away from them. My goal for along time now is what you're already doing, owning and managing properties out of state. From your lessons learned over the past few years owning and being a landlord from out of state, what would you tell someone who wants to do the same? This is assuming I tend to hold for long term and self manage with minimum cash flow of $300ish per door.

Thanks

Glad to have you. What kind of REI are you interested in?

Thanks for your response Richard! I've been looking at TBA as well. I'm a huge fan of MFP's, but they are becoming slim pickings here in central Florida. In SF, the prices are getting ridiculous so I've been looking out of state with a great caution. Good thing about SF and the Largo area is rents are high so with proper planning you'll get great cash flow. Do you have a minimum number you shoot for per door? I try to get atleast $350 per door after all monthly expenses and it's very achievable here in the Orlando area so far.

Hi Rob,

I self manage 3 doors. 1 Duplex and 1 condo. I'm also considering investing out of state and NC is on my list. Any tips you can provide me with on being a landlord while living in Florida? Do you recommend any cities?

Hello fellow investors!

If the objective was to get as many rental properties as possible within 1-2 years with $75,000 in cash, how would you approach it? 

I'd look into rent to own properties or even seller financing with a low or no money down option. There's always a way!

Hi Matt,

I've purchased a few properties ranging from a Townhouse, SFH, and Multifamily. I don't think the status of the home matters to the VA or lender unless it's in auction or something, it's the condition. They need to be habitable by the VA standards. I'd check on the VA site to see what are the requirements for a home that will qualify.