All Forum Posts by: Emily Lopez

I'm not sure what the laws say regarding responsibility.  If the tenants are willing to stay and can do so temperature wise due to the season, I would offer them a discount on this month's rent. It'll be cheaper than a hotel.  

I think it's your comfort zone honestly.  It's just like the pay off your personal mortgage vs. new investments argument.  I get that often the numbers support investing more but others argue the peace of mind of paying off your own mortgage is entirely worth it.  I always pay extra.  Not a lot, just a little.  On a larger scale I am saving for new properties but I put a few extra hundred a month toward my mortgages so I can pay my first handful of properties off within less than 20 years of buying them.  I am also just a small scale investor with both my husband and I have full time jobs.  We're not big wig investors living off of real estate...yet ;)

@David Hines That is a great idea. I'll have to do that next time.  

I do not provide washer/dryers in my single family homes because it's just one more thing you are expected to maintain. I just purchased a two unit property and one of the tenants is great, never complains, we inherited him when we bought the property. New tenant is constantly asking for the stupidest stuff. He also feels the washer "is not cleaning his pants as well as he'd like" so he'd like us to replace it.  Keep it simple, the less you provide, the less you are responsible for. 

I charge a security deposit and first months rent.  My security deposit is usually a little less than rent. I have a $1000/month property with a $750 deposit.  Lower end one bedrooms, I charge $700/month and $500 security deposit. I do not do any sort of non-refundable deposit because it doesn't give anyone any motivation to do what they need to get it back.  I also do not charge last months rent.  Maybe in a high end rental that is doable but for a $1200/month home in our area, asking 1200+1200+750= 3150 is unaffordable for most people. If they were able to do that, they could just start saving a down payment for a house. If they break the lease, I just keep their deposit. 

I was lucky enough that when I was a teenager, my Calculus teacher asked me to work for him and his wife.  So I kind of just fell into having a great real estate mentor. On the other hand, I had to actively seek out my accounting mentor.  When I decided to go back to school for accounting, I knew I would need experience in the field. The problem was, I worked full time Monday through Friday  8-5 at my full time job.  I took cover letters to local accounting firms a little before tax season and explained my situation. I said I could only work nights and weekends but felt they would likely have extra work during tax season.  I also said I would work for free because my experience in accounting was at zero (other than the college classes I had taken so far) and I wanted to learn.  Fortunately, they gave me a chance and also offered to pay me and I have worked for them now two tax seasons while I am pursuing my degree in accounting and still working my other job. I have learned a lot and would have been willing to do it for free for the experience.  You just have to really seek out the opportunities and sometimes you have to sacrifice initially. 

Be prepared to work harder, miss your family more, and get somewhere but slowly.  Real estate investing, depending on the type, but especially not in my experience, is not walk in the park.  I do flip and holds and have always done all the work myself.  I work a full time job, a part time job during tax season preparing taxes, and work on houses. Because the money from my full time gig is what funds the house investments. I do all the repairs myself because financially you have to when you are just starting out (and I am on my fourth rental property). I am up late every night working on homes because the only time I'm not working is after 7pm.  It's hard to see my husband unless I can convince him to come help me on one of the houses, which he doesn't like to do. 

It's possible, but be ready to bust your *** for a few years.  I'm doing it now so I don't have to ten years plus down the road.  People see all the shows on tv and have unrealistic expectations entering into property investment.  You can do it, but be prepared to work harder than you've ever worked in your life.  If you're willing to do that, you'll get somewhere.

@Nick Brubaker  

I am a buy and hold person. We're not in an area where home values lose and gain value enough (even in horrible condition) to merit flipping so we stick with rentals.  Mortgage brokers include rental income as income once you have had it on your tax return for one full year so they can see the full reporting of what you are actually claiming to make.  Some mortgage brokers include that income after one full tax year, others want two years.  I've been told it depends on your history as a landlord, other properties, etc.  These would be great questions for a mortgage broker to chime in on as I am just repeating what has been told to me by my broker.  We bought a property in December of 2015 and one in May of 2015. Because it hadn't shown up on a tax return, the mortgage on the home we bought in May was counted in our debt to income ratio as debt and they wouldn't consider the income we made on the rental in the ratio.  However, we were obviously still able to use the money we had made toward the down payment of the new property.  For us this wasn't a huge detriment because we also have fulltime jobs But if you don't right now, that is something to consider. Even if you rent it for now, you can always sell later if you decide you need the capital.  

My real estate mentor always told me "Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you." With pets you will be just fine sometimes and sometimes you'll have issues.  It's a role of the dice. I rent to people with pets because not allowing them eliminates too much of your market of renters.  Also, if you don't allow them many people will get them anyways and hide them. You're best off charging a larger deposit and/or an extra monthly fee. I charge $25 extra dollars a month for pet owners.  So far, I have had no issues with pets in my own properties.  I have seen lots of damage when I was working for other rental property owners. It also depends on how you scree your tenants. Good tenants will care for and manage their animals. Also, if you do decide to allow pets, I would recommend gradually transitioning to laminate or tile floors which can handle pet wear a little better. 

Good luck!

I would never give anyone money who promised to tell you the secrets to invest in real estate.  Unless you are actually taking a class to work toward some sort of valuable certification or license. Use the money you would put into the costly seminars into an account to begin saving for your first down payment. There is no magic path, just busting your *** to save capital and get into your first property.