All Forum Posts by: Eric G.

I'm buying a house in Fullerton, CA that is on pier and beam foundation. My home inspector brought up some foundation issues during his inspection, but I'm having a hard time finding a structural engineer in Orange County to take a look. If anybody has any referrals it would be appreciated. Thanks!

If the tenants will sign a year renewal at the same rate, I'd say lock it up. Does it signal weakness? Or that you're a flexible landlord willing to make smart compromises? That question aside, I see too often that landlords are short sighted when it comes to rent increases. You want to do everything in your power to keep a good tenancy going. The biggest costs landlords incur are vacancy related: turnover maintenance, leasing fees, and the actual vacancy time. The $300 extra rent you would get will pale in comparison to just one month of vacancy and turnover.

If it's causing you lost sleep and you're stressing out, then you are over leveraged. I'm stressed out for you, frankly! As previous posters have mentioned, good screening is key. However, things can happen anyway. If you can't absorb three months of non payment, or a possible plumbing nightmare, then you are cutting it too close. Before you expand further I'd recommend saving a reserve fund for each of your properties. If you intend to finance future properties lenders will want to see that anyway.

It's unclear to me...is the property next door a done deal and closed at $330k? Or did it just hit the market?

If it just hit the market, the low cost could a marketing tactic to get a bidding war going.

If it sold, it will hurt appraisals. But if there are other neighborhood comps to support a higher value, you stand a chance of getting through a future appraisal.

Make sure you spell Acquisition correctly on your business card :) Welcome to BP and kudos on your success! Keep it up!

I am selling a property in Orange County CA. Went on the market yesterday. Looking to exchange into a larger property with better cap rate. I will come out of the sale with about $200k, which will be my down payment for the upleg property. So the property must be financeable. My preference is a 2-4 unit that has good cash flow, but also open to a good deal with potential equity upon rehab. I'm open to any market around the U.S. 

Don't do it!!!!!

Just in case that wasn't clear enough, DON'T DO IT!

Once a person establishes tenancy by moving in, you have to go through an official eviction, which could be a 2-3 month process here in California. 

Besides, I'd say it's easier to sell a vacant property.

I'm a property manager and I've screened hundreds and hundreds of applications. Officially, we look for a 620 or above. I believe that's what you need to get a conforming loan. But from my experience, the score isn't always indicative of a quality credit risk. I've seen plenty of applicants with sub 600 scores without a blemish on their report. I'm guessing they just don't meet the profile the bureaus want to see. From my perspective, if you're score is low because you don't have many accounts open that is a good thing. It indicates that person lives within their means without relying on credit. On the other side of things, I see plenty of apps over 700 fico with recent bankruptcies or major collections. Go figure. You just have to learn to read a credit report and analyze the application as a whole (credit, income, background).

The answer to your question is yes. You can do almost anything within reason if the tenant agrees to it upfront in the lease and signs off on it. If it wasn't agreed to upfront I don't recommend charging. 

@Leslie Pappas 

@Michael McLoughlin

Can you please expand on DSTs? What are they? How do they work? What kind of return is average?