All Forum Posts by: Eric Lee

@Ankur Agarwal I ended up getting a house in mesquite.  It was pretty much rent ready, so i was able get it rented in within a month.  the tenants have been great so far

@Cindy Zhang  Thanks for sharing your experience.  I ended up realizing a similar thing, that the different in rate was too significant.  Luckily I was able to close on a deal using traditional financing.  Sorry for the slow response here, but if you still wanted to chat I'd be happy to.

@Fred Heller Thanks for the info.  My realtor did give me the lease, and is willing to back that up in case questions ever arise, so sounds like I'm in the clear.

Thanks everyone else as well for your responses!

Hi Everyone,

I'm in the process of screening tenants for my first rental property.  I asked my realtor if he had a copy of a lease I could reference or use, and he sent me a copy of the TAR-2001 form.  From what I've read, only real estate agents are authorized to use this lease.  I am not a realtor, but if my agent is involved in helping me with the leasing process, would I be able to use this lease? Would my agent need to "cosign" the lease in some way to make it valid since I'm not a realtor?

Reading through the TAR lease it seems very thorough and I like the content.  Worst case if I can't use this lease as a non-realtor, what if I retyped the entire thing into my own format.  Even if I kept a lot of the verbiage the same, would this be legal?

Thanks,

Eric

Hi All,

I'm in the process of screening tenants for my first rental property.  I asked my realtor if he had a copy of a lease I could reference or use, and he sent me a copy of the TAR-2001 form.  I am not a realtor, but if my agent is involved in helping me with the leasing process, would I be able to use this lease?  Would my agent need to "cosign" the lease in some way to make it valid since I'm not a realtor?

Reading through the TAR lease it seems very thorough and I like the content.  Worst case if I really shouldn't use it as a non-realtor, what if I retyped the entire thing into my own format.  Even if I kept a lot of the verbiage the same, would this be legal?

Thanks

Thanks everyone for the advice, much appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I'm closing in on becoming a first time landlord!  I was wondering what process others follow for processing tenant applications?  If I plan to have an open house to allow multiple potential tenants to see the property, in the event that I get multiple applications, what is the best/most fair way to work through the applications?

Would you collect an application fee for each applicant, run all the reports, and select the most qualified tenant?  If so, would you return application fees for the other applicants?

Or would you process the applications on a first come first serve basis and take the first tenant who passes the approval process?  Again in this case, would you return any application fees?

Appreciate any advice you can offer.

Thanks,

Eric

@Simon W. I don't currently have an LLC, but that's also something I'm looking into to try and figure out if I need one at this point. My goal is to acquire more properties, but it will probably be a slow process (maybe one per year starting off).

@Lance Lvovsky  @Lionel Li Thank you both for the feedback, very helpful info

So can I write-off the mileage from the many times I drove around with my agent looking at properties, before finally finding this one?  I didn't keep track of those trips, but sounds like I might want to go back and calculate how much driving I did?

Also, I don't have a CPA yet, but it sounds like I will need one come tax time, even if I only have one rental property?

Hi All,

I got my first rental property (SFH) under contract and am now working through the process towards closing. I'm excited about the opportunity, but want to make sure I'm prepared for everything that's about to come. I understand that organized/accurate bookkeeping will be a vital part of managing the property effectively, so I'm here seeking some advice.

When exactly in the process do I need to start tracking expenses?  If I haven't closed on the property yet, do I still need to track money spent on things like inspector/contractor costs during the due diligence process?  What about mileage traveling to the property?  Or do these kinds of expenses only become tax deductible and need to be tracked after the official closing?  Are there any other bookkeeping related things I should be keeping in mind at this point in the process not having closed yet?

These are some of my initial questions, guessing I'll probably have many more later, but appreciate any advice you all have.  Thanks!

Eric