All Forum Posts by: Francois G.

I'm surprised so many people are paying for this. I understand the cost is cheap but there's dozens of services that offer the same exact features and it doesn't cost you a penny.

Edit: I'm referring to secondary phone apps in general, not Textnow specifically.

My setup is a little different because I have 2 cell phones (1 personal, 1 business.... worked out bc of my phone plan but I wouldn't recommend it) but on my business phone I use the regular number for my real estate sales calls and I use the app "TextFree" for all my real estate investing inquiries. 

TextFree is free, texts great, but if you're not connected to wifi the phone calls can be a little choppy. I haven't had any calls cut out completely or any calls dropped though, for what that's worth. I think you might have to pay for minutes to make outbound calls but they offer a bunch of promotions where you can do other things for minutes like watch videos and stuff like that. If you're looking for the no cost route, I would recommend. 

I'm shocked by these comments and I'm surprised so many people claim they would be ok with this. Most of us are open to 2nd chances (im open to even more) but this is a different ballgame especially when other families will be living in close proximity.

The answer is a hard no for SO many reasons. Potential tenants who fall in love with the property and become friends with your family should never be the criteria used to fill a vacancy. I will promise you one thing... they will NOT be this friendly to you and your family when they're 60 days behind on rent. 

You said you're house hacking, are you comfortable sleeping in the same house as a convicted murderer? When they're blasting music at 2am, are you comfortable knocking on the door to tell them to lower the music? How do you plan to deal with the situation if they fall behind on rent? Living in California (a well known landlord-friendly state) is even more of a reason why this should be a hard no. In the middle of a pandemic when we have a federal eviction moratorium for at least 8 more months? I'm literally shaking my head just typing this out.

This is going to sound harsh and I'm not trying to be rude/mean/disrespectful but I'm telling you this for your own safety and well being. Don't rent this unit to them because you seem too naive to be involved with these kind of tenants. The landlords who are able to handle these kinds of risks have specific systems in place. If you're asking a public forum for the answer to this, I don't think you're prepared to handle these kind of tenants in real life. Again, I'm not trying to be rude or disrespect you. I'm telling you this for your own good. There are plenty of potential tenants (especially now) out there who will be less headache and less risk.

Good luck to you.

Any state that takes anywhere remotely close to 1 year to execute an eviction isn't a state I would invest in rental properties. Others will and others have had plenty of success but it's not my cup of tea.

When did I say I don't agree with the laws/regulations in NJ? You're reading too much into the post (or maybe not enough). I stated to OP some issues people have with investing in this region is how expensive taxes are and a lot of states in this region give more protections to the tenants more than the landlords. Never mentioned anything about what laws/regulations I do/don't agree with. 

I'm sure many rental investors do well there. My intent wasn't to steer him away. But I was telling him what I've seen from personal experience. The same way others who have a different POV can tell him what they've seen from their personal experience. To each his own. 

Being a tenant/landlord-friendly state is subjective so outside of what's written in their legislation, I'm not sure what kind of concrete evidence you're looking for. Evictions shouldn't be the only factor in deciding if a state is tenant/landlord friendly. Most important factor? Probably to many, but it's not the only factor. In addition you have to consider things like regulations on security deposits, regulations on raising rents, expenses you are/aren't responsible for, who's responsible for maintaining the property, etc.

I won't engage in the conspiracy talk but same situation in the city and Long Island. It's a mess. I know a handful of landlords who have tenants that are still employed but they're using the moratorium to evade paying rent. I understand there's many who need the assistance but the language of this makes it too easy for tenants to take advantage of. I'm sure they'll extend it again once May comes around. I wouldn't expect it to be lifted until 2022 but hopefully I'm wrong.

Anyone investing in rentals in C- properties in NY EVER is taking a huge gamble. You're at least in one of the better regions in NY for rental investing, out here it's extremely difficult to make the numbers work. The portfolios of most investors out here don't consist on many rentals in NY, mostly fix and flips.

If you're looking for a walkable city without the expenses NYC brings, I would recommend the city I went to college in.... Providence, RI. The state as a whole is very small but Downtown Providence is very affordable with high walkability even outside of Downtown to places like Federal Hill. The city has a bunch of colleges in one small area so it's a very young crowd (whether that's a good or a bad thing depends on your age. I'm 31 now so not my first choice lol).

I'm assuming you mean a city to live in, not invest in. It's an area I would stay away from in terms of investing for a few years. As I mentioned, it's heavily populated with students but the student rentals market has taken a hit with so much online courses and virtual learning due to the pandemic. Of course, online courses and virtual learning was a thing pre-pandemic but it never effected the rental market like it is now. 

Colleges are being exposed now more than ever for how they exploit students. I assume the incoming Biden administration will expose them even more with the possibility of student loan relief and other policies. It's a niche I would stay away from right now if you were considering it. Rhode Island also has some bogus eviction laws.

All in all, Providence is great if you're young, looking for high walkability, and better cost of living than NYC. But it wouldn't be my number 1 choice (or even close to it) for investing purposes.

It's a tough time in the cycle for student rentals. I would say the biggest advantage you have (not knowing you or your situation) is that you're a current student. That should help significantly when it comes to marketing.

You're in a good state for rentals. Which college town in Indiana are you operating in? If it's not a hardcore college town (ex: Bloomington) that caters strictly to college students, you can try marketing it as a normal rental. 

If you're refinancing, what's your motivation/reasoning for using your own cash to pay closing fees? Hard to answer your question without knowing that first.

Don't buy anything these "gurus" tell you. They're the only ones who sell this business as a "get rich quick" scheme bc they're the only ones getting rich quick from scamming ignorant beginner investors for tens of thousands of dollars.

Everything you need to know about real estate investing is right on this website for FREE. If you get into real estate sales, this site and your experience from RE sales will mold you into a sharp investor quicker than you think.