All Forum Posts by: Jacob Forbis

Hi JuanCarlos Contreras Jr - definitely follow these folks' advice - try bigger pockets first. I didn't and spent thousands on "mentors" before finding bp. While they did help me get my first rental, I overpaid and could have done better through the community here. Also, I would say don't be fooled by the more affordable $50-100 product. Usually the entry level product is designed to get you in cheap. It usually doesn't teach you all that much and is just a sales pitch for a more expensive course or membership level. Not saying you won't learn anything from them, but just that you have to be careful.

@Stephen S. @Chris K. Thanks for chiming in. I think I am going to allow the month to month but chat with them, and ask that they give me a heads up if they are not going to pay rent. I do think that they are good people, and I really don't want to have to mess with an eviction.

I'm also going to try to figure out my plan if they end up not being able to pay. Part of me wants to sell and get out of the area, but I would probably have to take a net loss if I did that, and it's hard for me to swallow that. If I rent for a few more years I'm hoping I can come around with a net gain.

@Bill S. You make a very solid point. I plan on sitting down and talking with them to see if they really will be able to make rent. I will remind them of the eviction process as well - and that I can't afford to subsidize their rent.

Thanks @Steve Babiak ! This is great!

Thanks @Doug Minton , @Sam Leon , and @Craig Brouillette

The alarm system was to give them peace of mind after the home was broken into around Christmas time last year. Also, the outside AC unit was stolen last september. I feel like the alarm system benefits both of us, and it is a month-to-month system with easy self install, so it was a relatively low cost expense.

I am worried about them being able to make rent, as to be honest they were probably cutting it too close even with his job. He is seeking unemployment.

I am not sure about "easily renting it out to someone else" as to be honest this turns out to be not the greatest area.

Ok, I admit it, I made quite a few mistakes with my first rental. :/

@Aaron Montague you make a good point. We had discussed raising the rents earlier however due to the fact that I added an alarm monitoring service and we had come to an agreement that they would pay for that service.

So I am thinking I will just raise it to the amount previously discussed ($25 increase to a $1000 rent) and not raise it any additional amount for the month-to-month lease.

Thanks @Doug Minton for the reply. I agree with you that them communicating is great. They really have been great tenants.

Would it make sense to raise the rent slightly to help offset the greater risk on my part, or would that seem like putting salt on the wound since he just lost his job?

My tenant's lease expires May 31st and when I asked them about renewing they informed me that the father had lost his job. They are asking to do month to month until he finds another job.

What would you do in this situation??

I'm tempted to allow it because they have been good tenants, but the father has only been at that job for a year (he was just starting it when they moved in last year) and I am starting to wonder if he has problems holding down jobs.

I would love some perspectives here.

This was very helpful folks! Thanks!

So after doing a lot of reading on the forums and listening to a lot of the podcasts, I am beginning to appreciate the importance of researching an area before purchasing. Not only is it important to research areas from a price to rent ratio standpoint, but also from an appreciation and safety standpoint.

So my question is this: How do you research an area ? Specifically. I am having a really hard time with this.

I am wanting to invest in san antonio and it is a big city. There are a lot of people here, and I don't know where I should start.

I have looked at places like city-data and a lot of browsing around on zillow and redfin, but am having a hard time coming up with things like price to rent, appreciation rates, job growth etc.

So where do you look for this information?