All Forum Posts by: Cathy T.

You might want to ask what type of birds...large macaws destroy wood work and drywall if they can reach it....and Conures are ear-splittingly loud...

Greetings! I can't make that day because I will be working, but if it is not carved in stone and can be moved to either the 22nd (Monday) or 25th (Thursday) I can be there! I cant believe I missed the last one...I somehow missed all notifications, and had no idea it was on...which is doubly annoying because I could have attended.  Aaaargh!

OK, I am back and delighted to see all these responses. I have been wanting to go to any possible seacoast REIA, but the ones I know of seem to be meeting consistently on nights that I work. I have Mondays and Thursdays off, so if that can be factored in to possible meeting dates I would vastly appreciate it!

Anthony!

Hi! I own a duplex in Somersworth, and am looking to buy my next property soon.

Count me in! I will be unable to get online until Tuesday, but will check in on this thread then.

Looking forward to talking to you, and anyone else in the area!

Cathy T.

Holy Moly! Scott, thank you! I had called Audible and ASKED if the CD was available...which means I want the info ON THE CD...and the person I spoke to just said the CD was not available with the audio version...so why not tell me that the information is available ON THE AUDIBLE WEBSITE? Aaargh!

I use the Audible app from my phone, which had (and probably still has) no mention of being able to download that info.

Thank you VERY much!

No, no luck. I have it as a saved search on eBay, but nada so far. I tried borrowing the book from my local library, but their copy had already "lost" the CD, so no success there. 

Still hoping....

Wow! I was unable to revisit this thread for a few days but just now checked in, and am so glad I did!

Troy Zsofka....THANK YOU! Your response is well expressed, and right on point. Yes, I should get over my desire to avoid lawyers, and get the advice I need...or end up spending MUCH more time with lawyers when I make a mistake. Excellent advice. Your other points also confirmed much of what I either know, or have suspected. On a related note, is there a "NH landlord support group" that I should join? I have not found much while searching the internet for such a thing.

After talking with the tenant and expressing my concerns, and then hearing their needs, I have decided to have them both sign a new lease that will be in effect until the end of the original lease (April 1). If all is going well, and they choose to renew (which he has already said he wishes to do), then a new lease will be done up for both of them with a rent increase. Two people are indeed an increase in wear and tear.

Between now and then, I will find and consult with an attorney specializing in real estate law. This subject will be discussed, and I will also have him/her go over my lease to be sure it is right.

Thank you all again. Much appreciated!

Mike Hurney...glad you like my hat! He has a built in heating element, very nice in the winter.

My deepest thanks to everyone! Several points have been brought up that never crossed my mind, and everyone's thoughts on the matter have been considered.

Some additional info gathered just this morning...apparently the girlfriend needs to have some sort of documentation as to her living situation in order to continue qualifying for a government program that she is on. (I know which program, but am choosing to be discreet.) And, she has a child, somewhere.

I am leaning heavily towards the addendum suggestion, with fully adding her to a new lease when he/they renew the lease in 5 months.

So...can anyone suggest wording for this addendum, or point me in a direction I might go to find such a thing? Ideally I would talk to a lawyer about this, but it is not in the budget at the moment.

I am going to add a question to this post to attempt to resurrect it, as I still am hoping for some input!

As an update: Wells Fargo has no 2% down deal on duplexes. I was approved for a multi family mortgage, but they required 20% down...that's not going to happen any time soon!

However, a "retention specialist" from my mortgage company called me a few weeks ago, and stated that if the value of the house has gone up since I bought it (and it probably has...I have been doing some work, and had improvements made by a contractor) then it may be possible to have it reappraised. If the value HAS gone up to the point where I have 20% equity, then I could convert my FHA mortgage into a conventional, thereby enabling me to drop the PMI.

This sounds good...but does that also mean that I can get another FHA mortgage at some point down the road? My understanding (see my original post) is that since the rules changed recently I can not get another FHA unless the new property is 100 miles away from my first....is that forever? Or is there a time limit? What if I convert to a conventional and wait a year? Two years? Or am I banned forever? (My current duplex is a buy and hold investment.)

Thank you!

Nathan Gesner...excellent point regarding a landlord reference...I was so dismayed at the credit report that I just stopped right there. I can and should pursue that. Thanks!