All Forum Posts by: Graham Mink

Hi Thomas,

Sorry to read about your situation, it happens too often in my opinion. I am an insurance agent (and REI) in Vermont so we see it all of the time (at work, not in my rentals, knock on wood). For my commercial property I require insurance in the lease and I am starting to think that I should require it for my residential property as well. I am not sure if it's legal to require it. Does anyone know if you can require tenants to have rental insurance?

The cost is minimal, less than $200/yr, so it doesn't make sense that people would go without it. Amazing that someone tries to save a $150 and when it back fires still has the lack of integrity to accept responsibility for it. We deal with this all of the time at the Agency and most of the problems come from uninsured and underinsured individuals. Pennywise and pound foolish.

Keep in mind that your annual premium is going to increase for the next 3 years at least due to the claim. I would recommend staying with your current insurance company for at least that long since when you go to shop it you will be required to provide 3-5 years of loss runs to the new company. When they see the claim they will probably charge you more if they accept you at all. Also keep in mind that your current company may flat cancel your policy when it comes up for renewal. This means they will decide not to renew for another year and you will be forced to go somewhere else, which stinks for you as well. I feel the tenant got off easy simply paying the deductible, you could have more expensive problems down the road. If you have a good insurance agent I would give them a call and ask them about this, they may have more insight into what your current carrier will do once the claim is closed. Good luck!

Graham

@Jassem Those are two great deals! I am thinking about doing the same thing, buy a fixer upper with cash, renovate, rent and then get a HELOC. Where did you get the HELOCs from? Were they difficult to get? Did you need to wait a certain amount of time before getting them?

Thanks for the good advice!

If anyone else has any resources to learn more about how to complete a sub2 deal could you let me know?

Thank you!

Hmmm, low traffic businesses that want high visibility. Insurance agency, tax preparer, financial advisors, travel agency, hair salon, tanning beds, bead store, plumbing supply store, think about big stores you have been in that don't have a lot of people in them at once. Or businesses that have a small retail or office space and need lots of storage. Let us know what you figure out!

Good luck!

Hi everyone!

I am interested in proposing a subject to deal to an absent landlord who is listing through a Realtor. Does anyone have any advice on the best way to go about doing this? I am nervous that too complex a proposal will be immediately rejected. I also am not that familiar with the process myself, since I have only read about it and never taken part in one. Are there any other resources other than BP where I can get a good overview and advice?

Graham

Wow! So if I read that right you are pulling out $8k a year on a $24k investment, that is a great deal! Govt money too...

Thanks for the post @Manuel Gonzalez

Is it discriminatory to charge more per person if you as landlord are responsible for all of the utilities? I have a 3 unit building where separating the utilities out would be difficult and expensive. I haven't charged more per person yet but I am thinking about it because the last tenants that moved in are spending $75 more a month in utilities. I have spoken with them about it and the usage has gone down but moving forward I am thinking about charging a base rent for two people then an extra $50 a month per adult. Would this be considered discrimination?

What is your best deal ever? I would love to hear about other investors success stories. Flips, wholesale, buy and holds, what has been the best deal you have ever been personally a part of? Specifically I am most interested to hear how you got such a great deal and what the numbers work(ed) out to. Profit, cap rate, Cash on cash return, roi would all be helpful. What did you do that made the deal go from good to great? Hearing about others positive experiences helps me to be more optimistic and less likely to think that a deal is "too good to be true". Thank you!

I second (or third or fourth) the suggestion to drop the middle tier altogether. If you go with a free and premium tier you simplify things and make more money. Having the cheaper paid option I feel costs you $100 every time someone signs up. If someone is willing to pay they are going to pay, otherwise they won't. Giving a monthly option and a discount for a year membership allows someone on the fence to try it out without spending $150. If it were me I would do a minimum 3 month paid subscription for $50 and keep your year pricing around $150. Just my .02

Hi Sandy,

You can check home steps dot com and homepath.com for free. They contain all of the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae REO. Then I would suggest trying to find a good real estate agent whom understands what an investor is looking for and ask them to email you all the foreclosures that come on the market. It's easy for them to set it up so you get notified right away. The trick is finding a good agent. Good luck!

Graham