All Forum Posts by: Gordon French

I have been considering this. It would have to be disclosed in the lease and might not be legal in all cities. I was planing on saying all utilities included up to X amount of gas and x kilowatts used. If the property exceeds that x amount there will be a fee of x per whatever used. I think I could make additional profit on energy efficient homes. 

I have only had the property with this issue for a month. I reviewed the utilities for the past few years and figured the average then raised my estimated rent by that much plus a margin of protection. In this case say Gas was 25 a month I raised it to 35. 

I rented the 3 vacant units in a couple days. 

1. Yes, set up a separate business account and run everything through that. It will make your taxes much easier. You also are going to want to keep the money separate and learn to think of it as a business. That is the businesses money not yours. One of the first steps in being a good land lord and making money is to run it as a business. 
2. Yes. You should separate the lease from the home. You want one of them in an LLC. I put all the houses in my name and the lease is between the tenant and my LLC. The homes are then licensed to the LLC for property management. Most owners I know of seem to put the properties in an LLC and lease in there name.
3. The is a fee to use a credit card. Either you or the tenant will have to pay this. I am a developer and wrote my own application. Im actually thinking about marketing it anyway... There are several online solution for this. For now I would not worry about it. Talk to the bank financing the properties and see if the tenants can pay the rent there. Most of my tenants take the rent directly to the bank. Out of 11 tenants I only have one who pays online. Worry about this process a little later in the game. You have more important issues to focus on. 

I am not new to rental properties in any way. I own 11 properties but they are all local and traditional rentals. I would like to learn more about vacation rentals as way to reduce the expense of something I want, rather then as a way to make money. 

Within a couple years I would like to buy a condo in Las Vegas as a vacation property for myself. However we all know this is a huge waste of money. Yes, I could look into a duplex and rent one site.... but my question is more about vacation rentals. 

Has anyone done this in Las Vegas? 
Can anyone recommend a few sites to list the property on?
Is there a company that manages the cleaning and day to day issues? 

Im not looking for some 10% CAP rate. Im simple looking to reduce the monthly cost. Would be great if I could rent it a few nights a month to cover the monthly payment.

Thanks for reading. 

@Ruben Banuelos Hello, 

I am also new to this forum. I have pretty much done all my learning the old fashion why of trial and error. We are basically neighbors. Im not in the Springs but, I get up there a lot.  I am in La Junta outside Pueblo. 

I have started looking into the Peublo and springs area. La junta has pretty much run out of homes. 

Im scared by how fast Springs in increasing in value. Would have been a great place to by 5 yrs ago. 

Would you be interested in TorC?

I love rural. I own 11 properties in a town with a population of 7,000. 
I am doing very well financially and all of my properties cash flow. 

All the standard numbers apply. Find houses with a GRM of under 8. Mine are all under 6. Do you research and find out what the property will rent for and make sure there is a need of the rentals. Many small towns have a huge need of rentals do to the lack of new buildings. Be sure you dont price the home out of the local economy. I wouldn't be able to rent a $150,000 home. They are not affordable by the local working class. Same issues you find in a big city.

Doesn't this mean the area isn't ideal for rental investments. I finance my homes at 15 yrs so I can retire at 50.  All of mine cash flow after all expenses. I fully understand the spend 24,000 to make 124,000 but if you look in other areas you can find better deals. 

I left Denver and moved to my small town because of the investment opportunities. 

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My bank hates 20 yr loans. However they did one. The special circumstance was 0 down. I borrowed 20% for the down payment from a family member at 5% for 5 years. I then financed the 4 unit complex for 5 yrs on a 20 yr am.  In 5 yrs I will have paid off the down and will renew the loan on the property for 7 yrs. The complex will be paid for in 12 yrs with 0 out of pocket. It cash flows 650 a month.  The bank is fully aware of this plan and thus agreed to the 20 yrs. 

My bank would not touch a loan that did not cash flow. 

Im new here so forgive me if I am missing something. So, your going to spend $800,000 in the sort term and pull $700,000 back leaving $100,000 tied up with a return of $1000 a month? This is another reason I would never live in that state. 

Im clearing $500 a month with a $70,000 loan and 0 out of pocket.  With $80,000 I could cash flow $1400 a month. 

That sound like a terrible investment but as I said I am very new here. First day on this site.  

I agree with Ivan in the very, very slow method. Not at all the way I am going but a good stable process. I would refinance the first home taking the equity out in cash and getting a new 15 year term with a payment less then the rent so it cash flows. Then taking the cash and buying several more properties that all cash flow. 

There is nothing wrong with your way. It is very sound and your are risking very little. I would just wanted to build faster. You should not worry about anything if they are all paid for. Move at the speed that you are comfortable with. 

I have 11 properties all in a small town. Population 7,000 people. Mine are in the center of the town as that is where the deals are. The places farther out of town are larger farms and would cost more in rent then the locals can afford. Thus I avoid them. The small town has been great for me. 

I feel the small town is less effected by housing balloons. More stable and more predictable. 

The key factors are the same as in the city. You have to see what you can rent it for. You have to know there is a rental market. In my town there is 0 new construction. I mean 0. In the 7 years I have lived here not 1 new house has been built. 

This has caused a very high demand for rentals. I have a nice waiting list of people looking for homes and typically rent my homes the same day I close on them. 

edit: My town is an 1 hour and 15 min from any city and or shopping