All Forum Posts by: Rod Hanks

Sounds like great tenants. Credit score shouldn't be the primary driver of tenant approval, because if they could qualify for a mortgage they probably wouldn't be renters. I weigh more on making 3x rent and having great rental history of on time payments with no evictions, no lease violations or violent criminal history. I use National Tenant Network to run a tenant score and recommendation.

Congratulations on the flip! Solid ROI. Great work and valuable lessons learned!

Look at insurance and tax costs, those two items are the biggest killer of cash flow. However, you want to be in the path of growth because appreciation will make you wealthy. Specifically, Texas has some of the highest insurance and property taxes in the nation, but the appreciation makes up for those high costs in the long run.

It’s a good idea to have the insurance policy include both the tenant’s name and yours as additional insured. This ensures that any payout for damage or liability can be processed more smoothly, and it can help protect your interests if something happens on the property.

However, tenant insurance is typically intended to cover personal property and liability for the tenant, not the building itself. For full protection, your mortgage company will likely still require you to carry a landlord or dwelling policy. These policies cover the structure and additional liabilities related to your property that the tenant’s insurance doesn’t.

@Ana Escudero 

Property insurance renewals have been challenging the past few years, but there’s some stability with carriers heading into 2025. While rates may not decrease, the significant double-digit increases should level off. With property insurers’ profitability and trade combined ratios improving, we can expect some relief soon. Feel free to reach out—I’d be happy to assist!

Last year a tenant invited her sister over. Sister starts to dance and trips and falls. I get sued for her injuries. I turn over to my insurance company and they are paying for the lawyer to fight the lawsuit. 

Not a deal breaker at all. Those are some of the best deals. Usually with  a new coat of kiln and paint the odor will go away. If not, buy an ozone machine and that'll do the trick. 

If I were new I would simply stick to areas close to where I live. Go to some networking events in the area and meet other investors. 

I've sent letters to the owner on tax roll. Also putting a business card and flyer on the door could work. A more intrusive approach would be to Google the owner name and see if you can find relatives and skip trace and call them.

If you already have the judgement you can turn it over to a collector. I've never heard of anyone collecting but I'm sure it's worth a try. Usually they don't own anything to attach it to. If in the future they try to buy a house, the lender may require it to be paid but that's a long shot.