All Forum Posts by: Barry Smith

Thanks guys for your feedback.  Much appreciated.  The credit card debt was only created when initial repairs exceeded expectations.  The property is rented, and the refi rates are definitely significantly lower than the credit card rates. 

Are there any financial experts out there who can answer this?

Is it better to refinance a house and increase the loan balance to pull equity out and pay off the business credit card balance... that is eating up monthly cash flow?

Or is it better to leave the loan balance where it is and keep paying the credit card bills (and interest) that were created when initial repairs were underestimated.

(The refi will be at a lower interest rate, creating a slightly lower monthly mortgage payment, but a higher mortgage balance.)

Any thoughts on this one?

...

Thanks to all of you for your feedback.  Much appreciated!  @ Dev Horn, having someone with the eye for technology is really helpful... thanks.  And I can really see the difference with Investor Carrot sites.  It seems like I was right... too good to be true.

And, thanks @Joshua Dorkin  for clarifying that bloggers have no relationship with BP and BP is not endorsing them just because they post on the site.

I'm trying @ Dawn Anastasi ...! 

I found this Service for Investor Websites that looks too good to be true, $295 for FOUR websites (Buy, Sell, Wholesale, Private Investor) and only $65 per year hosting fee, which looks to have all the bells and whistles, videos, back office, auto responders, squeeze pages, auto Craigslist codes, offer generator, offer replies, etc., etc., etc. The link is

http://www.realestateinvestorswebsites.net/

which I found searching for key words, and it was in this is a Bigger Pockets blog post...

http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/640/blog_posts/27086-how-to-attract-leads-through-your-real-estate-investor-website

Is this company legit, and Bigger Pockets endorsed?

Can you clarify Joshua or Brandon?

Barry Smith

Homesmith Group

I found this Service for Investor Websites that looks too good to be true, $295 for FOUR websites (Buy, Sell, Wholesale, Private Investor) and only $65 per year hosting fee, which looks to have all the bells and whistles, videos, back office, auto responders, squeeze pages, auto Craigslist codes, offer generator, offer replies, etc., etc., etc.  The link is

http://www.realestateinvestorswebsites.net/

which I found searching for key words, and it was in this is a Bigger Pockets blog post...

http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/640/blog_posts/27086-how-to-attract-leads-through-your-real-estate-investor-website

Is this company legit, and Bigger Pockets endorsed?

Can you clarify Joshua?

Barry Smith

Homesmith Group

Very creative... nice effort!  Did you get in any trouble with code enforcement?  Did you put them out on a Friday and collect them Sunday night?  Or were there any snags with the signs themselves?  Do you put them on lawns in H wire frames, or up high on telephone poles?  Thanks for the feedback!

In the BP Podcast 087, Nathan Brooks explain what was in his blog, about the house that could kill you, and he recommended that the owner leave the structure immediately, which I thought was great.

However, is there a higher duty for the investor to tell the police, and/or tell code enforcement or the fire department or some authority that the house needs to be checked out because it is a major accident waiting to happen… with electrical in the SHOWER and such?

I’m just curious what Nathan, and any other BP members think of reporting this dangerous house to some kind of authority to possibly help save their lives.

Can you comment?  Thanks!

Brandon:

I found a link to this webinar and watched it on demand (9-11-14).  Anyway, I have a question on your deal analysis of the duplex.

Why are you factoring in garbage and water or any utilities.  In Southern California, the tenant is paying for ALL utilities (at least mine are).  Is that not customary in your area?

If you add the $100 for water, $45 for garbage, and manage it yourself to save $134.20, then this Duplex is cash flowing $300.08 per month.

After it is fixed up with your $10,000 in repairs, you can probably raise the rents slightly as well, while adding washer and dryers to get further increase cash flow. 

The Duplex is only $60,000... how can you lose on that cash flow? 

If you have $6,000 down, $10,000 invested in repairs and are making $3600 a year, you have everything you put into it back in 4.4 years.  So, you end up with another cash flowing asset in your portfolio that you no longer have any money into. 

It's also possibly an asset you could trade... to upgrade into a better property.

Isn't $20.88 being awfully conservative in analysis of this duplex?

Just playing devil's advocate... what do you think?

Barry Smith

I have a calendar announcement that there is a live webinar today, and I have no link... no information about it, other than the calendar reminder????

Pet Rent and Pet Deposits in California -  While some states allow both Pet Rent and Pet Deposits, I have found through my own research (get your own legal advice) that California law does not have enough case law regarding Pet Rent and CA judges may consider Pet Rent as a monthly Pet Security Deposit and that could be a problem if you have a long-term tenant and end up charging more of a total security deposit than you are allowed (two times rent unfurnished, three times rent furnished). And so you may have to return all of that "pet rent." The California Apartment Association does not and will not add a Pet Rent section to the Pet Addendum because of the lack of case law in California on the subject, so common practice in CA is limited to Pet Security Deposits in the CAA's view.

However, all rent and security deposits are negotiable.

So, a landlord may charge a certain rent for tenants without pets. The landlord also can negotiate with prospective tenants a higher rent if they want/have a pet or two, or if they have some other need or amenity they want, such as a refrigerator, or water bed or something. The landlord also can negotiate a higher security deposit if the prospects have pets, and/or some other reason that a higher security deposit might be safer for the landlord/owner.

But, on the lease, the key is the ONLY THING STATED on the official paperwork is the monthly rent price, and the total security deposit. It says nothing about pet rent OR pet deposit or any reason the rent and security deposit were negotiated differently.

Additionally, I'm not sure, but I have heard that a separate Pet Deposit can be determined by some CA judges as a fee that can ONLY be used for pet damage, not for other damage... and proving certain damage is caused by a pet isn't always easy. So, that's another reason you don't want separate Security and Pet Deposits. If you do use both, they can't total more than the maximum allowed by a Security Deposit.

Again, I'm not a lawyer... but I hope that information helps California landlords deal with these Pet issues.  And, if there is a lawyer out there who finds something incorrect about what I've learned and mentioned above, please comment on what may be incorrect. Thanks!