All Forum Posts by: Rob K.

Douglas Peterson The two banks that I have online bill pay set up with have good security. The one bank emails me everytime I add a payee or make any type of change. The other bank takes it a step further and sends me a 6 digit text to login into my account each time. That number is only good for about 10 minutes. They also amail me anytime a transaction is made. In fact, I have a credit card with them and if I use it at a store, I am instantly emailed that it has been used.

I did have a problem a few years ago. I received an email that $4,985 was transferred fromn my account to another account. The bank was closed, but I was there as soon as they opened the next morning. Someone had hacked into my account and made the transfer. The bank transferred it right back to me. As it turns out, the FBI doesn't get involved unless the transaction is $5,000 or higher. This was before they added this extra level of security with the texting to login. I haven't had a problem since. I'm just glad I have email on my phone.

Anytime you write a check to someone, they have your account number and routing number. There's no risk to having someone make a deposit into your checking account. I always make sure that they text me after they make a deposit and then I can go online and transfer it to a different account.

Brian Hoyt I think you did a good job handling this clown. The fact that he's out buying cars when he owes you money is ridiculous. I would let him know that the late fee is always paid if it's late. If you don't charge a late fee, people will just pay whenever they feel like it. Also, every other payment syatem (credit cards, mortgage, utilities, etc) has a late fee if you're not on time.

What I do with my tenants is have them send the rent to my post office box. I pass the post office every day and I don't want these people knowing where I live. I also let them know that if they don't want to mail it, or if it's easier for them, they can take the rent to my bank and put it into my business account. It's their option. Either way, the rent is due on the first. They have two ways to get it there.

As far as the lawn goes, I recently had a tenant that was mowing it. She cried poverty and kept saying it would get cut. Then when I called her and said I was having it cut and sending her the bill, she accused me of treating her like a child and stalking her. She ended up moving and I have a better tenant now.

That was a $625 house. I agree with Ryan B. that over $800 per month gets you better tenants. I have some that are over $1,000 and I have no problems with them. The people renting the cheap houses are poor for a reason. They either don't work enough or they mis-manage their money.

I bought a house from Auction.com almost two years ago. The whole process was easy, we closed at a title company, I fixed up the house, and then sold it for a nice profit.

The funny part was that it was right before Christmas. The house was on the market with a local real estate company and in the MLS for $75,000. When I went to the website (might have been Homepath?), it was for sale at $67,000. The agent was too lazy to make the change. I went ahead and submitted an offer for $56,000. After a few days, the agent called and said I would have to make my offer through Auction.com.

By now, it was December 23 (Festivus for all of you Seinfeld fans). I decided to lower my offer as I figured there wouldn't be too many other people bidding so close to Christmas. I made the offer for $51,000. A few days later, someone from Auction.com called with a bunch of questions. I think they wanted me to raise my EMD. They ended up accepting my offer and it all worked out.

George P. I used it on a basement floor once. I bought a house with a finished basement and a leaky wall. Also, the sewer backed up. I didn't want to risk putting down carpet, so I did the whole floor with Allure. It came out nice. I don't know if it feels cold, but I haven't had any complaints from the tenants.

I almost always use that product on kitchen floors and also the foyer area when you walk in. I have put it in some bathrooms too.

What's nice about it is that you can replace a few pieces without taking up the whole floor. I had a floor buckle and I was able to hire a guy to fix the floor and then replace a section of Allure and it came out fine.

I knew a guy who's neighbor's dog kept pooping on his lawn. The neighbor refused to pick it up and he aways had a mess on his lawn. One day he saw the dog doing the act, put on a rubber glove, then picked up the poop and smeared it in the dog owner's face.

That dog never pooped on his lawn again.

There's a lot of scams going on in my area where someone will get a throwaway phone from Walmart and then list a house for rent on CL or with a rental agency that charges the tenant a fee. After they collect the upfront money, it turns out that this person never owned the house. If they do that twice a month, it's an easy way for a grifter to make $4-6K.

I tell all potential tenants that I talk to to look up the city records for a house and make sure they know who the owner is. I let them know that I have nothing to hide, but there are a lot of scammers out there.

I've been using the basic aAllure for three years now and I love it. For a cheap house, it gives a nice clean look. The fact that it's water resistent is great for kitchens. I had a dishwasher overflow and it didn't damage the floor. Pergo would have been shot.

I will check out this new product, but it sounds pricey. I think fake wood is ok for a cheaper house, but I wouldn't install it in something nice.

Phillip Dwyer They do rent for less. Most people want a basement and the tri-levels usually have a crawl space under the main floor area. I try to stick with three bedroom ranches with basements and garages. That way there's no negatives to complain about.

A lot of cities in my area are tagging vacant houses and then forcing you to get city certs before it can be occupied. They make you pay several hundred dollars for an inspection and then send five inspectors (communists) into your home to tell you what you need to fix. They then give you a list of stuff, most of it will require a permit (tax).

To help you in this case, sometimes when they post it vacant, they assume that it is abandoned. I would go to the building department and explain to them that the house is not abandoned and you are trying to buy it. Let them know that you plan to fix it up nicely, but if you have to go through a bunch of red tape you might have to reconsider and let the house rot. Maybe they will be cool about it and help you out. I think going there in person is better than a phone call in this case.

If they are planining on tearing the house down, you will need to reconsider this deal and possibly lose your deposit if the agreement was as-is.