All Forum Posts by: James Barnhart

Thanks to all of you for your insightful comments.  I agree completely with Edmund Ricker that business is all about relationships.  That is why I don't trust their rep anymore and don't care if we do business with them or not.  

My wife said she specifically asked the rep. if there were washer/dryer hookups in the unit.  He said yes but they are not there. She said she would not have wanted it if it didn't have them.  I agree with her.  But the repairs are not a big deal.  Again, nothing was said about it.  (lack of building a relationship)

Yes, the numbers can work.  So, we might buy it, make the repairs when the tenants lease is up in October, then sell it.  It seems like prices are going up consistently, so it should sell easily.  Right now, we are going to wait until he calls me.  Then we will discuss their lack of honesty and answering her question when he didn't know the answer about hookups, and just guessed.  

Yes, we could have dropped everything and immediately drove and hour to see it.  But, we found that we didn't have the good relationship with a top notch that we thought we had.  

My wife and I have been looking at various properties for BRRR, or buy and hold. We get a lot of emails from a big company that wholesales 5 or 6 properties a week, they say. They have their own lawyers, title co, real estate people and general contractor in their staff. We have tried to buy properties from them a few times, only to find out that it just sold before we could get to see it. They move very fast.

So, we received an email about a first floor condo, with tenants living there, for sale in Orlando, Fl, with pictures, and description of it, and saying that no rent rehab is needed.  My wife and I discussed buying it and decided to buy it based on the pictures and descriptions.  We could not drive an hour or so to see it for a few days.  So, my wife met with the rep. and she signed their contract a couple of days ago.  I still have not signed it yet.  Today, she meet the rep. to see what we bought.  (I was watching the Daytona 500.)  Well, it has a large hole in the ceiling above a tub, that apparently was to fix the upstairs plumbing.  The hole was never patched.  There are wires for the furnace that are not in any conduit.  Is there a requirement that the place has to have these things repaired to have tenants living there?  (like a minimum housing code?)  

We have in writing that the condo needs nothing to to rent rehab.  Also, we have in writing that it has washer/dryer hookups in the unit, but they in a common area. 

We want to terminate the contract since it is not as described.  The rep. said we cannot do that.  I think we can, and I would love to hear your comments.  I think the state real estate licensing board might like to hear about this if we report it, but i don't want to do that if i don't have to.

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Maybe you can legally do this, but it is just bad business.  Would you rather take the money in exchange for having someone feel that you took advantage of them, and they them telling several others about that?  

How would you feel if the roles were reversed?  Our reputations are so very important to our success.  

And, it's just the wrong thing to do, (in my humble opinion.)  It's about being a good person, and being part of what makes a good community.  Leave that person with a good feeling about you, and about landlords in general.  That nice gesture will be returned in the future.

I am not a real estate agent, but I took the course just to learn all that I could.  

I too fail to see much merit of what Jim Kent is proposing. If you take away the opportunity to make good money, who would want to ever be a RE agent?  I definitely believe in capitalism.  That's why the USA is the best country in the world.  We don't need more government to get in people's way.  Let's leave people alone.

We see the world as it is, adjust to it's ways and work with the systems in place.  Many of us in BP have done that and done well.  We don't get upset because other people are making money, too.  I don't see what the problem is.

Most professionals get paid for what they do, not for how long it takes them.  If you needed a locksmith to unlock your car on the weekend, he would probably take maybe 5 mins. to do that, once he arrived.  But, his fee might be over $200 for that 5 mins. of work.  I think I would just be glad that he unlocked the car so I could get on with my life.  

If you have to pay, pay cheerfully, not begrudgingly.  It's just a cost of doing business.

Or, do it yourself to save the money.  

I agree with Brandon.  He really is telling you how to handle it so you come out on top.  

And, it seems that you are probably right about the PM.   And, yes vent here if it helps.  

I also use mysmartmove.com  It seems to be a very good service.  I just let the tenants pay for their own  screening there.  Works slick.  

I am so sorry that you had to learn this lesson.  Just remember you are operating a business.  And, we can choose who we rent to, but we cannot choose our family members.  And, sometimes, we just have to do what we have to do.  I hope you move on and don't let this continue to hurt you

I remember co-signing on a small car loan for my daughter a few years ago.  She didn't pay, so I took the car away and sold it and paid off the loan.   I told her to sign the title over to me.  She didn't, so I had to sign it for her.  (I had already bought and gave her a first car a few years before that)

I always call or stop in to see my RE insurance agent.  He always gives me his insights from an insurance Co. point of view.  He is a member of "my team".  You need to add one to your team.

I would NOT have rented to that couple.  They both are not responsible people, and had you rented to them, you would be regretting it.  Wait until you find good tenants.  

I am in central Florida, where we always have several applicants for a rental home, so I didn't know that you have to wait until after Winter.   I guess everybody there just stays put until Spring.  Interesting....