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All Forum Posts by: James Mc Ree

James Mc Ree has started 24 posts and replied 1020 times.

Post: Buying a quadplex

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

You are writing this as if it is your first rodeo. You have 5 rentals already. Tell us what you really think of the opportunity and ask more specific questions. No one can helpfully answer the questions you pose without more specific information.

Have you walked through the property? What maintenance is needed? Does it have shared systems you have to manage or separate utilities for everyone? Model the performance of the property. Does it cash flow? Do you expect it to appreciate? Are the tenants paying market rents? Do they intend to stay there or are you going to get hit with remodelling expenses? I can probably give you another dozen questions.

Is 75 days a long time for a quad in your area to be on the market? Keep in mind they might have sold it a month ago and are working through contingencies, so they haven't made it pending yet. What does your agent say about it?

A risk with lowballing is another investor comes in with a reasonable offer around the same time and Seller doesn't even want to ask you for another offer. You can have some success if there is no interest in a property, especially this time of year. It doesn't hurt if you don't care if you get the property or not.

Post: After 10 months of stay, tenant is asking to get bed bug inspection done

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

My leases say Tenant is responsible for pest control if not reported within 10 days of move-in. The answer to your question may be in your lease. If not...

This could be a relationship-building opportunity with your tenant. You might not be obligated to do anything, but could offer an inspection with the recognition there were no bed bugs when they moved in if you can assert that. If so, you might also be able to assert they are responsible for remediation.

Post: In New Jersey Should I list Property For Rent During Winter?

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

Waiting gives you 0 traffic, which is worse than low traffic. The only reason I can see to wait is you have some upgrades to do for a higher rent.

Post: Buyer Agent's commission and tax write off

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

I am doing this now and included Seller's transfer tax. You can deduct it as a business expense, but it is depreciated over 27.5 years.

Post: Screening Criteria and Retirees

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

You are allowed to ask the applicant questions. Ask how they intend to pay for a year or two of rent.

I ask for a statement of assets and discuss any red flags or ambiguities with them. You could ask that they put a year or so of savings into a separate account on which you have view access or receive a monthly statement so you can see they have the ability to pay future rent.

They aren't going to last without other income or savings with income at 1.25x rent. I would decline if they have trouble answering the longer term question and it would probably be for their own good.

Post: My 13-Year-Old son wants to learn real estate — What next?

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

My guess is this is a short term passion that will fade. It might not go away, but probably won't be able to compete with friends, sports, girls, etc. My kids went through this around the same age and still have an interest.

Teach him financial literacy and include him in what you are normally doing. Explain to him what is happening and your options in whatever you are dealing with. Initially, tell him the considerations with the options and later ask him what he thinks of the options, then explain the considerations. His interest will evolve over the next several years and you can see where it goes.

Post: Does a shared well agreement prohibit STR usage?

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

Are the other parties to the agreement the property owner sharing the well and maybe an HOA? Those are the people you want to talk with about this. The snippet you provided is a bit ambiguous which may itself make it unenforceable.

I think your goal should be to get a signed doc from the parties to the agreement saying an STR is permitted under the agreement.

Post: Heloc on a primary

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

I bought a house a little over a year ago. I knew I wanted a HELOC, so asked my local CU about it while I was waiting for settlement. The loan officer told me to come in the day after settlement to apply. The only caution was they had to wait for the sale to be recorded so the county could tell them I really did own the property. That would be about a month.

This timeframe may vary among institutions, counties and states.

Post: Does this SFH warrant full interior repainting? And if so, is $3000 reasonable?

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

My properties are in Delaware County, PA and mostly 3 bedrooms and 1,152 sqft. I would definitely accept a $3,000 quote to paint my whole interior, especially if that included the cost of materials. I don't know if that is a good price in your area.

I think you should dig deeper into the cause of the chipped paint on the ceilings. It looks like one room is the dining room and the other may be a bedroom.

If one of those rooms is a bedroom, you very likely have a roof leak. Check the roof.

The dining room cracks may also be coming from the same roof leak if the bedroom is over the dining room. You may have water traveling down the bedroom wall, then across the dining room ceiling to the lowest spot which happens to be there. You might see some stains or loose paint on a bedroom wall if that is the case.

It looks like there is a spot fix needed in the pic with the 2 holes in the wall. Patch, sand, prime and paint the holes and paint to match the wall. You can get a color match for the paint there and maybe get away with painting only that small wall.

It's hard to tell from the pics if there is a need for whole house painting. There are a few spots like below the basement window where you might want to paint just that wall or spot paint a scrape.

Post: Why don't agents and investors like wholesalers??

James Mc ReePosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Malvern, PA
  • Posts 1,052
  • Votes 804

What @Don Konipol said and....

The broadest possible market is where the best price will come from for Seller. Realtors offer the broadest market through the MLS and networked sites, potentially reaching millions. The prospects can see everything about the property. Wholesalers email hundreds and their prospects have to rely on Wholesaler's word and usually limited pics because the prospects usually can't see the property for themselves. Realtors see Wholesalers as doing a disservice to Seller and Buyer, hence they don't like them.

The quality of the Realtor and Wholesaler really matter. There are great people in both roles who are totally awesome and the negativity you hear about Wholesalers does not apply. Likewise for both, there are lousy people in those roles and you never want to deal with them again; however, there is recourse with a Realtor and not much recourse with a Wholesaler. Realtors have companies and insurance to cover lawsuits. Wholesalers might literally have nothing.