All Forum Posts by: James Wilcox

Sounds like you got a good plan going @Greg Gibbons. 

Thx BP community. I do see the reasoning behind it. Never purchased a property with tenants in it before so just wasn't sure of the procedure. @Joe Villeneuve thx for the help. I thought 3 days was a little short and I will see if they would up extend the inspection period a few more days.

I have been trying to negotiate a deal for a duplex. Both sides are currently rented out.  I was told by the realtor for the seller the following:

"Inside showings will only be allowed with an accepted offer using the contingency of physical viewing of the property within 3 days of contract acceptance." 

Does this seem legit? Seems odd that I can't see the inside of the property until they have an accepted offer. They are offering lots lots of pics, getting an extensive list of the upgrades/repairs, copies of the leases, proof of deposits, ect... If they are getting this information together that says to me they are serious to sell and are legit. However, I don't like making offers on properties that I have not seen the inside of. The reasoning to not allowing to see the inside until an offer is accepted is to not disturb the current tenants and make them unhappy. Thoughts on situation or how to proceed? Has anyone else had a similar situation. 

Don't rely on the "Zestimate" price. They can can be pretty inaccurate depending on the area. Definitely go look at the property and ask the listing agent for more information. You will probably figure out real quick why the listing price seems lower.

@Ronnie Hickman welcome to the community. There is a new members forum that you should post in. I would check out the site and the podcast for helpful tips.

As looks to be the direction, I would look into a credit union because their focus is about building wealth for their members. They usually have the best ROI for saving. One thing you might look at is what is called a Money Market Account. This is like if a checking and savings account had a baby. You usually get a bit higher interest than savings but do have limitations.

Features of a Money Market usually are:

• No monthly service charge
• Higher interest than savings
• Free Notary Service
• Checking account privileges
• Access to your money when you need it

Disadvantages of a Money Market usually are:

• Limit on amount of "free" withdrawals you can do a month (usually around 6)
• Minimum balances
• Maybe direct deposit required

Sometimes there are also types of savings account that pay better as well. Like a "vacation savings account" that is meant for a vacation trip that the CU will give a bit more interest for. Just a thought and hope this helps. @Joel A.

I am looking to pick up my first duplex. Both sides are currently rented out and I was told the rent was the following.

Unit A) 850/month

Unit B) 800/month

However, this seems high to me based on the area. Not saying it is not possible, but my first impression is something like the following. ($100 difference)

Unit A) 800/month

Unit B) 750/month

My question is how do I "confirm" what the rent actually is? I don't want to just take their word for it. Can I ask to see the rental contracts or past rental prices? Place does look like it may have been renovated recently so that might explain for a bit higher rent.

@Joe Marcum Awesome! Thx I will maybe check it out.

Hey! My name is James from Lexington, KY. I am new to the game of real estate investing. I have one rental property in another town that I sort of fell into. I worked really hard on turning it around and turned it into a nice income stream. I am now looking to focus on getting some properties in my now hometown of Lexington. 

Can't wait to be a bigger part of this community because BP seems like a great place to be! 

If you are looking to hire a new property manager for your real estate what are some of your top questions you would ask them to see if they are right for you? I will start out with one.

How many properties do you currently manage and how long have you managed in those areas?