All Forum Posts by: Jason Smith

@Dustin Mitzel if a tenant is too stupid imagine what a place would look with furniture, what would they do if a water line burst and they needed to shut off the water? Seriously though you stage if a 3k investment is going to make more when you sell. You definitely don't stage for rentals.

Is the house and lot as nice as 948 Checkerspot Way, Chesapeake, VA 23323 it sold for 515k recently? A more blah house is worth 495k (2219 Beeblossom Ln, Chesapeake, VA 23323). Same size, same rooms, bathroom count. Make an offer for 94% of whatever you think it is worth. No realtor is going to save you 30-100k. Do a termite inspection. Just keep in mind you will have one of the fanciest houses in neighborhood. I would prefer to have a 500k house and be the cheaper house in the neighborhood. Form 600 VIRGINIA REALTORS® RESIDENTIAL CONTRACT OF PURCHASE is online, you can figure it out yourself.

I see a lot of arrogant people say if you have non-paying tenants during the pandemic it is due to your poor screening. Don't tell me if you got an applicant that was a flight attendant, pilot, hotel sales person, Disney employee for 15 years, etc, etc - that you would have denied them. My tenants have all paid and not because I am a smarter screener than someone else,  just lucky.

My local government wants the max (10% increase) in taxes this year and insurance wants about 19% more. No it's not fair that politicians are buying votes by giving out free rent. Food is a "basic human right" before shelter, but Publix doesn't accept excuses as form of payment.

Refinanced a duplex at 3.0% a few months ago. Rates have dropped since but now there is a covid penalty. I used Addition Finicial Credit Union. But conventional 15 year loan.

Work on fixing your credit first. A private money loan is going to be a few percentage points higher, it will eat all your profits. 

If they are paying rent, let it go till the rent moratorium is over and courts are open and then demand inspection (within state timeline) and evict. If they aren't paying rent, go inspect. You don't owe them an explanation about if you are worried about their "covid symptoms" while looking in garage. Respond saying I will wear gloves, and a mask and the garage door can be open - I will  be there at X time. Take pictures of illegal unit, of yourself inspecting wearing a mask in the garage, and evict whenever courts are open. I am sure your lease prohibits modifications, sublets, etc.

Most people on here would crap on my places based on the comments I read. They don't meet the 1.0% rule, they are around 0.67% before repairs. I put 25% down and 15K in repairs. They only cash flow like $300/each after paying a 15 year loan. The cash flow has been just enough to cover a new roof and a/c. But little turnover, and always a new renter lined up behind them. I get to pick the best tenants from a pile of applicants. I could definitely make more in a class C neighborhood but repairs and non-payment worry me. I don't think I would want to be rehabbing by myself at 2am if the neighborhood was bad, or see my hard work destroyed. But in about 12 years my tenants will have paid off my class A properties.

I meet with a well-regarded contractor in my area about something similar. He wasted my time, quoted a price per square foot estimate and city fees. Seemed to make sense, (not going to get 1% in my area without buying class C properties) but seemed good. Toured the property with him. His detailed quote came back super high, think 0.64%. Couple that with the cash required for the land, the high loan rate for new construction multi-family non-owner occupied while construction was going on, and having to get a new long term loan after construction was done. Seemed very complicated. He probably thought I wasted his time.