All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Rusnak

They want to make sure that the asset you used to pay off your loan was yours for 60 days prior to paying off the car loan, versus say someone else providing you a gift to pay off the car loan.

You could try giving them a print out of your Coinbase transaction history showing that the coins were not moved prior to you cashing them out.

Thanks Nat!   I did my comps from local listings on the usual sources.  I did rehab the bathroom with new tile, floor, fixtures... As well as the kitchen (new counters, appliances, and flooring).  I suppose that I underestimated the premium that tenants would place on the freshness factor.   

Your input on high rents = better tenants is very interesting and I will certainly keep that under advisement.  I think I will have a better idea of the playing field after the next 48 hours has passed.

I tend to agree on number two.  I think I am better served by starting to search for my new property to acquire than going through all the hassles for another $140 a month in income.

Hi all,

I purchased a distressed duplex that cash flows well at $850 per unit in rent.  One side was vacant and needed a good bit of clean up.  I did some rehab work that still gives me a nice 26% cash on cash return.   I decided, or so I thought, to stretch a bit and list the unoccupied side at $950 per month after researching the local market a good bit.

Within an hour of posting I had three responses.  Two of them wanted to see it right away, and have translated into fairly solid applicants.   I haven't fully processed the background checks, but things check out so far.

After the first hour I modified my listed and increased things to $990 per month.  I received three more interested parties who are seeing the property over the next 48 hours.

This is my second investment property and clearly I have some learning to do.   My question is -- have you run into this situation before and how did you handle it?   I can't speak yet to the quality of the folks who are responding at the $990 price point.   I want to be fair, but over the long haul a $40 difference in rent starts to stack up.  I've made no promises and certainly things like how long they plan to stay are important.

P.S.  For bonus credit, assuming I can rent one side at $990 or $950, what would you do with the established $850 a month month to month tenant?   I'd need to rehab that side a good bit as well.

I like the idea of added external crawlspace access for sure.

That's a good suggestion Ryan.   Our local water authority sells rain barrel kits at cost and encourages their use.

I was thinking that a rain barrel connected to a soaker hose that discharges away from the house could be a good way to handle larger brief amounts of rain.   The goal here wouldn't be to save water for future use but slow the amount of water entering the yard during heavy rains near the home.

Thanks everyone for the great feedback.  I took a look this evening and don't see any signs of leaking pipes.   Going to deal with the gutter situation and see what impact that has and then go from there.

Dan,

Thanks for the feedback.  I was already down there doing some duct work repair, so it's a great idea to turn on all the water sources and check the drains.     Appreciate it.

Jeremy

Hey folks,

Just closed on my second duplex last week!  This one needs some work but the numbers look good.   My particular question today is regarding a wet crawl space.

I'm north of Seattle so this is a wet climate, but the summers are dry.  The inspector noted some standing water in spots and mud in the crawl space on top of the existing vapor barrier.  In tandem with this, the existing gutter system is completely clogged and the ones that are not drain straight next to the foundation.  The lot is completely flat as is the surrounding area, and the yard in general is saturated (not uncommon at this time of year).

My initial reaction is that I should fix the gutters and get them draining away from the foundation, let things dry out and then evaluate the situation further next rainy season.  At present there is no damage to the joists or any really visible mold growth, so my gut is telling this is a "wettest time of the year combined with no working gutters" situation.

A contributing element to this is that one side is vacant currently.  I'm doing work in that unit over the next 2-3 weeks.   Access to the crawl spaces is through a small hatch in the coat closet, so doing crawl space remediation without a tenant to deal with might make sense.

I'm wondering how others might proceed.    I don't like the idea of moisture down there at all, but I don't want to overspend under the house when the gutter situation may resolve it.

Just keep in mind that most loans written have a call option. If you transfer ownership of the property without a new loan it's possible your lender may immediately demand full payment. From what I hear that is pretty rare as long as payments keep coming in uninterrupted.

I have built two new homes and always used an inspector. On a project with hundreds if not thousands of items it's easy for something to be overlooked. The nice thing about presenting a builder a list of items is they usually have the staff on hand to easily correct problems, so fixing things probably doesn't cost as much as a normal seller who needs to bring someone in.