All Forum Posts by: JD Martin

 I've been on both ends of this. I've had properties undervalued by $100k because the appraiser was obviously not familiar with my city, and I've had refis where the appraisal came back much higher than what I could realistically sell for at that moment in time. 

On balance, I have found that appraisals I've had done tend to undervalue on purchases and come in right or overvalue on refi's. I haven't really given it much thought as to why that might be but it's held pretty true for me in my area. 

I would have to see actual data on a median & value adjusted basis to believe that OK is anywhere near Fl on a dollar for dollar comparison. I just did a quick lookup on Bankrate for 2024 and for 300k of value in OK was almost $1k less than 300k of value in FL (4800 vs 5600). 

The problem with averages is that a large number of high or low value properties can skew the figures either way. FL has a ridiculous number of low-value properties, everything from essentially campers on 55+ lots to MH parks everywhere to run-down shacks in much of the rural areas, all of which is going to drag down the average premium. I'm sure OK has its share of dumps but you really have to drive around FL to truly appreciate how much low-cost housing there is. 

 Without knowing anything about your business, just based on your post I'd put the money in the business. RE ends up being more about parking money sometimes than growing money exponentially. I'm not saying you can't make any money in RE - I certainly did - but if you really want to grow money and have a business doing that well, why would you want to sink $200k into something you don't know a whole lot about. Diversifying just for the sake of diversifying doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It sounds like you know your business, so you should probably do that. 

You should not have told them you liked what they did not offered to help pay for anything. If that is in writing anywhere, even in text, it's going to present you problems in court. At this point, though, you are going to have to go hardball on them. First thing I would do is have your attorney file a demand letter against them for breach of lease, with a strict deadline for returning the unit to its prior condition or eviction and damage claims will be filed. 

 What state do you live in that doesn't allow you to work at 15? You might have to get a parent sign off but most places let you work as young as 13 or 14 with parental consent. 

If that's the case, then your next best bet is really concentrate on your studies. A scholarship because of good grades is huge, as school debt can really be a drag on your economic future depending on your profession.

 Maybe I'm cold blooded but I don't let the tenant's problems become my problems. It shouldn't be rare to find a house since discrimination against kids is illegal. The only thing I want to know is if the rent is paid in full and on time, the house is not being damaged and they're not causing trouble. Anything else is noise for me. 

Just as much as you might feel bad for the wife, how might you feel if it turned out she knew about all of it? That's why I think you have to just keep things business and that's that. 

 🤣🤣🤣 You should think about switching shampoos! 

As for the original post, I think something like this works best if it is concrete: dates (say the last week of July and December), monetary consideration (I would suggest a separate sublet provision wherein you pay them for use, rather than working out rent credits), insurance and liability requirements, etc. If you ever have to go to court on something like this you will be in the odd position of being both the landlord and the tenant, so I would leave nothing to chance or interpretation.

Personally, I agree with Nathan - I'd have real questions about any potential tenants that were OK with this kind of arrangement. 

You should always be paying post work, not pre work. Any reputable contractor has material accounts everywhere and doesn't expect to be paid for labor S/he hasn't yet performed. 

File a complaint with the state. What he is doing is actually theft. I'm in East Tennessee and we just had a guy that was doing the same thing, and is now facing state and federal charges and some people have received some restitution.

Just adding to the dog pile, but getting M2M leases on an occupied quad instead of long term lock ins is a huge win. You're looking at this from the wrong angle. Too many landlords think locking in long leases is to their benefit, when the reality is that it's mostly to the tenant's benefit.