All Forum Posts by: Jeff B.

Wow, I just re-read my post. Nothing like being confusing when you make a post. Now what I MEANT to say...

Joel, I had a similar problem with a building I bought in downtown Cincinnati. I just called the police and had them meet me there. The police went through the building and removed all the "residents". Just be fair to the police and let them know what you think is going on. Then, once the "residents" are gone, be sure to secure it.

Joel, I had a similar problem with a building I bought in downtown Cincinnati. I just called the police and had them meet me there. They went through the building and removed all the "residents". Just be fair to them and let them know what you think is going on. Then, once they are gone, be sure to secure it.

I pay $400 for my inspections. My inspector is a mechanical engineer that has 20+ years in home building/inspections. The reports are VERY detailed (last report was 29 pages), including pics of any problem areas with description of what the problem is. He includes a classification of the deficiency stating whether it is a Maintenance issue, a Repair issue, or a Safety issue. He also includes links to government (county/state/federal) sites that pertain to the area that he identified.

At $400, he's a little more expensive than some of the others around here, but I'm very happy with the reports and he has been able to give me advice that I know has saved me thousands.

RTA (Ready To Assemble) cabinets can be a very affordable way of getting decent cabinets into your rehab. But, just like everything, there is good quality and bad quality RTA's. Just do your homework on whatever you get and make sure you assemble them properly.

I used Lowes cabinets in my latest rehab. They had a 20% off sale, plus I had a 10% off coupon. Ended up costing much less than the RTA cabinets.

Ryan, I believe it would be 750/.02 = 37,500. That seems like a good place to start, depending on what comps show.

I must type slow, Jerry beat me to it....

It's not a direct comparison for your question, but I have 2 houses. One (1000sf) is full frame, the other (1500sf) has a little bit of brick veneer on the front. The house with the brick veneer is about $80/yr cheaper to insure. Insurance company said it was because of the brick veneer.

Great post Rich!!

If the house was in a "lesser" neighborhood, I might consider just letting it go. But it is in a nicer neighborhood (I'd say a "B" neighborhood), and there are nicer houses in the neighborhood for the same or less money. The tennants have already stated an interest in staying long term (4-5 years) due to some health issues with one of their children, so I'm a little more inclined to go a little further in order to keep them.

Brian, the whole idea of a discount is to do exactly what you state. Make myself feel good. I feel bad that the brand new refrigerator went out. Is it my fault, no, but it is my refrigerator and I am responsible for it. When it went out, the tennant lost a few items, so I also feel responsible for that as well.

I do like the idea of a gift card to Kroger in place of the discount to replace the food that went bad. I wonder if I can expense that instead of taking the hit on the income? I would think so...

The refrigerator in one of my units quit working last Friday. It is a new refrigerator and is still under warranty. The tennant has been GREAT through this and has moved all of their refrigerated items to a small refrigerator and chest freezer that they own. The repair company is finally going out to replace the control board today and get the refrigerator working again.

My question is, should I give the tennant a discount for this month's rent for their inconvience? If so, how much? The tennant just moved in Dec 1 of last year, but has been the perfect tennant so far. Rent is $900/mo. I was thinking around $100 for their trouble.

With a BK 2 years ago and 50-60k in cash, I'll assume you have taken care of all your personal financial obligations. Nothing worse than buying an investment, only to have it taken away due to a past debt obligation.

The advice given so far is spot on. Buy a home in a good area that has good bones but needs some cosmetics. Update it then rent it out for a couple of years. Stash the profits to help pad your reserves and provide a headstart on the next one. Once the BK is out of the picture, refi to pull out the equity and buy another. Just do your homework and make sure the property will cash flow. There are tons of posts on here that give great guidelines on how to evaluate a property both physically and financially to make sure that you are picking the right property. Read up and enjoy!!