All Forum Posts by: Jen Kurtz

Welcome Nastassja!! What a great entrance story, I love it. I am not far from you and I am a big Pittsburgh person. Its my favorite city in this region and my roots are strong there. I look forward to accumulating investments there too. I look forward to hearing your stories as a newbie wholesaler!! I have been interested in that strategy as well but in order to be successful at that I imagine I'd have to give up my day job (which I am not ready to yet haha), but I do gain lots of experience from being a PM which is what I do currently, along with some other side work. Go get 'em!

Hi @Robyn Coady ! Welcome! Good luck in your endeavors! I love Pittsburgh too! I look forward to seeing more of your posts :)

@Bill Bodziak right on about the Burgh! 

I would let them know the rent is "such and such" for a 12 month lease, "or if you are willing to sign for 18 months I can negotiate a slight rent reduction". So if you could rent for 1000/month, tell them the rent is 1100 or 1050 but then let them know with an 18 month lease you'll rent it for 1000. You dont have to make it a reduction that what you wanted, just make up a slightly higher number for the 12 month lease and of course point out the obvious that they will get a premium price and never have to worry about moving in the dead of winter! :)

Give this tenant a written lease violation. Adults are responsible for children. You would not be discriminating against kids or age because all of your rules for the property apply to all ages. Its the very same if you had a building with hallways- children AND adults should not be running down hallways or riding bikes in the building, etc. As long as you do not target the persons, but rather the BEHAVIOR, this is fine. No one should be messing with water shutoffs- children OR adults.

I would also try to restrict access to any mechanical areas like this to avoid any further problems. Like some of the above posters said, if the young child is wandering by him or herself, a call to CPS or police is justified as well as you (like any decent human being) would be concerned with this child's welfare.

Document the tenant files and use lease violations as means to evict if necessary. Of course if you want them to move and you let them know you can let them out of their lease early (which works better for all parties), hopefully they will move quickly and you can re-rent faster than waiting for the whole eviction proceedings and further damage from retaliation if it gets ugly.

This post makes me feel bad and embarrassed. I feel like this sort of behavior makes all of us PMs look bad. I, personally, believe in accountability and keeping promises made. Regardless of how busy they might be, it's not a good excuse. If I were the asset owner, I know it would want to make me look elsewhere for management because you are currently not getting what you are paying for. I wish you luck in your decision!

@Shane W. 

I would agree with @Gerald Harris 

- all about supply and demand. See whats going on in your market- look at who is coming in and who is going out. A growing trendy area with jobs is certainly going to grab millenials, where as a quiet inexpensive place will appeal to retirees who might not care about jobs but will have the services they need available to them. That would be not only medical care, but entertainment and restaurants. A lot of boomers may want to sell that big house with steps they have and get cozy in a more energy efficient 2-3 bedroom ranch without all the upkeep! Find the need and fill it :)

This is a very good question and many wonderful answers have been written here. My personal opinion is that I believe anyone can learn anything they want, for free, with the resources we have available here in 2014. There are libraries, the internet, YouTube, amazing forums like BP, and also the new MOOCs on sites like coursera among others. It really comes down to what YOU want to do. Having a degree certainly opens ups doors for you and allows you to fall upon a job if needed with much more ease (with a credible degree like finance, accounting, engineering, etc). Degrees shows OTHERS that you took classes and understood well enough to earn that degrees.

Look at the costs and make sure you feel it is worth it- BOTH the tuition and the opportunity cost as well which would be the money you could be making if you were doing something income producing rather than being in school.

I have a bachelors in economics. I really liked what I studied. Urban economics and my finance courses were my favorites. It has definitely helped me get opportunities so far in life , but it wasn't for at least til 5 years after graduating that I realized how much I wanted to work for myself and became very serious about pursuing RE Investing. Knowing what I know now, or rather had I felt then the way I feel now, I am not sure if I would've gone. Although I probably would have because it is seen as a big accomplishment in my family and I was the first college grad on my dads side of the family and the second on my moms side.

Do some soul searching through your motivations, and good luck in your decision making! Wish you the best! :)

Welcome Christopher!

I have been to Erie a few times, I live currently in Youngstown, and also spend a great deal of time in western PA and Pittsburgh. You'll love this site, it is an incredible resource!

Also, GO PIRATES!! I am a big Buccos (and steelers, and pens) fan too :)

Depending on neighborhood, motion lights and a couple lamps on timers could do the trick. Do you have blinds on the windows? Im fairly certain it was someone nearby that sees the house regularly, that knew no one was living there and that you were fixing it up. Use blinds, light timers, and talk to neighbors. Make it appear like someone COULD be home. Its much less likely that someone will have the guts to get in there then, as opposed to all lights off and can see vacancy through windows.