All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Jackson

Hi bigger pockets!

I had a tenant email me that she fell on an uneven path we have leading up to the property. I don’t feel like we need this pathway, and I’m tempted to just take it out and have grass there. Thoughts on what we are required to have and what we should do? Thanks!

Hi All!

I've been wondering what an appropriate cash to investment ratio is. I currently only have one deal (a small sixplex purchased at $380k), so my current goal is to keep enough cash to cover the expenses for six months if I lose half my rent (roughly $15,000). This is independent of my personal emergency fund. 

I also want to have a nice chunk of cash available to invest when opportunities come up, but it's hard to be ok with a large chunk of cash just sitting there growing at 2% or less. 

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how much % of your money is tied up in investments vs accessible cash, factors that contribute to this (such as how much you're leveraged), etc. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the replies everyone! We've decided to up her security deposit and ask for proof of income 3x rent. 

I recently met a potential tenant that I fell in love with. Very sweet personality and she was excited about the uniqueness of the property. 

I checked her credit score and it was not great (595), has a history of some late credit card bills, and has a DWI. She said she's been living with her parents so I wonder if she just had a rough spot and moved past it. She also has $30k in student loans.

Is it a terrible idea to let her rent, even if I have a cosigner? Or should I move on to the next one? 

Hi BP Community!

I'm filling out a TAR lease for a tenant to sign and some things are simply not relevant to my property. Is it OK to black out these sections? How does that work?

For example: Section 11 (Utilities) states that tenant will pay all connection fees, etc. I actually pay all of the utilities (it's a unique property) and they're already connected, so this is not relevant.

Any advice is appreciated as always. Thanks!

Hi BP Community!

My fiance's mom's home was affected by Hurricane Harvey. Luckily she had flood insurance, but unluckily she had to get a FEMA approved contractor. He's extremely terrible and dishonest, but I'll stop there you get the picture.

After over a year the house is nowhere near done. He recently texted her saying he's closing the construction part of his business. She tried to get her insurance money back but he said the money's all spent,  so she's left with a house that's barely fixed and no money to fix it.

My question: what can she do? I don't think the guy has any money, so I don't think suing him will do much good...any advice is greatly appreciated. 

Hi James--I'm a hydraulic engineer and a certified floodplain manager. I would strongly advise against buying in the 500 yr floodplain or less. Just to be clear, being in the 25 yr floodplain is worse than being in the 100 yr floodplain (as the 25-yr storm is more frequent than the 100 yr storm). 

Flood insurance premiums will continue to rise, and flash floods in the hill country are becoming more frequent as climate change continues and urbanization increases. 

It's also better for flooding and water quality if we keep our floodplains open. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the replies everyone! Lots of good info I didn't know. 

I purchased a property with existing tenants. Currently, each of them puts their rent in a dropbox. We changed this method to an online system. All of our tenants have signed up except one, who refuses to use the system. (He also pays using money order, which is less than ideal since we have to go to the bank to deposit it). 

Is there a way I can legally make the tenant use the online system before his current lease is up, or will I just need to wait it out?
Thanks!

@Bryan Devitt thanks for your response and sorry for the late reply! Update: I did receive a quote for $2700 (its a very small space). I'm also not within city limits so permitting should not be very hard...

Would you replace them for this amount?