All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Rysdam

Why can't you just hire him, with a contract, for that same amount of money and then he can just pay it back to you as rent and deposit? He can do the work before moving in, so that way you know it's done and done right. I would imagine that would be easier for him too, instead of have to move his stuff around it while working.

Should only take him a few days.

I always like to look at crime rates and school ratings. If those are good, I feel like I will have a better investment. Flips that are easier to sell, and apartments that are easier to rent and get good renters into. 

You need a lawyer. Good luck.

Would they be willing to use Smart move, which is TransUnion itself? You send the email they click it and do it/pay for it themselves.

I see this as a red flag though. Are they just trying to get out of getting one done?? Have you looked them up on your states system to see what comes up on their criminal record?

I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope you come out okay with your insurance.

If you think one of the vehicles was the cause of the fire, make sure the insurance company is done checking that out before you move it. 

I would just be glad they are gone. If my 8-plex burned down, I can only imagine how many of them would be knocking on my door. And to be honest, the first thing I would do is write the checks for their deposits. Why would I keep them? No lease violation on my list would allow me to keep their deposit besides damage or late rent. I can end their lease for violations, but the deposit would be for damages or unpaid rent. If my building was burned down and they were current on the rent, I wouldn't have a reason to keep it.

I would think your insurance would take care of removing the cars when they clean up the property from the fire. Just like they will clean up their stuff that burned on the inside.

 It depends on what your goals are. If you are happy with your cash flow and it's working for you then keep it. If your goal is more cash flow or a larger building that can support a property manager and make it more hands-off for you, then do that. You have to decide what your long-term goals are and do what is going to get you there. Good luck :)

Here is my example. I have an 8-plex that I bought in 2017 for $175,000. He was desperate to sell because his Rural Dev. loan had been paid off and his section 8 classification ended, however tenants weren't paying the full rent like they were supposed to. His numbers were horrible because of this, and also because he's an older gentleman and paid for everything to be done there. It had been listed for a while and a couple of sales had fallen through. I offered him his price on a contract for deed, with 5% interest, $800 per month, and $10,000 now, $10,000 in 6 months, and $10,000 in 12 months. I set it for 5 years, but told him I'd pay it off as soon as I could get bank financing. (A little over a year later I was able to get the financing and the appraisal came out at $300,000)
I immediately laid down the law there, started getting the rents up to market, got rid of bad tenants, remodeled 3 of the units, added landscaping, took care of deferred maintenance, etc. If I were to sell it right now for the $300,000 (I currently owe $150,000) I would walk away with $150,000 that I could use on a 1031 as 20% down on a $750,000 building.
I would only be using the money I have already invested, plus equity, and my NOI on the larger building would be much greater. This is why I will sell. However, I'm waiting until next summer because I'm moving and want to invest there :)

You have to sell when it works for you. The whole goal is to improve your standard of living and cash flow.

I like to ask realtors and other contractors for recommendations. They know who shows up and who they like to work with. I also let them know who recommended them, not only to give credit, but also so they know that if they suck I will probably let the person who recommended them know. :)

Depending on your seller, you may still be able to ask them to give them notice. Just tell seller that you are going to end their leases to remodel and ask if it would be possible for them to give tenant notice now (provided they have month-to-month leases). All they can say is no. When I bought my 8-plex, the seller handed me the tenant file box the day we signed the purchase agreement. I got to manage the property until closing and managed to get some of this done before then. I had one that moved out the day of closing and another 2 weeks later. It worked out great!

I have heard a lot of great things about both of them on the podcasts. I own them both and am going to read them shortly, once I get done with the Long Distance Real Estate Investing book :)