All Forum Posts by: James Gallagher

Thank you for the link and that website!

It looks great, is there a way I can print out a paper app for people to fill out and latter upload the data myself to do the background checks?

My property is located in a different state and my uncle, the maintenance man, will be showing/getting apps. He doesn't know how to use a computer. Do most people have internet access to fill out the app online or have you run into a problem with that? My tenants are mostly going to be lower-income people.

Is it $15 total for credit and criminal or $15 for each of them for a total of $30?

Mike McKinzie
I think we are talking about two different things. What you are describing to me as a handyman or a realtor who leases a unit for a landlord is more better termed a "landlord extender". There is no law that says landlords literally can't use ANYONE to help them. To the contrary a landlord using landlord extenders is totally different than a peppery manager sitting in the income/rental stream.

Your landlord extender does not have his/her hand in the cookie jar. This is a MAJOR problem with managers. IF they agree to have rents directly deposited into your account FIRST that is a different story. That's a manger worth talking to.

 You can certainly cash flow on buy and hold properties, as long as you don't occupy it. My properties cash flow an average of 10% with financing. I use the 1% rule to quickly determine if the property will cash flow. If the property will rent for 1% or more of the value, then it should cash flow nicely. But if you are in a bad area and have tenant problems, then that number can drop to negative.

     Hi Kurt, I have been in the cabinet industry most of my life.  I have designed kitchens and baths, installed the cabinetry and even manufactured my own cabinetry.  I have purchased from and worked in the big box stores as well as smaller cabinetry retailors. 

     First, it depends on how high a quality you are wanting to achieve.  In my properties I strive for a good match between price and quality.  Cheap cabinets are not a good value if they fall apart in a couple of years through use. 

      I use American Woodmark cabinetry which I purchase from either Home Depot or Lowes, Lowes sell them by another name though, they are special order and take approximately four to six weeks for delivery.  Merrilet cabinets are along the same quality as Woodmark and are found through other retailers.  These are middle ground in quality and have a decent price.  With cabinetry you get what you pay for.   

     In stock cabinetry I only buy for commercial buildings such as Hair salons and small break rooms. 

     I also only use Granite counter tops,  They last forever, look great, and if you shop around you can find granite for a good price as I have.  Do Not Buy granite counters from the big box stores.  You will pay twice the price you could get them for elsewhere. 

     Nice kitchens and bathrooms are a great way not only to increase the value of the property but also demand a higher rent price.  It is one of my own pet peeves and I have always gotten tenants within days of advertising and the amount of rent that I have asked for.  My tenants love the properties and feel a sense of pride to live in them. 

     So unless your properties are in a war zone.  This is what I would do.   

Let me recommend that you never, ever try to argue this point with a lender...if you don't understand how an investment into a real estate deal is more risky than depositing money in an FDIC insured financial institution, then this entire conversation is fruitless.

Here is another thread that's currently going on that will explain to how having the property as collateral is not necessarily going to make the deal secure:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/25...

And again, if you truly think that putting money into someone else's real estate deal is more (or even equally) secure as putting it into a bank, I'm fairly certain you won't find any lenders to take you seriously, as you have a lack of understanding of the (small but real) risks around real estate.

Sorry, but that's like arguing that my money is unsafe in my pocket while I'm typing this.  If you don't understand, just go ask a guy who just got his house broken into and robbed at gunpoint to explain it.  

Just because something bad happened somewhere to someone doesn't make it likely that it's going to happen here or to me anytime soon.  There's a big difference between Greece's economy and ours.  

Not to mention, having had money in a Greek bank was still more secure than having it in US real estate...not a single Greek depositor lost money in the past 4 months:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-14/...

I'd be willing to bet that the same can't be said for all US real estate investors.