All Forum Posts by: James Nix

@Ned J. see that is exactly what I was thinking but this was a inherited tenant and I have read up and down this lease and cant seem to find anything about a certain dollar amount under they should be responsible for. 

& the only reason I just texted her have the space cleaned out and I will have somebody put it back up is because I don't want my unit falling apart

@Alex S. this was a inherited tenant & I don't nothing about who is responsible for this. I only see what she must take care of ( I.E pest/rodent control, Heat, Bed bugs etc) in this lease

Hey everyone, I haven't posted about it but I closed on my first duplex in February & now I am so happy I can finally call myself a rental property investor.

But sure enough Into my first month I learned this one tenant loves to text and call to request a bunch of minor fixes that seem to be something that I'm not sure if I should be responsible to fix or if the tenant should fix it.

Like this photo I got a text about this falling down in the middle of the night but clearly I can see that its too much weight being put on the bar. I already texted her to clean the space out and I will have someone put it back up.

But I wanted to know what is some of the things in a unit the tenant should be responsible for?  

Thank you @Michael Craig

I am using a FHA loan. After my agent made me aware that the contract was accepted I immediately called my lender which had me docusign a bunch of documents to get the loan started.

1.So how would you make a decision on which tenant to keep and which one you want to let leave? condition of their unit on inspection? 

2. Also should I be trying to talk to the tenants before I close or immediately after I close on the property?

3. Also I was going to go in this with the impression that I was going to be the property manager not the owner, Do you think this is a good idea to do? because I will be living there also 

Hey Everyone, 

I just recently got my first Duplex under contract two days ago. Very excited but trying to be pro-active with everything I figured I come here and post a question to get info on this particular process. So if anybody can give feedback on these various questions it would be greatly appreciated.

1. So other then the home inspection & appraisal what else should I be doing during this time before closing date? 

2. Other then the landlord forms for my state that I got off of BP is there any other documents that you think I will need?

3. I will be owner occupying the property & there are tenants already living in the two units. I did not receive the leases for the tenants yet but figuring if they are on month to month I would have to tell one of them to move. How would you go about handling this?

And truthfully anything else you would like to share about this process please do it will be extremely helpful. I have a great Agent which is an investor also that have been holding my hand through everything already but I know more help would always be a good thing.

thank you in advance 

i was in the same situation last year. I would first focus on your credit score because that's vital not in just your first deal but your whole Investing career.

Pull your free credit report to see what's on there. Then start working on paying off the small balances you owe & try to working out a deal on the bigger balances you owe. Also look at the statue of limitations on all of your debts because some might be already about to come off by they self. 

I would not get a credit repair company to do what you can do yourself. Also Im not a lender but just so you know a FHA loan(owner occupied loan) don't recommend you to have a high credit score. So pay off a couple of old balances & you probably could qualify.

from personal experience i would invested in knowledge first. If you read books get 

- The book on rental property investing by Brandon Turner 

If you into audio more start with the biggerpockets podcast & listen. Then you can use the book recommendations from the investors on there and get the auiblie versions.

You already have a paid off property. So you should not be in no rush & learn because that's your meal ticket right there. 

@Al Williamson thanks for tip. I never really thought about that & it makes so much sense why would I strive to make more work( more units) vs getting my set income goals. What are your thoughts on buying in a declining market? Would you do it 

@Account Closed thanks so much, & yes it’s my first property. But I would like your thoughts on why do you feel as the first property wouldn’t be a good investment to get to the 20? It seems like to get into a property & be able to build value thru sweat equity is a good investment. Am I wrong or just got something mixed up? 

Would you buy a duplex that needs about 15-20k in renovation (Dad has a construction company & I am also very handy so plan to do a lot of the work myself) which has negative population growth( -6% since 2000) but is around the corner from your job(literally walking distance)

Or would you

Buy a duplex in a growing population location (22% since 2000) that's 45- 50 mins away from your job which you would have to pay about 60-80k more then your budget in your criteria or that you wanted to pay for your first property.

I work for a government job & have been there for over 5 years. I also don't plan to quit soon well not for 3-4 years because I actually like working there. I'm househacking it so I won't be tied to the area, well hopefully not that long( My Goal is to buy 20 units in 3 years).

So my question is which duplex would you choose to buy & why?