All Forum Posts by: John Niebuhr

I use a dark walnut colored water proof snap together flooring in the bathrooms with white fixtures and a Cornerstone color painted walls.  The cost is about $50.00 per case or so for the dark flooring, that's why it's only installed in the wet areas.  In the balance of my units I use a Oak colored snap together flooring.  It's about $18.00 per case.  Both flooring colors go well together with the Cornerstone paint.  The color combination of the paint and flooring goes very well with almost every color of furnishings a tenant may have.  

One option may be to create a "Trust" to buy and sell your property from.  At the bank under the name of the Trust, you can open various deposit only checking accounts for each property or unit etc.  In your lease agreement under rent payments, you include the account number for that unit and require the tenant to make all rent payments at the bank in that account number.  It's a good way to support your position, if need be, to state the rent is on time or it is not and a late fee(s) plus a daily fee is required. Also, if need be, the bank statement could be used as supporting documentation to prove the rent was not paid in an eviction process.

Bao

You indicate the property is a condo and it looks like a good deal. Where there is a condo there is a HOA. Its my understanding HOA's are required to have an outside review every three years conducted by an outside firm with an internal review for the two year balance by the HOA. Ask for a copy of the three year and current reviews. I would look to see what's the financial health of the HOA, what deferred maintenance is identified, are there unit assessments pending, are there any HOA liens on this unit now just to identify a few things to check out. I would think when it comes to HOA's, comps may not tell the whole story.

I am wanting to purchase property using a "Trust" document.  What's the best approach, hire a lawyer to do the trust, find a sample trust document with all the necessary pages and create one from that, or what?  Any advice?  Any idea on where to begin looking for a trust document to create my own?  Thanks  John