All Forum Posts by: Joe M.

Geesh what a nightmare. Sorry you are going through this.

I'm not as experienced as the other folks that have commented thus far, but I can say if I were in a similar situation I'd have some sort of personal protection in my home.

Heck I don't have any of the problems you are having and I still keep a handgun and a shotgun in my house for personal defense. I like to to call my shotgun "the persuader".

speaking of making safer.

I looked at an REO a few months ago that had this wrought iron railing around the porch but no handrail for the two steps leading up to it.

to "make it safe" whoever the bank hired took two pieces of a 2 X 4 about 8 inches long each and nailed them together in a triangle wedge shape. They then bolted this wedge to the corner post of the railing. It was so flimsy it was nearly flapping in the wind, but now this house had a handrail!

The first two people to call on the house I have up for rent both had vouchers of some sort. Not section 8 vouchers though, they were from local charity organizations.

I've clearly advertised that this is not a Section 8 house and I'm hesitant to accept any other type of voucher.

My question is in regards to Fair Housing. Can I simply tell them that I don't accept vouchers and remain in compliance with fair housing law? One of the two has a credit score of 500, can I deny based on credit score even if they are paying w/a voucher?

Tom:

In my day to day job I manage our sales and marketing team where I work. The nature of our work is business to business involving big sales ($1M +/transaction)

I use SPIN selling + the workbook as a training guide for my team and quite frankly I find it to be one of the most useful training/education tools in my arsenal.

I'm pretty sure "freak show" is not a protected class. Could be wrong though.

This falls under the "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" category.

Newbie here so I'll take the plunge.

For me I've taken a very conservative approach, and pay all cash for my deals. I currently have two properties. Given this I'd have to say cash is what is holding me back, but with a big caveat.

I still have my FT job, a stay at home wife and two children to consider whenever I make financial decisions. Given that I maintain a 6 month cash reserve for personal financial emergencies that I won't touch for real estate investments. I also continue to fund my 401(k) at the maximum amount and also both of my kids college 529 plans.

I have a plan to purchase 2 homes a year for the next 5 years then do an evaluation to either maintain at 10 homes, grow larger or wind the business down.

Now obviously if I had a larger pool of cash I was willing to part with that plan might look much different, but given my risk tolerance and cash availability this is what I'm comfortable with at the moment.

honestly any generic weed killer with 2-4-D in it will work. just look for that ingredient on the label and you will be good to go.

also, for areas such as mulch beds a granulated herbicide like Preen works great. just spread some at the beginning of spring and you will be weed free in your mulch beds.

Yes, it is scheduled to be complete by the end of this week. I think this one will be fairly easy to rent out. It is a 3 bedroom 3 full bath right across from a brand new elementary school. I've already had inquiry's about it and I haven't even listed it for rent yet.

I really got super lucky and found an incredibly good contractor who has worked with investors before. I'd imagine I'll be using him quite often.

I just used this for the first time yesterday. The process went very smooth and the prospective tenant seemed satisfied with the process.

From my perspective I loved it. I have peace of mind that I'm not renting out to the wrong person. I set it up so the applicant pays the fee so I'm not out any of my own money. Setting up an account is quick and easy.

I'll be using this with all my applicants now.