All Forum Posts by: John Morgan

I loved reading the millionaire next door. It talks about the mindset and delayed gratification of anyone at any income to be extremely wealthy. And these people live simple non flashy lives. They’re willing to save a little here and there instead of spending all their $. Just like in the richest man in Babylon book. And another one I liked was a bigger pockets book which talks about how to get started in real estate with no money. It talked about ways to save up that first 25k. Once you have about 25k you’re ready to invest in real estate and multiply. Can’t remember the name of the book..I gave to some kid thinking about getting into real estate after I read it a couple months ago. Keep asking and learn from others. That’s the key. And don’t listen to all the negative people out there that don’t believe in you. Just go for it and have fun with it!

@Chris Hadley

As soon as you get a sob story from a tenant, be nice to them and say you will start the eviction process. That it takes time for the courts to do anything, and when they pay up you’ll drop the case. If you wait two or three weeks, then you’ve just lost that much more in rent. I learned the hard way on two properties in the last year. You’ll get the same sad stories. I was too nice and got torched. People can’t manage money and won’t be able to pay rent. It’s a fact jack. Don’t let your hard earned money you’ve invested get robbed by people that are irresponsible and make poor decisions in life. Evict them ASAP!

@Greg Gaudet

My debt to income ratio is bad and I just got a loan. I’m refinancing a rental that is paid off. They’re giving me a 4.125% on a 15 year loan for 75% of its value with a fast 4 week closing. I have four rental properties with loans I bought less than two years ago and that wasn’t a problem. PM me if you want to call my lender to see if they can help you out. This guy was able to approve me quick and I didn’t have to go through the hassle of adding my wife to the loan..even though her income would have helped my debt to income with them. Getting loans is tedious, but once you get through all the paperwork requirements it’s all worth it. Good luck!

@Jordan Lucas

I love your attitude. You will go far in life thinking like this and doing what you love. I’m a pilot because I love flying and would do it for free. I started investing in real estate four years ago and have acquired 6 SFRs..and making an offer on one more this week hopefully. I would invest in real estate for free too! It’s fun. And very rewarding watching the passive income flow in every month. I geek out on every bigger pocket podcast that comes out. And read the guests’ favorite real estate or business books they suggest. I’m reading the four hour work week and richest man in Babylon now since many have recommended them on the podcast. Loving both of them too. Work smart and enjoy the ride!

So I just rehabbed a SFR I bought six months ago. I was getting only $600/month with an inherited tenant. I had her move out and fixed this place up and just found a family ready to rent it for $1,400/month. However, there are tons of fleas outside the house in the yard. Some hitchhike and find their way into the house. I've had the house bombed and outside yard completely sprayed by a pest control guy. The fleas are still active. I'm having the yard sprayed again. Anyone have any ideas how to get rid of these fleas? My new tenants are waiting until I get the fleas under control.

@Henry Centola

I'm doing a cash out refi on a rental I own outright now. Just had the appraisal yesterday. The lender is giving me 75% LTV at a 4.125% rate on a 15 year. PM me if you want the contact info on this. So far so good with this bank!

@adianna Diaz 

I would call Kimberly Dorsett at All County management group to pick her brain. She managed one of my ft worth properties that had a sec 8 tenant in it. She will tell you what the going rate is for the neighborhood your property is in and the demand. Housing tenants are easy. They get a voucher for a certain amount and they pay the extra $ needed for the cost of rent which is usually much more than their voucher. All County managed one of my properties and handled all of that. I highly recommend them. I did absolutely nothing. They charge 10% rent and wired me money into my bank account each month. Message me for her contact info since I can’t list them on this forum  

I can give you my opinion of the rent rate and hood your property is in if you message me the address. Let me know if you have any questions. I know good trustworthy affordable contractors and specialists if you have any maintenance issues as well. I know how stressful it can be managing a property out of state. I own an out of state property in Missouri and can relate to the unknowns you might deal with!

@Adriana Diaz

I live in Grand Prairie, TX next to Mansfield and have 5 rentals in this area. Here’s what I do and it works great when I need tenants out here. I list my rentals on Zillow and include 10 pics. They send the listing out to Trulia and hot pads and other sites. It’s all for free. Do it on Zillow manager. It’s all free. You can put a description in and say whatever you want. The rental market is hot out here and I usually have dozens of inquiries the first couple days I list my properties ...with emails and text messages. Then I meet with a few of them and have the ones I’m interested in apply online with Zillow. It costs them $29 for their whole background check which you get back in a couple minutes. This whole process is free! And I get a huge response every tine. I just listed a four bedroom property in ft worth and had 4 families wanting it that day. They all had deposit $ and were ready to move in on the spot. One family offered me an extra $200 if I picked them. And said they’d pay me an extra $50/month on top of the listed $1,400/month rent.

Let me know if I can help you out or if you have questions. You can send me the addresses and I can give you my opinion on your price point. I know the area pretty well and know what the going rent is and demand.

Another option is a management company. I use a great one for one of my ft worth properties. They are great and will do everything for you. I think they collect half of your first months rent to find people. But they are big and find people fast. Let me know if you want to talk to them I can link you up.

Your other option is sec 8 housing. I have one tenant that is on housing. Tarrant County pays me $1,075/month rent and they pay the rest above and beyond that. There aren’t enough houses for rent on housing. Both ft worth housing and Tarrant County are so impacted they can’t accept any more applications or people because they don’t have enough homes for rent on housing. My management company deals with sec 8 housing so that’s an option. They pay on time every month and they tend to be lifers. So less turnover for you.

Let me know if I can help. I know it must be frustrating trying to do this out of state and having it sit empty without rent for so long.

I just used Zillow’s background check for my two tenants last week and it worked like a champ. They charge $29 and it was easy and quick. I didn’t credit them their $ back. Not sure if most do that or not. Maybe I should?

I use Zillow to list my rentals online for free. You can put in 10 pictures. And they send out this same free listing to Trulia and Hot Pads. I always get a tremendous response from them and find good tenants within a couple days.

@Joanne Hanson

I really enjoy it. I post my properties for rent on Zillow for free and get a lot of people inquiring about it right away. My tenants text me when they have a maintenance problem. Then I text someone to go fix it. No hassle, no sweat.

My only advice is to start the eviction process right away when they are late. I’ve been burned twice in the last year by being too nice and listening to their problems. Let the courts handle it. That will save you thousands. This is a business and we put our hard earned $ into this investment. Good luck!