All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Hankins

I work with an STR coaching and mastermind group with buyers all over the place. The owner lives up in Meridian Idaho and has a few STRs in the area. We might have a few folks from SoCal interested in seeing what you are able to find. I'd be interested in getting on your buyers list.

The most important scaling step for any investor, is the step from 0 to 1. If you are just starting out, don't worry about being stuck at 10. Just make sure that you find the best deal for the assets you have now - and pull the trigger. You will have different problems, as well as different skillsets and solutions when you get further down the road.

Right now, there are still great ways to make solid returns with SFH. Just find the deals and get the experience. You will find that your skills scale with your portfolio.

Good luck!

If you are just starting out, I would use a mortgage broker. They should be able to lay out your options and make the process easy for you. They should have access to multiple lenders - and since they get paid when you loan closes - it's in their best interest to make sure you are successful. 

In the real estate world the name for that "strategy" is called "speculation". Unfortunately though, you really don't know what things are going to be worth in the future. Just look at the history of a show like Shark Tank - it's hard to predict future outcomes.

When you buy deals that cashflow, you have a realtime handle on your success. If you are young or just starting out, it seems like the slow road - but go see how many rich 40 - 45 year-olds got where they are by guessing the future AND who can did something you can repeat - it isn't that many.

This might be the best thread on BP right now. I saw this post before the pictures, and had to delete the comment I wrote because it was a little too harsh - but it looks like you got the message anyway.

You had a property with a dangerous, loose dog, endangering a toddler... But the title of your post was (and still is) "Tenant Threatens To Withhold Rent". I'm sure the last few hours have helped you clear up which tenant was your problem.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, and thankful that the child next door is safe! Regardless of which route you go - that has to be reported to animal control. If that dog mauls a child at its next home, you won't want to be the person who let it happen.

Oooooh. That IS out of character then :) I was thinking it was a distant family member or something. I wonder if there is any way to reach out to the state directly and see what the terms of rent aid actually are? Moving to a more expensive place sure seems like a way to disqualify for rent aid to me though. I hope you are able to get it resolved. That's what you get for trying to be nice :)

I made a similar mistake when I moved out of my first home in Las Vegas and put a "friend" in as a tenant - so this is literally just the advice I wish someone had given me.

You need a property manager immediately - because you are headed for a world of trouble. Your tenant is NOT going to pay you. The state is not going to write a check to someone who significantly upgraded their home in the middle of a crisis - and your tenant knows that. They didn't just accidentally mess up their forms AND forget to fix the issue. They like living in your home without paying. 

You WILL have to evict the tenant. They WILL be angry with you, even though you will have essentially given them $10,000 out of your own pocket to subsidize their lifestyle. Just get them out, and let someone with less emotional involvement deal with the property moving forward.

Congratulations on learning such a painful and expensive lesson in Real Estate Investing! Don't let it sour you on future projects, and things will be better in the future!