All Forum Posts by: Joshua S.

I'm not sure if you have a service lined up, but I use Cozy.co for my landlording. It's free, it offers an application for potential tenants where you can require they purchase a credit and background check. It also now offers rental insurance for tenants to purchase and can also verify their rental insurance policy. You can collect rent, fees, and security deposits. It takes a little bit of time to get used to it and they're still improving it, but it's really nice to offer tenants online payments and have it not cost you a thing. You can also list your units there and syndicate the listing to other apartment/rental sites like realtor.com. Also, not sure how new you are to renting, but the best advice I can give you is to make sure you have a rock solid lease. Charge late fees and make it clear that you hope you never have to charge them. Be nice but firm.

Is "longer than expected" a few hours, a day?  How long has it been?  I'd say if it's more than 3 days, then there is probably something there.  I ran a background check where the person only had one crime in Georgia and it came back immediately.  But usually if it takes a while, then there could be something up there.  This is based solely off of the two times I've used it though.

Thank you all for your responses! @Christopher Lightner@Andrew Michael@Ben Wilkins@Chris Seveney @Jason D.

As it turns out, I went and looked at this property in person with a good friend of mine and it's definitely a no go for what they're asking. The roof is in terrible shape, and it appears to need a lot more work than I thought it would.  Looking at the map, I also thought it was in a better area than it actually is.  The corner store nearby has big bars on all the windows... and all of the businesses look run down, probably not a good sign...  And thinking further into it, even fixed up, the area probably wouldn't attract quality tenants.  I don't think the juice would be worth the squeeze on this one.  It also sounds like I'm probably going to need more money.  Thanks though for the responses!

Hello all my BP friends. I'm still pretty new to Bigger Pockets and I think I may have found my first deal. I will break down the numbers below in hopes that you all could give me some advice and insight. I'm just going to list all my thoughts and questions and hope you read it all. :) It is a foreclosed Triplex located in southeast Virginia (Hampton Roads area), listed on the MLS by the bank. So right away, I'm wondering if there is anything I should know about buying a foreclosure. I've never done it before. I've only bought primary residences. Started with a townhouse then bought a single family home and am renting out my townhouse. I like being a landlord and feel I am pretty good at screening tenants. The triplex isn't in the greatest part of town, but not in the worst. It's listed on Zillow for $74,900. Zillow said it foreclosed at $61,000. Tax assessment shows as $123,680. It has 3 units, each with 2BR/1BA. Total sq. ft. On Zillow is 2,040. I'm also having trouble finding comps to determine ARV. So I'm looking at the tax assessment for guidance on what it could be. So I'm thinking I could buy it somehow by lowballing an offer and then finance with private money or hard money and fix it up. I have excellent credit, but limited capital (around $8,000). This is what I imagined: 1. Get hard money or private money loan for $95,000. Hopefully negotiating interest only payments for first 3 months, if that's even possible. Not sure. 2. Purchase for $70,000, leaves $25,000 for repairs. 3. Replace flooring, paint walls, install cheap, but new, cabinets, countertops, and appliances in kitchen. This assumes roof and structure are good. 4. Rent units as they are completed for $700 each. 5. Refinance with conventional mortgage for $95,000, repaying the hard/private money loan. Rental Income: $2,100 - Mortgage (P&I): $454/mo - Taxes: $130/mo - Insurance: $85/mo - Water: $0/mo (I believe it's metered separately) - Electricity: $0 (I believe it's metered separately) - CapEx: $105/mo (assuming 5%) - Routine Maint: $105/mo (assuming 5%) - Vacancy: $147/mo (assuming 7% for the not great area) $2,100 (income) - $1,026 (expenses) = $1,074 (monthly cash flow) I know I'm probably leaving out some factors. But if anyone has any good information on hard money loans, private money, interest only payments, or literally ANY INFORMATION would be helpful. I have a slight construction background, primarily electrical with some HVAC sprinkled in, but I'm now working as a an IT government contractor. Good pay (>$75K/year) and stable contract. Thanks all!!!

@Account Closed They do allow tenants to choose whether the payments made through their service are reported to Experian.  It's a feature that the tenant can enable.  My tenants use it. 

John L., I use Cozy.co and I think it's great. They use Checkr for their background checks. Checkr is an extremely thorough background checking service. They also provide credit reports. All on the Tenant's dime. The only caveat is that because Checkr does an actual in depth background check, sometimes it can take days or even weeks to produce the report if they find something. If there is minimal or no criminal history or negative history to speak of, it usually produces the report within an hour or two. If there is a history, especially in multiple states, it can take a while.

If you're confident in the numbers, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Your parents probably just want you to do the norm. You know, settle down with a nice girl in a nice house. If they don't understand then they don't understand. If it's a mistake, it's yours to make, not theirs. If it's not, then they'll see your side once you're profitable. They're not the ones making the call, you are.

Oh and Cozy.co also lets you collect actual credit and background checks for tenants and they charge the tenants the cost. You can even require them to pay for it during the application process. That way you can know who your renting to. You should also check any references that the Tenants provide you. Another tip would be to find information on the company they work for and contact that company directly for employment verification.

For renting, I've found Landlordology.com to be an invaluable resource. They also list important information about the rental laws for your state. And Cozy.co is good to use for collecting rent and listing the property for rent and it's completely free. When I have a vacancy, I list it for rent on there and on Zillow. Good for small landlords like myself.

@Robert E Bogino Great post!  If you don't mind me asking, how did you go about raising the capital to afford 20% down payments (and all the upfront costs) for 3 properties within a couple months?  Do you have a full time job?  I guess I'm just asking out of curiosity because I'm trying to figure out how to get to that point.  Thanks!