All Forum Posts by: Josiah Kay

Hi Michael,

I am currently renting out a SFR and I am using checks as the payment method. With mobile deposit, I find this to be fairly minimal effort on my part. None-the-less, I am looking into using Cozy going forward as I start to acquire more rentals. If you want to shy away from checks, I'd recommend doing a search of the forums for online rent collection as there is a plethora of information out there.

@Robert Drouin Couldn't agree more with John. Ultimately, I'd look at the local market and determine what the norm is there for the specific property type you have. Based on that, you can make the business decision of what utilities to pay. There could also be the possibility of leveraging a difference between your business decision and the norm to try and attract a larger prospective tenant base. For example, instead of having the tenant pay all utilities, maybe you pay the water, highlight this in you advertising, and then figure out a way to pass this cost on to your tenant (via higher rent amount, pet fees, etc.). 

I think @Jennifer Soelberg makes a great point. The key point would by why he made the decision to transition from homeowner to renter. A simple credit check should be able to confirm a foreclosure or if he had issues paying his mortgage, but it would definitely be good to confirm that. 

In addition, the cynical side of me would verify that he was truly the owner of the property and isn't just trying to bypass the reference check. 

@Dan Wilde I'm thinking we could have this once a month. If you want to PM me your email address, I can add you to the distribution list for the next meetup. 

@Isaac Stallworth I have used https://www.mysmartmove.com/ to facilitate the credit/eviction portion of the tenant screening process. It was easy for a prospective tenants to use and it allowed me to avoid having to collect an application fee myself. 

I think I follow you. Basically, you are asking about paying off your first property so you can use it as collateral for your second purchase, correct?

If so, I'm not sure I see a lending benefit for doing that. Assuming you don't overpay for your next property, a lender should just be able to finance you by holding the next property as collateral. In my opinion, trying to pay off your first property to leverage it for your second will only extend the timeline between acquiring your first and second property.

Hi, Amir! Welcome to BiggerPockets! 

To answer your question, I'll give the old adage of "It depends." Originally, I had a very Dave Ramsey mindset in which I wanted to pursue buying homes free and clear with cash. To me, it was a very risk adverse and "comfy" path. However, once I found my "Why" and defined my goals, it became clear to me that buying free and clear was not going to get me where I needed to be to achieve my goals. For this reason, I switched mindsets and am now pursuing leveraged properties.

If you haven't already, I would recommend that you clearly define and write-down your goals. What do you want REI to do for you? Are you looking to supplement or replace your current income? If replace, how quickly do you want to replace it? Your goals should be what drives your decision on whether to leverage or not. Leverage will most definitely allow you to scale more quickly and increase your ROI, however, it can seem a bit more risky than just having a free and clear property that is cash flowing.

Hello, 

I am currently looking for SFH's in Milwaukee, WI (53222). Specifically, I am looking for at least a 3/1 that needs some light rehab. If anyone knows of any opportunities, please let me know.

Thanks,

Josiah

Anyone in the Wauwatosa or Milwaukee area should consider attending this informal meetup. It'll be a relaxed time to drink some beer, eat some popcorn, and discuss real estate.

Since I couldn't find many meetup options in the Wauwatosa, WI area, I thought I would try and put one together myself. Come join an informal meetup where we can talk about real estate investing over a couple of Big Head Brewing beers.