All Forum Posts by: J. Martin

I started a lease for one of my SFH's with no pets on the lease. Tenants are good tenants, take care of everything, including lawn and landscaping. Looks nice outside and in. They called and asked if they could get a dog for their daughter, to keep any stray cats away from the house, and as a little barking alarm (small, outside dog.) It is a lower-income area, and a lot of people like having a little dog to bark in case anyone thinks about slumming around the area.. Just enough to alert..

I said yes because:
- They are good tenants, hands-off, and paying healthy rents
- They want to keep it outside, so I didn't charge an extra deposit
- I figure it will tie them to the house longer because they will have the right size yard for their dog at this house, and somewhat limit their ability to move by those who do not accept pets (what parent wants to get rid of their child's favorite pet?)
- No aggressive breeds

A lot of people give out bonuses around the holidays to people that wouldn't normally get tips/bonuses throughout the year. Of course, many send out the picture xmas postcard too, but that's a little different.. Who do you give gifts or bonuses to in the RE world during the holidays? My plans for this year so far..

Handyman - $200-300.
He probably expects nothing because he didn't get one with last employer.. He works for me part-time, handles all my units, makes my life easy, and will be moving into my unit in exchange for work in early 2014. (Hmmm.. maybe I should give him more)

Backup call-taker when on vacation - $50 gift or very nice dinner.
He is a friend who is my backup call-taker for my tenants when I am on vacation, in case my tenants can't get ahold of my handyman. Never had to get a call yet (w/ 1.5mo absence). But important to me. He knows real estate/landlording and would be able to handle any issue or call someone who could take care of it, without getting ripped off.

Investor/Partner - Some bitcoin? Nice dinner? Something real-estate related? This is a passive investor who helped get a deal done with their JV support that I'd like to give a little gift to..

Tenants - the good ones - home-made cookies! Was going to buy some candy, but thinking about baking some cookies and giving them out, since I want some yummy cookies anyway, and can give some to co-workers. I like to do nice little things for my tenants.

Garbage Man - $20 or a 12-pack.
Maybe this is just because my dad used to work for a garbage company. He says bad to give out alcohol to drivers though.. This inexpensive gift may pay dividends later when you or your tenants have to pile your bins a mile high to get rid of waste/debris or ignore that block of cement in your trash can..

Apparently, these are the most important people in my real estate life.. I'm trying to think of who else I rely on..

Who in RE do you give gifts/bonuses to during the holidays, and how much?

@Melvin Yuen , happy to get everyone together. Looking forward to chatting with you there. @Ken Lau , better a little than none at all! See you then. And happy holidays everyone!

What: East Bay BP Meetup - 2014!

When: Thursday, January 16th, 2014 - 6:30PM to 9ish+

Where: Rosamunde Sausage Grill (& Bar)
Swans Market Place, 911 Washington St, Oakland, CA 94607
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rosamunde-sausage-grill-oakland?nb=1

Get There: Take BART to 12th St/Civic Center Oakland Station& walk down Broadway to decreasing-numbered streets. Make a right on 9th St and walk to the first corner, at 911 Washington St. It is about a 5min walk, a block from the last EB meetup.

Parking at 459 8th St, or other garages nearby at the link below. Address above.
http://oaklandparking.spplus.com/Oakland-459-8th-Street-Parking.html

A couple more things to consider @Brett Braden : First, know if there are too many safety issues or lender issues that a 203k is required. If not, I would try to do FHA, unless you really want it and can't do it another way. But if you are doing straight FHA and doing the work over time yourself, be realistic about the amount of time, expertise, and money you can contribute to the project if you do not do the 203K.

In this consideration, don't forget how the living space will look and what the living conditions will be like - for not just you - but that beautiful bunch of folks around you in your profile picture. Dust, debris, noise, unusable spaces, eyesores, etc I've heard of/seen too many stories of stressed relationships and intolerable living situations after much longer than expected rehab projects when living in the property.. (My handyman is helping out on a project that is 1 year in and about another 1-2 years to go at the current rate due to the owner's no-noise schedule - but total rehab project).

Hi DeAdria, and welcome to BP! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! But you’ll find a variety of every type of investor on the site, and everyone is amazingly helpful. Some pointers for you: The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and so do BP members! You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. And you can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name at the bottom of the message box. Welcome to the site, and good luck in everything!

Welcome Albert . There are a lot of super helpful people and great advice on this site! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! A lot of others doing flips, wholesaling, notes, everything.. A few tips..

You can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name when it pops up at the bottom of the message box. You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and most importantly, the BP members! Welcome to BP, and good luck on your investments!

Hi Christopher, and welcome to BP! I’m a ‘fix and hold’ investor from the Bay Area in CA, and loving it! But you’ll find a variety of every type of investor on the site, and everyone is amazingly helpful. Some pointers for you: The "Learn" link across the top navigation bar has lots of great info, and so do BP members! You can click on the ‘vote’ button if you like someone's post or is helpful, and there are ‘awards’ to earn on your profile. And you can tag people by typing @ before you type their name, then clicking their name at the bottom of the message box. Welcome to the site, and good luck in everything!

@Jenna Stonecipher , it's nice to hear someone's experience was consistent with what I had heard (although sad to hear you had to experience it.) You are right to be skeptical of their comment regarding it being unusual. The pains are what I hear from every agent/loan broker, even some 203k consultants.. But like you said, if it's the only way you can get it done, and really want it, you have 30 years to pay it off, which I like! Also, thank you for reminding me of the caveat regarding doing your own work: if it's NOT required by the lender (like Section 1 termite or any other health/safety/fha item picked by consultant) AND there is no funding for it in the 203k (not even for materials) then you can do it yourself out-of-pocket on your own.

@Brett Braden , of course you can follow, and I'll send a colleague request. I got SO deep into learning about FHA when I was in the process, and buying this 4plex FHA was the best thing I ever did.. (oh yeah, did I mention you can buy a 4plex with FHA, 3.5% down, and up your purchase price with all the other units' rents!?)

Hi @Michael Girgis ,

I just hired a virtual assistant on odesk.com

Although I found many US-based VA's to be about as expensive as someone I could hire locally. If that were the case, I would use someone locally. And for the simple work I'm having performed, I would end up doing it myself before paying someone US-based rates to get it done (this was very easy and quick work, but I don't mind farming it out if it's cheap enough..)

Having said that, some great US VA's have lots of hours logged too. This was just the experience for my particular job. If you have some experience as an executive assistant or general office (or some sort of specialty - medical billing, etc), you might be able to make some good money.. Either way, it's extra if you have the time, right?

@Brett Braden ,

I looked into this matter in detail when I was purchasing, and ended up going with the straight FHA, for reasons described below. To address your questions:

Is there a minimum amount of time you need to live in the house?
FHA provides you with a document to sign that states that you will owner-occupy as your primary residence for at least one year. (I believe it also states you intend to occupy it within 90 days of close if I remember correctly.) If you stick to this, you should have no problem if you sell it later. Shorter really shouldn't be an issue, as circumstances change, and people sell, but I wouldn't flaunt it. And would probably make it harder next time.

Does the entire rehab need to be done by a contractor or can i do my own rehab once the 203k runs out?
Basically, by a contractor. Only in rare circumstances does the 203k language allow it, and even rarer with the 203k consultant allow it. The lender wants to know it was done correctly by a licensed professional. And that you are not getting "cash out" on the project.

From everything I've heard, and almost getting into one, it's tough with the 203k consultant who has to approve everything, expensive with everything done by contractors to be approved by consultant, slow due to the multiple parties involved and process, and expensive due to the fees. The upside is that the cost is rolled into a 30yr mortgage, so you have a long time to payoff those overpriced options.. I ended up borrowing some private money, 0% credit cards for renovations, and paying them off with cash flow from the rental. You can also do a "streamline" FHA 203k for under $30-35k in renovation costs, I believe, and is a lot less cumbersome than the full 203k..

Look at the application process at the bottom of this extensive HUD 203k link to get an idea of what you're up against with the 203k, and then search for some stories online. I would only use it for $75K+ of work or a guts-out rebuild to be able to amortize the costs over a 30yr fixed low-rate mortgage, because I'm a 'buy and hold' investor rather than flipper..

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/203k/203kabou