All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

My post is kinda-sorta related to the topic. I'd never heard of bitcoin until this week. A Facebook friend posted saying he was approached about investing in a company that was developing the first debit card for bitcoin.

They're with Muckerlab accelerator in LA and it sounds like he thinks this could take off.

Ian is a genius (literally) and very tech/investment savvy. You can google him if you'd like...his name is Ian Ippolito. He founded vworker which he sold last year for an undisclosed, but surely obscene amount of money.

Anyway...if this interests you at all from a ground floor investment standpoint...PM me and I'll get you in touch with him.

Like I said...I am very uninformed on the topic so I can't argue for or against its merit...but thought I'd pass it along for anyone interested as it seems this has become a hot topic here on BP.

I haven't had the opportunity to try these out (yet)...but I was planning on picking up a couple fake tv's. They turn on at sundown and turn off after a preset amount of time. faketv.com Also, a lamp or two set on timers might help. You could even set the timers to shut the light on in one room and then a minute later, turn the light on the next room...making it seem like someone is inside moving from room to room.

It's similar to the suggestion @Elizabeth Colegrove had...but it puts all the savings up front instead of spreading it over the term of the lease. What would attract you as a renter? Slightly lower rent or a whole month FREE? This wouldn't work in every situation, but in my scenario, the numbers work out the same. They either save $100/mo. or $1200 up front.

Moving is expensive...take away some of the financial burden of moving and people will flock. :)

I know I'll probably get railed for this, but it works. I always advertise first months rent is free. I'd rather take a little loss on the front end than have the house sit vacant. I don't use a property manager and the last thing I want to do is spend all my free time showing the rental and screening tenants. This definitely speeds up the process. I've never had a vacancy last over 1 week and I've never had a lack of applications in my hand. I would, however, recommend screening those applications VERY carefully. Offers like this tend to bring out a higher percentage of "unstable" renters.

I always start with Google. It's free, it's easy and it's usually where the story starts to unravel. Here are a couple examples:

* Googled the landlord phone number and found a recent craigslist ad selling some ratty speakers. The name in the ad did not match and the ad looked like it was written by a crackhead. APPLICATION REJECTED.

*Googled the landlord name and found that the "landlord" was a secretary at the construction company the applicant said he owned. Really? This girl is "your" secretary and you're renting a house from HER? Give me a break! APPLICATION REJECTED.

*Googled an applicants stated address and found an old rental ad for the property. I called the number from the ad and spoke with the real property manager who stated she was in fact the tenant, but she was very behind in her rent...they were considering eviction. APPLICATION REJECTED.

*Looked at property records and the name recorded did not match the landlord name given on the application. I called the number and spoke to someone who had no clue about the property. After about 5 minutes of stumbling and fumbling through answering my questions, he was able to come up with a story about his Aunt who lives out of state and owns the home and lets him manage the property. He said he'd have her give me a call. I said...well, I know the name of the property owner, can you tell me the name of your aunt? He hung up on me. APPLICATION REJECTED...bonus points awarded for creativity.

p.s. Silence is key. I'm never afraid to let a little silence into the phone call. A liar will be so uncomfortable with the silence, they'll almost always say something stupid and give themselves away.

p.s.s I did actually call every single one of these numbers to verify what I already knew. Then I scan all the applications into my computer and add a text box at the bottom stating why the application was denied. Gotta cover my backside!

p.s.s.st (lol) I notify applicants by email if their application was rejected. I have a standard message...I just change the name and the reason. I never reply to their replies and I never take future phone calls from them. There's nothing else to be said. Your application was denied for the reason stated and you should just keep it movin'. I know I will. :)

Welcome to BP @Jonathan Makovsky

I've owned rental property in the past, but want to start rehabbing/flipping. I just signed up for RE school. For me, the pros far outweighed the cons...obviously. :)

Right now, I have the time to be my own Realtor. Hopefully, my business will grow to the point that pushing paper and chasing down listing agents will become a waste of my time. Then, I'll add a Realtor to the mix. Until then...I prefer to do it myself.

Highlights from my pros column were:

Access to the MLS whenever I want.

Write multiple offers and not feel like I'm bothering someone to do it for me.

Knowledge.

Won't have to wait for a realtor to return my calls before making a move.

Nobody will work harder for me, than me.

Highlights from my cons column:

Disclosure requirements. (easy to take care of)

I have no experience. (get it the same way everyone else did...by doing)

Hope that's helpful in some way...good luck to you!!

Sign me up!

Great story! It surprises me how often people try to pull this off. I actually enjoy these calls. When you've got a pile of applications to review, the fake landlord call definitely breaks up the monotony. They're always good for a laugh! I've never hung up after talking to a fake landlord and thought "gosh, I can't believe (insert name) lied on her application...she seemed like such a nice girl." You can pretty much see it coming from a mile away! Great post...very funny!

I think I just came up with a tag line..."every question leads to an answer and every answer leads to 5 more questions."

Don't steal that...it's mine. ;)

All good tips. Thanks for sharing your info/opinions. Good lord...it's actualscary how much I don't know!

@Phil G. Until 5 minutes ago...I didn't even know what E&O Insurance was. SMH!

Every question leads to an answer...every answer leads to 5 more questions.