All Forum Posts by: Karl B.

I'll bump this again as I like haunted property stories!

Back in April of 2012 when I was looking to buy a house in Los Angeles I seriously met with a realtor and she told me I should wait because she thought the market would drop further. I looked at her like she was stupid and found another realtor who also kind of sucked. Finally I found my Los Angeles realtor (third time's the charm) who was and is an all-star and she also sold my house for me in late-2020 when I left California. 

If the numbers make sense it's a good time to buy. Like Brandon once said, "Make your own deal." Also, the more ways you know how to buy, the better. I just won my first tax sale property and if all goes well (AKA the judge reviews the property and approves everything) I will likely go down the tax sale rabbithole as the property I bought was pennies on the dollar (hopefully noone broke in and stole the copper plumbing lol)

Howdy. We would be open to leads. We own a few warehouses in Erie.  

Get a credit card (at 15 you can get one as an authorized user- Google it) and make certain you pay off the balance every month. 

Doing this will build credit and give you a solid credit score. 

Also at 15 you can work and make money when not at school. Depending on where you live you can mow lawns or shovel snow. I worked 40 hours a week during the summer starting when I was 12 years old - even if it's a 'menial job' you'll learn a lot about life, skills and what you want and don't want out of life. 

Yeah - I file a landlord-tenant complaint, sue them and win, and get them out within 45 days. Then I go to the prothonotary a month later and file a lien against them. Then comes collections.

Over the past few years as an average: annually I'm around 3-4% but  those have 100% been inherited tenants. I've only had a few evictions from tenants I placed and that was earlier on in my R.E. career.

I have one inherited tenant I've sued three times over the past year. Rent Relief (I think it came from the Covid Rescue Plan) just paid 7 months worth of rent (past and future rent) as well as her water and gas bills. Since she's by far my biggest headache her rent in going to market come January. 

And this is why I self-manage. I pay my plumber $100 to replace a toilet. I bring the toilet and a new wax ring to the property and remove the old toilet when he's done with the job. Then I donate the toilet to the local Habitat for Humanity Restore for a tax credit.  

Call or e-mail three local, licensed plumbers in your area and ask them how much it would cost for a toilet swap. I would be shocked if you don't find a plumber who will do it for $150-$200. It takes less than an hour to do, that's for sure. Then show the paperwork to your PM, who is no doubt padding his or her pockets if you're being charged $400.00.

I enjoy talking real estate, networking and it's only fair I contribute as from time to time I do post a thread asking for advice. 

Unfortunately, there are also a few people who have popped up on BP trying to sell a crappy real estate-related program but fortunately the majority of the experienced investors on here don't fall under this category (plus the program spammers tend to get banned sooner or later).  

I used to live in a condo and had some wall damage - water was clearly getting in. I told the guy above me about it and he didn't really seem to care (he was a jabroni). 

And so I talked to the loser condo board and the one board member said said it's not like we can just make the guy open up his shower floor just because you think he has a leak. 

Then the owner next to mine complained about wall damage and yet another owner complained and it turns out the guy above me tiled his shower floor and clearly didn't know what he was doing - water was damaging walls and ceilings. 

The botched job was at least a year prior before they urged him to do anything. Well, when they opened up his floor the full extent of the damage was realized. His insurance company paid for my wall and ceiling to be redone. This included a nice new bathroom paint job. 

Buy-and-hold is the way I do it. I love the way the tax code caters to us (depreciation is so awesome!) and appreciation is simply the cherry on top!

Also, pretty much every time someone moves out I put someone else in at a higher rent!