All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Joe Szymczak II Moving out of your current residence and keeping it as a rental worked so well for me. In fact I've done it numerous times! At the end, I plan to do a 1031 Exchange to avoid paying capitals gains (or put it off for a very long time!) rolling several into a hands-off real estate investment (like a NNN Lease commercial property). If you haven't identified a property to move into, shoot me a message with your email or phone. I just came across a sweet deal on a Freddie Mac REO that can be purchase immediately as a primary residence. Great opportunity in a good neighborhood near Southpoint. Or, if it lasts, it will available to all (including investors at the beginning of August). Regardless, good luck with your home conversion!

I agree with the sentiment of the comments...so why do I see more and more homes being offered for rent and being successfully leased with this deductible in place? These are SFHs that are "professionally" managed - and the trend seems to be moving that direction. Any property managers or landlords that want to defend the practice? Just curious why this trend would be occurring if people aren't seeing an upside.

I have been noticing a growing trend in my local market in Virginia. Tenants are required by their lease to pay a $100 deductible per repair to the property. My gut tells me this is a bad idea and would lead to property neglect by the tenants. But it's tempting to offset costs and reduce maintenance requests, especially for nit-picky items. It's also possible that the deductible would encourage tenants to take proactive care of the home. However, I generally have noticed that the majority of my repairs over time have been due to general aging and use - not to neglect and misuse.

So I'm curious to hear from other landlords...any good or bad input on maintenance deductibles? Yay or nay? Any good or bad experiences with them?

@Nick Rutkowski provided a great link to start your eviction research for Maryland. As others have mentioned, eviction rules and laws vary by state and locality. The only thing I can add is here is that you can often get a lot of guidance from your local clerk of court. The clerk basically sits in an office in the General District Courthouse (usually "District" for LL/Tenant) and accepts filings and fees. But if you have a reasonably friendly, helpful clerk, that person can point out the correct forms you should fill out and make sure you've calculated the correct fees for filing, service of process, etc... A self help eviction is very possible with some patience, good luck!

One suggestion. If you haven't gone to a lawyer yet, you might want to think about how much you will pay the lawyer to help you get the girls out and the time it will take. Instead, even though it may seem like a defeat in the moment, offer the girls money to make them go away. Have them sign a termination of the lease and a release of any and all claims (which you can download off the internet or write very basically) and say I'll give you $1,000 to cover your moving expenses ($500 when they sign the release, $500 when they vacate, turn over keys and the unit is EMPTY). Don't write anything else but you can verbally say that the unanticipated A/C problem cannot be solved with them inhabiting the unit and it's just best for everyone to move on. Also you think you've developed a cat allergy, haha. Anyway, good luck. It's not easy and we all struggle with the interpersonal stuff sometimes.

@William S. Oooooo, I'd be tempted to keep it! Especially with your moves to reduce your expenses and bump up cash flow a bit. You describe the area as being a good bet for future growth and for appreciation. You know the area well. The pictures you have posted have the look of a solid rental property. You probably have a good interest rate on your existing mortgage (as it was your primary residence) and you have probably already built up some equity. Tap the equity through a home equity loan or line of credit and use that to finance your next purchase. Keep this little cutie that you already know and love.

I haven't invested there yet, but I've heard great things about investing long distance in Huntsville, AL. I've run some numbers and they look good for cash flow for SFH. The population is more educated and affluent than you might expect (due to the presence of a NASA offshoot) and the home prices are very affordable. Safe, solid communities.

Otherwise, I love my area of Fredericksburg, VA for buy-and-hold investing. Why? Affordable prices and booming economy and GROWTH:

• The region has been Virginia’s fastest growing for five consecutive years, with a population of 338,000.
• A highly skilled and expanding labor force of more than 1 million resides within a 40 mile commute.

• Strategically located just 35 miles south of the nation’s capital and 35 miles north of Richmond, capital of Virginia.
• Over 47 miles of Interstate-95 serve the region, carrying 120,000 cars per day.
• Excellent rail service is easily accessible, including Virginia Railway Express’s commuter service and Amtrak. CSX Railroad provides the region with a wide range of reliable and efficient shipping options.
• Washington Dulles International, Washington Reagan National, and Richmond International Airports are within one hour of the region, and are served by 60 commercial airlines providing 815 flights per day.

I own several SFH in the region and have no vacancies and rising rents. Appreciation has been great, love it!

Use free tools available on the internet to research and get ball park figures for analyzing investments. Use Zillow to get an estimate of rents in the area. Use GreatSchools to figure out the best schools and areas where families will be drawn with higher rated schools. Google local chambers of commerce to try to identify economic trends. Look at Hubzu for auction properties. Drive around the possible areas where you want to invest. You can learn so much doing these things - good luck!

Love your honesty @Nick Rutkowski! If you flip/manage rentals, the best thing you can do is have a sense of humor when it comes to the variety of tasks you'll end up taking on. I've removed a fair amount of garbage myself over the years...haha.

And @Chris Emmanuel I would look to work for a broker who supports dual career (part time) agents, because you don't want too much pressure to meet sales activities and goals when you are trying to devote most of your time to your own investing. Then when you've have enough sales experience to qualify, try to get your own broker's license, that way you can do your own thing your way to achieve your investment goals (saving/earning commissions along the way) Good luck!