All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@JD Martin is totally right - you just work your butt off, especially in the early going. My husband and I started just like you @Brian Ellis with a live-in remodel of our first two homes. We used the home equity to buy the third house and so on and so forth. Did a lot of the renovation work ourselves and all of the property management because the numbers wouldn't have worked otherwise. We had kids, jobs, etc.. and some nights we just wanted to die! BUT, sweat equity is the real deal. Years down the road, we have millions in equity and great cash flow from these properties. So there is a trade off. Sometimes its seems the sacrifice is too great. But if you hang in there and muscle through, you will reap amazing financial rewards. Good luck.

I have a different perspective than the first couple of responses. First, heck yeah to the four year lease! Way to go! The BIGGEST expense I have as a SFH landlord is turnover and vacancy. The work to find new, credit-worthy tenants and the work to get the home ready again...jeez, even just switching the utilities can be a pain. So, GREAT, you have tenants that want to stay and pay rent to you for four solid years. And, they seem to care a lot about the property, which even though it's a pain to get the service request (believe me I know!), it means overall they will probably take good care of the property.

Now, you do need to have a sit down and discuss the meaning of the terms of your lease. They can't go throwing out your fixtures without asking. And as for the shelving units they are drilling into the wall, they will need to remove/repair upon their departure. Just let them know that you need to be clear up front about alterations and improvements.

I bet you talk to them and end up having a solid four year rental. Just remember the upside and a little communication up front will go a long way. Good luck!

Also, get the addresses of the last homes that says he owned. You can then search the property records on-line through the county tax assessor websites. Then you can determine whether he actually owned what he claimed he owned.

It's the flip period, when you have to travel to the property frequently, that will be difficult. Although in our area, traffic can be so bad up and down I-95 that people regularly commute an hour and a half each day to their job. So, I suppose it's all about what you are used to putting up with or willing to accept in terms of travel time and expense. Sometimes you have to sacrifice to get a good investment property.

With that said, I own and self manage rental properties from the comfort of my home in Fredericksburg, VA that are as far away as California and Florida. It can be a hassle at times, but the increase in your ROI from self-managing is hard to beat. Free services like Zillow Rental Manager and Transunion Smartmove make it easier.

Good luck! And if you ever want to meet up or let me help you find a good property (as your broker), feel free to message me. :-)

Any chance you overlooked any expenses that might help offset this tax hit in 2017? Did you just get the rental up and running last year and do significant repair or rehab? Did you capitalize any rehab expenses that instead could've been expensed under the safe harbor election (up to 10k or 2% of the unadjusted basis)? Start beating the bushes on any way to offset the income. Good luck!

I don't think you're crazy @Chris T. to be considering a couple hundred dollar payment to keep your tenant happily occupying your property and paying his rent in full. We all know that vacancies and turnovers are more costly. Draft a little one page Release that states everything you have talked about in this thread (you're not at fault, releasing you from any and all other damages from the incident, and having him acknowledge the sections of your current lease will prevail in any new situations going forward). It's not a defeat as a landlord to try to keep a quality tenant in place without unnecessary court battles or vacancies.

I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but it is certainly easier and cheaper to finance a primary residence as your first purchase than to finance your first rental property. The downpayment required for a primary residence is lower (sometimes substantially) and the interest rates will be lower too. So, one option you could consider is buying your primary residence, living in it for awhile and then deciding whether to convert it to a rental property later. 

I've got to agree with @Chinmay J. on your long term tenant. She is a solid tenant who always pays and is comfortable with the same one year lease format the she signed last year. Why rock the boat with her? I say offer the month-to-month lease when facing new tenants with no established history. Keep this woman happy and paying rent in your home. Avoid turnover.

@Jay Helms @Blake Milliken  so tempting, but I may sit this one out. I probably can't scrape together more than $10 - $20k at the moment

Great podcast and I'm totally feeling your story @Mindy Jensen! We lived-in flipped, and live-in BRRRed (is that how you say it??) about 10 times. And we moved in and out with our kids, and pets, and craziness, but built up a great portfolio of SFH in the process! We are also huge DIYers and YouTube is the best. I'm like you, I think I can do anything if I've seen it on YouTube! Sometimes it takes forever, and it isn't perfect, but it sure does pay off in the end! Its cool that you have started a new podcast on BP. I can't wait to hear some stories about the mobile home park...should be good for a few episodes, haha