All Forum Posts by: Katherine S.

@Kyle Meyers I'm working on the same issue. I think I'm going to plant hostas. They grow and fill in space easily, have a little flower interest in the summer, and dies back with the first frost, and raked up with the leaves.

Seems to me that the PM keeping the late fees could become an incentive for not collection rents on time.

@Reg H.

@Reg H.I think I'd contact his broker, and perhaps to the licensing agency.  His behavior is in direct violation of his duties to present all offers to the seller.  It's not petty.

@Jason Callahan

We had a similar situation a couple years ago.  We looked at a couple houses using the agent whose name appeared next to the Zillow listing.  We didn't make an offer on either of them.

Then we contacted a different agent whose name appeared on the Zillow listing and ended up buying the house he showed us.  (We've since learned that those names do not mean the agent is the one with the listing.)

The first agent (who really rubbed me the wrong way right from the beginning) called us up and sent threatening text messages that we OWED her money and that she was the only one who could show us houses because we had an agreement!  She threatened to sue!

We tried polite reasoning with her, but she kept harassing us.  It stopped cold after we filed a complaint with the state RE Board.  

A year ago I was a hobby landlord.  My hubby works full time and I'm wheelchair bound, so I thought that managing a large rental portfolio was unrealistic, but we were doing ok with 3 houses.  

Then I joined BP, and a whole new way of looking at the world has been opened to me.  I got excited about real estate investing.  But still, I had a modest view for the future which didn't match up to my WHY:  to have enough passive income so that I can remain in my home in retirement despite my limitations.

Then the epiphany struck, when a few things happened at once: I got a house under contract using techniques I learned here even though everybody laughed at me at first; my agent took me on a tour of that house using video conferencing and i was able to actually see the house well enough to make an informed decision; I went to an REI meeting and felt naked without a business card; and finally a mentor asked me to prepare a business plan. Business plan? We're trying to get a few rental houses on the lease market, I don't need no stinkin' business plan!

A few podcasts later, the lightening bolt struck and I could see a whole new path ahead.  We could actually have a real business, and I could have a real important role in it!  We could reach my WHY!  I've felt more useful and productive in these last few months than I have in the entire 12 years I've been in this chair.  But the key to scaling up has got to be our systems.  And this is where I hope to draw on the experiences of other BPers who have successfully scaled their buy and hold portfolios.

What *systems* have you put in place that have had a positive impact on your business?  What do you do to get a house on the market?  What have you done to reduce the administrivia so that you can focus on the bigger picture?  What is the most important thing you did to push your business to the next level?  People talk about having systems, but don't usually describe what they are and how they work.  This is what I hope to learn from you!

We are in a similar position primarily due to medical expenses and the new rentals.  We are taking out mortgages for two and possibly three rentals this year.  So, without knowing how comparable our situations are, yes it is possible.  If you've got the down payments available.

I'm not sure where you find *congenital* loans, however.  ;)

@Brent Tice In what way did they say Nevada was "best for small business owners" and how does that compare to Wisconsin?  

I just read about the LLC/land trust idea recently...I think I'll look into it further.

When using the BP calculators, I always skip the question of whether I want to wrap closing costs into the loan or not.  But as I'm looking over the mortgage disclosures for our next purchase, I'm wondering if I should do just that.

Right now, $5000 would be very helpful to have in my hands instead of in the check we give to the title company, would probably raise the monthly PI about $30, and would have negligible impact on my performance numbers on this house.  

Is this something I should consider doing?

@Thomas S.

"Does it say anywhere in the lease that you have the right to evict if he violates the lease. If so then you have grounds to evict now."

No.  The process in Michigan requires a 7 day notice to pay or quit before an eviction proceeding can be filed.  I'm doing more homework now.  And closing the barn door.

Assuming he slips up and we file on day 8, it seems unlikely that I would prevail as he has always paid before the next payment is due.  I don't think "because it bugs me" would be a good reason to put out a family with three little kids.

I'm not even sure Michigan would allow me to evict for habitually late payments.  I would have to give 30-day notice for any "violation of a lease provision and the lease allows for termination for that violation".  

For future vacancies, the lease listing will state that we require payment to be made on line, and include the most aggressive late fees law will allow.

@Chuy Gonzalez

That's the problem.  I have to go through the process of giving a 7 day notice before I can file to evict.  He hasn't gone past that yet.