All Forum Posts by: Ken M Middleton

@John Underwood thanks for responding. That may be something to consider. Appreciate the advice.

KMM

Hey BP,

I'm looking at getting into my first property management agreement, and I'm pretty sure that I can find and screen a tenant on my own and would only need a PM company to maybe do potential showings for me since I'm not in the area.

With this being the case, is it reasonable to pay the first month's rent if I'm doing all the advertising and screening to get the tenant in place, or is showing the property enough to ask for the first month's rent?

Also, with that being said, has anyone had any experience allowing tenants to see the property on their own with a lockbox (similar to Open Door self-viewing service), or is this a bad idea?

I appreciate everyone's insight on this in advance!

KMM

@Mitch Messer awesome. Thanks, man.

Do you have any past or current ads that we can look at as an example?

The property is pretty cheap (85k), so I wasn’t sure how much we could charge, but we’ll think about that.

Thanks for your help, my man. Hope all is well.

KMM

@Robert N. Haha...thanks, man. So far so good.

My wife and I figure as long as we’re not losing money, we’ll be fine and can just see this as the opportunity to learn as much as possible on our first one.

Thanks again!

@Robert N. Thx, man. Just making sure it wasn’t just me.

Sheepishly, I have to admit I’m about to close on a property partially because of this mistake. Lol.

I guess BP knew it was needed to stop my analysis paralysis. Lol.

Hey BP,

I'm in the process of closing on a property that my wife and I are going to put up as a lease-to-own option (3-year deal with a 5k lease option fee to buy).

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to advertise this to get the right people replying to the ad to make it attractive?

Should I list all the terms on the ad so as not to waste my time or keep it vague so I can screen tenants through email and text?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

KMM

Hey BP,

Is anyone having an issue that when you analyze a property with the BP rental calculator, it automatically drops the insurance and taxes down to almost nothing for some reason, so almost every deal looks better than it really is?

It's not a big deal, as I just have to go in and readjust it, but it seems to be a glitch, and I'm wondering if I'm the only one who is experiencing it.

Does anyone know how to contact someone for help if this is just something I'm experiencing?

Appreciate anyone's guidance on this. Thanks. 

KMM

@Michael Hayworth Cool. Thanks for responding. I appreciate you taking the time and giving your personal experience and perspective. That helps a lot to see if from a contractor's point of view. 

@Joshua McMillion Thanks, man. I appreciate that. I'll make sure to include that on future bids. 

@Waylon Zook and @Joe Villeneuve, thanks for the perspective, advice, and for taking the time to respond. 

Hey BP family,

My wife and I identified a potential home that we are interested in rehabbing. We got an initial ballpark bid from a contractor of around 20k worth of work but after the inspection, there were a few items that looked like they would cost significantly more (i.e. complete plumbing installed and perhaps replacing ALL the windows because they wouldn't open).

We asked a few contractors to give us an itemized bid (ala J. Scott's advice) with labor and materials separate, so we can ensure we are not getting over-charged and to make sure the total price is taking into account all the work we need done, but most of the GC's pushed back to say either they don't do that or this would make the price much more expensive if we asked for it this way.

Is anyone else experiencing this (reluctance of GC's to provide itemized bids) and what are my options in this situation, as there are not a lot of contractors in the area in which we are looking since it is such a small area (Columbus, GA)?

Thanks for any advice in advance!

KMM