All Forum Posts by: Kevin Howard

Hello BiggerPockets,

I have a question in regards to collecting rent... I own a handful of rentals and find myself wasting time between the 1st-5th of every month collecting and depositing rent. We've always had the tenants mail or drop off rent checks to my real estate office which has been "okay" but I still find myself wasting an hour each month dealing with mobile deposits or driving to the bank. Any recommendations to make this process more streamlined? 

I recently had two girls move into one of my 3 bedroom apartments. One of them was suppose to have her 17 y/o brother (she's the legal guardian) move into the third bedroom to assist with rent. Only the two ladies signed the lease since the brother was a minor. They've been there for two months and the brother never moved in so now they're asking if one of their friends can move into the 3rd bedroom to assist with the rent. I've run a credit/background check on the potential tenant and have no issues with her moving in. My questions is, would you add her to the existing lease via an amendment of some sort or would you allow them to sublease and not mess with the current lease? 

Wow! First time posting and am impressed at the informative responses I received. I truly appreciate all of the input from the BP community.

The quadruplex I have was quit claimed over to me and I "assumed" the loan without actually notifying the lender (was a death in the family). I went ahead and titled the property using my LLC which raised a red flag on the lender's end when the name on the insurance policy changed (lender also merged which caused them to review their files). The lender is force placing another insurance policy in the deceased person's name ($3200 policy) since they are the one on the mortgage still. All of that being said, I will most likely go ahead and refi this property so that I can lock in a low interest rate and have everything "legit". I might take out an additional $100k in equity to assist with improvements and to have a little more cash on hand.

I'm on the hunt for more opportunities. I think until I actually locate something I will just leave the equity in the other properties. I do have some liquidity and I also have lines on credit at my bank which I can use if something comes up.

Tamara: Thank you for your response. I was unfamiliar with the "opportunity zones" but will do some research and see where those zones are in the community. Savvy idea!

One more thing...I would love to do a complete renovation at the quadruplex and start short term renting the units (we live in a tourist destination). The City has been cracking down on short term rentals and will only provide 100 short term rental permits which are all taken (and long wait list). One way around this is by doing a condo conversion on the quad. Has anyone done a condo conversion in Florida? Any estimate on cost to do so?

Hello BiggerPockets community,

This is my very first post...A little about me. I've been selling real estate in St.Augustine FL for 6+ years now. I have purchased three rental properties within the last two years and am lucky enough to have a lot of equity in each. I don't want to sell them however I am considering refinancing them while the interest rates are low. I have a quadruplex which has roughly $400k in equity (valued at $900k with a $500k loan) and another duplex which I own outright (valued at $400k). I don't necessarily need the money however I'm thinking about taking the equity out while the interest rates are low and "stock piling" cash to reinvest when the market dips. Just curious what the BP community thinks about future market predictions and what you'd do if you were in my situation (not a bad one to be in I admit).

I'm interested in purchasing more multifamily units however our market is extremely high and deals are very hard to find. I've been contemplating buying land zoned for multifamily and building new. This would ultimately help eliminate the things I struggle with (repairs/maintenance) and also allow me to rent to more qualified tenants. I have yet to meet with contractors to talk about cost to construct but that's on my to-do list. Any concerns with building multifamily?

Side note: I'd love to link up with investors, landlords, or anyone who has a passion for real estate in the St.Augustine area