All Forum Posts by: Kathy Henley

@Nathan Joseph Choose one that comes with a personal banker. Janie Gomez, at US Bank in the Clayton office (SF Bay Area), gave us terrific business guidance in our early days and a SBA business loan, which DID help when a big project presented itself.

@Jake 

@Jake Handler Highly unlikely. FEMA weighs the risks using real data, like river flow and where flooding occurs. It considers run-off and ground makeup. It also considers community input BEFORE maps are published. It would be during this period that your land owner's voice might be heard. But unless the flow or runoff has changed, the house in the flood plain may have flooding, as expressed on the FEMA maps. Lenders use the maps to determine those that need extra insurance.

@Mike W. Welcome Mike. Local banks like owner occupied multifamily investment properties. I qualified for a lower interest rate (.5%) because I live in my 4-family. Visit those near you and ask. If you are ready, get pre-qualified so that you know what price range you can search for.

Practice your search by going to open houses and learning about your market. A duplex is a good starter property too. Evaluate each deal as if you were going to make an offer. This way, you will know a fair deal when you see one. In time, it will happen.

@Gordon Cuffe Tell us more. How did you complete the rehab without picking up a hammer? Would you do another IRA investment deal?

@Cor Bay Document storage is still alive and well for architects and engineers. Depending on how to access the area (from the parking garage, by elevator or stairwell?) it might attract some short term tenants. Some of which we managed in the past have been: theatre company storage, short-term or overflow storage of moving company, restaurant tables and equipment during site rehab, trade show storage, and construction material storage for project staging. It is priced per square foot, just like other commercial tenants, designated areas for tenants were fenced off. As property managers, we had to keep the mice out.

@Daren Gaynair You do. Unless . . . you have signed a contract with a tenant (a lease agreement) or a property manager (property management agreement) which transfers the responsibility to the other party. If this party is in breach of the contract (have not paid it, when they agreed to pay it) the unpaid bill will be paid by the property owner. Owners must stay in good standing with the utility companies. The lease agreement or management contract should have language on what happens when one party is in violation of the contract.

@Divya Sosa Trulia dot com

@Austin Kinchen If your housing authority has a workshop to teach Landlords how to participate in the program, please go. Local facts are important (income limits for for your area). The housing voucher family pays 30% of its income on rent AND utilities. Therefore, the tenant responsibility of utilities must fit the budget too. The lease agreement will be evaluated. 

Has your dwelling been inspected by the housing authority? If it meets their standards, they may help you find tenants. Your rent rate must be reasonable, determined by the local housing authority. Are you willing to sign a lease at a lower rate? In our area, we cannot collect the gap from the tenant. The Housing Choice Voucher tells us just what the county determined to be the right figure for the applicant, when the voucher was issued, considering income and family size. In theory, they would slowly fall behind on affording the dwelling. Or, it shows that they might have unreported income, which could be seen as fraud.

@Bob Anthes Ask your insurance broker about your change and the agent will have the answer. The insurance companies study risks and base their rates accordingly.  My agent said no change in policy cost.