All Forum Posts by: Kim Bayless

Sounds like good cash flow but be careful. Cities are starting to tax this at hotel rates, with hefty penalties for noncompliance. Also some condo buildings and communities have banned short term rentals, due to lots of renters that are loud and trash the place. The bans happened to me twice (I owned the property however). If they vote it in while you're stuck in a long term lease....big problem.

Jamarr, I learned more about wholesaling at my first Atlanta REIA meeting, than ALL those YouTube videos combined. And now that I've discovered BP, it's all here in front of me. No need to pay gurus!

Anyone familiar with the county auction procedures that could answer a few questions?  Specifically interested in Paulding and Cobb counties.  Not sure whether to go to the live sale or use Auction.com.

I was planning to follow things for a while before jumping in, as I'm fairly new to the area.  But there's a couple of properties that fit my current criteria and I'm very interested.

Welcome!  I'm fairly new as well, but finding BP a great resource.  For now I'm concentrating on Marietta, Kennesaw, and areas on the west side around Hiram/Powder Springs.

Welcome! I'm also in Hiram. Fairly new to the area, and getting back into active investing after years doing only long term rentals. Second the advice about the local REIA. Some good resources there. Try a few different ones, they also have subgroups for certain areas of Atlanta.

I agree with Corby, that not allowing pets can severely limit your pool of renters. I owned two condos in a building where the COA prohibited pets, and they were hard to keep rented during that time. Finally enough owners voted to change it. Nonrefundable pet fees are the norm around here....since you can't always count on how long the renter will stay, to get enough extra rent to cover pet damage. And it happens even with responsible pet owners. Nails/claws scratch the floors and trim. Puke on the carpet (my own 4 cats do this a lot!!). Fees range from $350-$1000 depending on the unit. People are happy to pay it.

I'm sure this has been asked many times. I have always previously done business using LLCs, but they were always partnerships with my husband at the time. Now single. I understand single-member LLC's do not offer the same protection. Is a corporation a better option? I don't want to keep any property in my personal name.

You could even have a clause in the lease for deliberately wasting use, as in the open window case above! I don't because it's a condo and I haven't had issues.

I have found that including utilities works great in my multi unit rentals. Get a printout of past use if possible, and OVER estimate.

Interested to see what others' experience is also. I just attended one of these events, and talked with two "students" who signed up (one was a featured speaker, one was just there). The speaker told her story of going from foreclosure and living in a car, to now owning her own apartment building. The other student said they were also doing well, BUT warned that there is significant investment involved to go further with this company. She suggested I research it. So....I'm here!