All Forum Posts by: Konrad R.

One of my tenants prefers to drop off their rent and to pay cash. I'm an out of town investor. I spoke to a tenant that had a landlord just give bank account information to her. The tenant would just go to the landlord's bank and make a cash deposit. Do you see any issues doing it this way?

I'm about to close on a duplex next week. There is currently one vacant side. The previous landlord had the tenants do the lawn care and it shows. I spoke to the existing tenant, and she said her roommate used to do some of it. The yard is in really bad shape, so I planning to resod it. 

What are your thoughts on having the tenant do the lawn maintenance? The duplex is just in a left and right configuration, so they could take care of their own side. I'm guessing I would also need to provide some type of shed to store lawn equipment. The backyard is pretty small, so I don't really want to put two small sheds back there. 

Do you normally just take care of lawn maintenance on multi-family units? I life in Florida, so the lawn would need to be mowed at least bi-monthly in the summer.

If it is a heat pump, the tenant may have put the thermostat in emergency heat instead of heat. This will only run the heat strips and not the heat pump itself. This will cause a very high utility bill. That may have been what the auditor was referring to ("thermostat was wrong") The condenser outside may also not be functioning properly which runs the electric heat more often.

I want to remove one of the tenants in a duplex, so I can do major renovations. There is mold on the ceiling in her bathroom. I do not want to do remediation while they are in place. I'm debating on cash for keys.  The current property owner was not able to get her to break her lease.

What are your thoughts on approaching her tomorrow during the inspection? It would be before closing, so I can only get her thoughts on the matter. The owner of the property still hasn't provided me with the lease yet. 

I have been looking through some foreclosure listings. Some list the person's estate or heirs as the defendant. How does this affect a foreclosure process? Would there be any issues after the auction if someone says the home was in probate? Should all of that have been already worked out prior to the auction? Can a house in probate be foreclosed on?

I saw a similar one for a property tax deed sale. The tax payer is listed as the person with the word heirs behind his name. Are there any additional steps in the due diligence process? 

Thanks for the suggestions.

The loan would be interest free. If there are any gains (first time flip), that money will be used for future business endeavors between us (likely another flip). My goals are to keep my income low due to being in a high tax bracket and protecting my investment. That is why I would like it in my name. Also, the proof of funds during the offer will be from my bank account.

I have a family member that wants to get into house flipping as well. I'm thinking about loaning him the money for the first flip. 

Some key criteria are:

-I want to purchase the house in my name.

-The taxes will be paid by him through his newly formed LLC

How can we set this up? I guess it could be looked at as a loan. For simplicity, let's say I do not profit from this deal. 

Basically, I will buy a house. Turn it over to him. Then I will sell it when it is rehabbed. Unfortunately, this will look like I made a large capital gain. Is there a way to setup this deal and protect my interest?

Florida

Is it difficult to get insurance on flip houses? I called one agent pertaining to a rental property I was interested in purchasing. She was telling me that the home needs to pass a 4 point inspection prior to being insured. She had some other options that didn't require a 4 point, but they are for catastrophic type events. 

The house I'm thinking about purchasing has not been shingled. It just has underlayment. The contractor started and did not finish. The same thing with the repipe. Someone started and didn't finish. I'm wondering if this house would be hard to insure. I don't want to purchase it and then it burns down the next day.

Also, how would I handle the home inspection? He can't really test the plumbing. I'm not sure about the electrical. There were a lot of switches and other things removed. I was going to have a plumber come out and give me a quote on the finishing the repipe during the inspection period. 

The house is an REO. The weird thing is that the work was started in November. What are your thoughts on this? Why would the homeowner start all these major repairs knowing a foreclosure is looming. I checked into it and all this other houses are in foreclosure or have been foreclosed already. He was a property investor. The house I'm interested in was his homestead.

I'm just starting out, so I haven't setup my company structure yet. I've read a few people that suggest just putting the properties in your name and then maximizing insurance. I would like to have more protection under an LLC. Is there a way to transfer a 1031 property that is in my personal name into an LLC? The property will be a rental, so I'm worried about liability.

Do you have any recommendations for an attorney and/or CPA in the Orlando area that is familiar with real estate investments?