All Forum Posts by: Kyle Meyers

@David Boykin

I believe National Real Estate Insurance Group offers a policy of some sort. I never made it to insuring any liens, but I think I found them listed as one of a few companies that offer coverage on liens. 

Rob K I got my signs from signsonthecheap.com. I only bought a few so they were about $10 each, but if you buy enough the price comes down to a few dollars for each sign.

I agree with Steve and Marc that you have to capitalize the expenses. However, you only have to do this until the property is available for rent, not until you have a tenant.

The state requires 1 working smoke detector for the rental. Different cities and counties have more strict requirements. I put one in each bedroom and one on each level. I use the battery operated ones.

They are not required for my units, but I put a small one in each unit just in case.

You can put a clause in your lease that says no smoking, but you would have to prove they were smoking. Most leases also state the tenant cannot engage in criminal activity at the rental, and possession is still illegal federally. It may be easiest to just keep your tenants on month-to-month leases and you can give them notice if you suspect they are breaking your rules. I wouldn't worry about this too much, it seems unlikely the federal government will target individuals privately using marijuana, just make sure your tenants aren't turning your property into a grow house. Someone smoking tobacco in your unit would cause at least as much damage.

I think the groups postponing the foreclosures and evictions are just doing it for positive press. In reality, it is unlikely they would be able to process many of the cases anyways because the court systems and local government office are closed at various times at the end of the year anyways. They can also keep from adding excess REOs to their books just before the end of the year. I would not put a blanket halt on evictions for my business because of the time of year.

1. They don't need to be local, but if they are doing your state taxes, they should be familiar with your state's tax laws and will probably be located in the state.

2. Neither CPA or tax attorney status alone will tell you if the professional you are selecting is qualified. Many CPAs are not best qualified to prepare tax returns for a real estate professional. You want to find someone who is familiar with the taxes for your real estate dealings. I would recommend getting recommendations from several other investors and interviewing the candidates.

3. There is accountant-client privilege as well, but it is limited in comparison with attorney-client privilege.

My tenants have the option of mailing check or money order to me or paying online by ACH. The ACH transactions cost a few dollars which I pay. I am working on adding credit card payments as an option because several of my tenants have the prepaid cards that their pay is direct deposited to and they have requested this payment option. For credit card payments, the tenant will pay the convenience charge because it is expensive and the tenant gets the most benefit.

I use smartmove for screening my tenants. I have had several applicants have some trouble with the screening process, but everyone who has been interested in the property has been able to finish the screening. It is not the easiest system, but it is inexpensive and there is a customer service number the applicants can call for assistance.