All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Thanks everyone for clearing this up for me. Much appreciated!

Hello, just received the following email saying I owe additional pro-rated property taxes for a recent flip that closed in late September. Anyone else had this happen? It seems to me that this was the Title Company's error? The dollar amount is small and won't really change anything financially but this just seems fishy to me? Any advice or guidance is welcome. I'm located in Tennessee if that makes a difference.

"City of XXXX recently reassessed property values and issued the new actual 2014 property tax rate for the above-referenced property. The property tax proration for the closing of the property was an estimate based on the 2013 assessment and tax rate pending the determination of the 2014 tax assessment and rates. The actual property tax for 2014 is higher than the tax charged on the Settlement Statement at the closing of the property.

Please remit the amount of $17.83 payable to XXXX Title for the shortage and send to XXXX Title to account for the deficiency of prorated property taxes for 2014. Please confirm receipt.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office."

Hope you keep these coming, I'm loving these posts!

Personally, I like to keep mine simple so as not to box myself in in case I venture into a different type of investing. In other words I'd avoid putting landlord/flipper/wholesaler unless you are absolutely sure that that is your specialty and you won't be trying any other methods of investing. I have name, phone, email, and 'real estate investor' on mine. I'd also put your company name if you have one, if not then no worries. 

Also, I'll often write a quick reminder of what I do or write something more specific on the card when I give it to someone that I've had a brief conversation with. This helps remind them who I am when they actually look at the card which may be 6-mos or more down the road.

@Joe Huber thanks for your input. Would love to hear what other folks use or recommend? Anyone know of alternatives similar to Google Voice?

Hello everybody,

When it comes to listing a phone number on your direct mail/ bandit signs/etc I'm assuming most folks don't use their personal number. What do you use or recommend as an alternative?

Google voice or a paid service? Would love to hear what everybody uses or has tried!

Thanks!

I'm fairly new to investing as well but I've had a rental for about a year and a half now. 

-When looking into prospective tenants, charge a non-refundable fee with their rental application. I charge ~$30/person. If someone is serious about renting the property then they will pay the fee. I use this to run a background/credit/criminal check. And always check the tenant's references for past rental history as well as current employment. 

-Have a solid lease ready to go, one that addresses potential issues that may (or may not) come up. Issues will come up, it is better to have them spelled out before hand. I'm glad I spent some extra time on mine already!

-Set aside a portion of rent every month that will go towards repairs and maintenance. This way when your tenant calls you to fix something you have the cash ready and at least the money side of the headache is a non-issue. I use $1 per sq ft per year as a rule of thumb, theoretically this should build up so when you need to replace the roof (or another big ticket item) you have the cash to do so. My rental house is older (built in the 50s/60s) and I may start setting aside even more for repairs. 

-Always run the numbers with higher than expected expenses, if you are not cash flow positive find another property. There is always another house, don't get attached to any one property and regret it later. 

-Someone told me this and it worked well for me thus far. Charge slightly higher rent than what is normal for the area. You tend to get better tenants that will take better care of the property this way.

There is a lot more advice I could give but part of it is just getting in there are figuring it out for yourself! Let me know if you have specific questions and I'll be happy to let you know what I know. Best of luck!

Hi Joe, I'm a Knoxville investor. Wish I could attend this meeting but unfortunately I'll be out of town. Would be very interested in any future meetups that you plan though. Best of luck with the duplex!

Here is a link to an example contract for Tennessee. Not sure where you are at but this should help give you an idea of what they can look like and how they can be filled in. http://www.tarnet.com/pdf/2014BrokerForum_AllForms.pdf

Ve'Ron Hall thanks for the reply, it is very helpful and much appreciated! Best of luck to you and hope to hear more about your future progress!