All Forum Posts by: Larry P.

Carpet is a recurring cost. Pull it and put Armstrong Allure vinyl planks like others have mentioned. Lots of other posts on Allure planks on BP.  You can't go wrong with the planks. Looks good and wears good. 

was there a report showing what all they checked in the house and the results of everything they checked?

Was the home listed on Hudhomestore.com? Is so they usually inspect the plumbing before winterizing the plumbing fixtures.  There often will be a document with the listing indicating the results of the tests.

I believe it varies from state to state on the security deposit. The Texas Property Code does not require the deposit in a separate bank account. I use a separate account for each property and maintain a spreadsheet for each that indicates what the deposit is and when it is received and returned.

 I agree with Kimberly. Paint it and leave it. Your goal on a buy and hold to lease out is to make it clean and functional.

I say buy your first home with enough down to avoid pmi and then save the rest to buy an investment property in the near future. Buying a distressed property for an investment property utilizing the hard money loan method can be done for 20-25K on an ARV 120K home. That way you get the best of both worlds.

Yes, some foreclosures can only be sold to owner/occupants for the first part of the listing period. 

I agree with Lucas - save yourself the misery and lost rent that you would loose. 

In Texas (not sure about California) the realtor lists the homes on MLS, handles tenant screenings, showings etc. Typically the charge is equal to one month's rent. Often by listing on MLS you get more applicants to choose from and sometimes better quality applicants (especially when it it a corporate transfer etc.) Not all realtors handle leases here in Texas.

Recently I picked up a "Power Plunger" (Item#99644) for $5.95 on sale and a 25' drain cleaner (Item#66262) on sale for $11.99 at Harbor Freight.  These two items were recommended to me by another investor as good to have on hand items.  About two weeks later I had a tenant contact me and tell me that the shower was stopped up at a house.  I started to call a plumber and just send them out but thought I'd go try the Power Plunger first after what I had been told about it and the reviews I read.  I was glad that I went and tried it.  One pump and the clog was cleared and all has been fine ever since.  Took literally less than ten seconds total.  I'm sure that I saved a $100+ plumbing bill with this tool.   I have't tried the '25 foot drain cleaner yet.  This Power Plunger tool should be on a landlord's must have list to try before paying for a plumber.

Then a couple days later I had a tenant call and say that the electric had gone on and off several times in the neighborhood and now the AC was running but not cooling.  This was on a Saturday afternoon so I called the answering service for my AC company and waited for a callback.  In the meantime I looked on Google and found the following reset instructions.  I relayed these instructions to the tenants and 30 minutes later the AC was cooling again and all has been fine since.  This time I saved an AC service call.  Thought I'd share these tips with everyone.

Five Simple Steps to Resetting Your Air Conditioner

1. Turn the system off at the thermostat. This will stop the thermostat from calling for cooling until you have reset both the external and internal breakers.
2. Find the breaker box in your home and flip the breaker for the a/c to the “off” position.
3. Flip the breaker for the a/c back on.
4. Now, wait 30 minutes. During this time, the internal breaker in your air conditioner will reset. During the 30 minutes, keep the thermostat in the “off” position. The internal breaker cannot reset if the thermostat is calling for cooling.
5. After 30 minutes, turn the thermostat back to “cool,” and the air conditioner should turn back on.