All Forum Posts by: Leland F.

@Clay Smith I haven't read Landlord on Autopilot but I must've heard that from someone who has. Will put it on the reading list. Weekly rentals wouldn't work because the association requires a minimum of a 6 month lease.

As far as rent comp, there's a comparable apartment building in the same "complex" with one studio apartment left at $1650/mo. At that amount, I'd be clearing a few hundred a month when you take out the mortgage and condo fee.

@James Wise Got it. Is there any particular reason no furniture would be recommended?

I purchased a small studio condo in DC a couple miles away from downtown and a 5 minute walk from a popular metro line.

It has been my primary residence, but I'll soon be moving out and I'd like to make it my first rental property. I've done a lot of research on the topic, including some of the great content here at BP. Thanks!

The problem with full-service property management companies is that while I'm sure they offer a valuable service, the fees will cut my monthly profits in half. Not to mention losing a full month's rent for finding the tenant.

Cashflow isn't so good in Washington, DC so there's no chance I'll be able to pull off the "50% rule". Although I have an idea of how to maximize monthly revenue, which involves furnishing and taking care of all utilities.

I've been talking to a property manager although I'm more interested in their a-la-carte screening and lease signing service for a relatively small fraction of the first month's rent.

Here's my strategy:

1. Acquire appropriate business license from DC. Clean hands certificate. Rent control exemption. (Any other legal things I'm missing?)
2. Use the money I save from not signing on with a property manager to purchase decent furniture to furnish the place. It's a full-service building with all utilities included. I'd pay for internet/cable.
3. Advertise on Craigslist. Will look at competing ads to see what works. (Where else? Zillow? Trulia?)
4. Conduct open houses and showings myself on weekends. I'm very familiar with the unit and building and am confident I can answer any questions about it.
5. Find a tenant (fingers crossed) and send to the property manager for screening, reference checks, etc.
6. Tenant signs lease (again, fingers crossed). Collect security deposit to put in escrow account and first month's rent.
7. Instruct the tenant to pay me directly via check or wire directly to me every month.

Am I missing anything? Is this too ambitious or am I crazy and should just go with full service property management? Is the furnished apartment rental idea dumb or should I just leave it unfurnished and let the tenant do their thing?

I've also heard that you should call yourself the "property manager" and not refer to yourself as the owner or landlord. What are your thoughts on that?

Sorry for all the questions. In the meantime...I'll continue reading BP articles on the subject.

Thanks in advance!

@Wayne Brooks Not a dumb question at all. I just double checked the document, and the funds for the "cleaning reimbursement" were in fact in the far right column (aka paid from seller's funds at settlement).

The property still didn't seem very "clean" but that must be something between the seller and his agent and not my problem. Wasn't really expecting it to be clean anyway (although I would if I was actually charged for it).

Sorry for wasting everyone's time on this, should've confirmed before I posted this but at least I learned a few things (and possibly more importantly, didn't unnecessarily lash out at the seller's agent/title company for something that I was wrong about). So really glad I came here first!

Thanks so much for the informative response, Ned.

I've not heard of RESPA before, good to know there are already protections in place for this sort of thing.

Also interesting that you mention the title company is also liable. One thing I didn't mention (since I didn't think it was relevant at first) is that the title company was insisted upon on the seller's side. Which may explain why they let this slip through?

It's really amazing that people would risk things like licenses over 200 bucks, but I guess they just hope that nobody really pursues these sorts of things further.

So I bought a condo about a month and a half ago...something has been bothering me though.

The seller's agent somehow snuck in a $200 "cleaning reimbursement" on the HUD document that I don't recall ever agreeing to. I didn't notice it until after closing.

When I moved in, the floor was super grimy. The toilet had been used and was not flushed and stunk up the whole bathroom. It was definitely not "cleaned" since the time of my tour and closing, just the staging furniture was removed.

I realize $200 is not much compared to the rest of the closing costs, but I find it pretty unethical to be charged for a "cleaning" that clearly never took place.

I tried to do a search on "cleaning reimbursement" fees and couldn't find anything, which leads me to believe this is just a BS charge so the seller's agent could pocket an extra couple hundred bucks or so.

How would you handle this situation? I know it's tempting to say "let it go" but unless I can determine this charge is totally standard (which I don't believe it is) I'm not the type of person to let something like this go, regardless of amount.

Any advice would be appreciated.

@John Hauser Thanks, will be sure to do that.

@Andrew Schlessinger Totally agree, can't wait to go to one of the local meetups.

@Joshua Dorkin Thank you! Amazing community you've built up here.

@Ali Boone No worries, thanks for the welcome!

@Sara Cunningham Very cool, thanks for the welcome!

@Ramon Jenkins Thank you!

@Ned Carey Thanks so much for those names, really appreciate it!

@Rod Coleman Definitely. Nice to know I'm not the only recent newbie in the area around! It should be an interesting experience.

@Paul Timmins Thanks for all those tips. I have been getting through all the reading/ebooks available on the site although I should start listening to the podcasts too. There seem to be a few REIA's closeby so I'll see about attending those as well.

@Christopher Hunter Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I've been lurking here for a while, just absorbing information, but finally decided to take the plunge and actually sign up.

I work full-time as a web developer in DC and hope to use that profession to support my real estate investing on the side. It sounds like a lot of people here do something similar.

I'm super interested in buying and holding rental properties in Baltimore, I'm just totally clueless on investor-friendly agents, lenders, contractors, property managers, and that sort of thing.

I'd love to connect with other like-minded people in the area. Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

I hope to return the favor when I gain some of my own experiences in the real estate investment world.