All Forum Posts by: Tom Lipps

@Thomas Barrick Thanks Tom! I will definitely look into Chuck.

@Phillip Weickert HI Phil! I appreciate the message. I'll give you a call some time during this work week. Right now I'm in information gathering stage (experience, pricing, etc).

Hi BP!

I just bought my first duplex 2 wks ago, and will have it rent ready by this weekend. 

After I get the unit rented out, I'm going to start looking for a CPA to work with (preferably on the West Side of town if possible).

Any recommendations on a good CPA for a Buy and Hold Investor?

Thanks for your feedback!

 - Tom  

I've used Jeff Roll with National Property Inspections. I've used him twice now, and was happy with his work. I was at both inspections, and I like that he would talk through everything with me (even giving me pointers, and highlighting any safety concerns such as trip hazards).

For a duplex, he charged me $510. ($70 of this was for termite). I did not get a carbon monoxide test.

Curious what others are being charged?

Not great lighting, but here's the result! Note, I left the ceiling alone. It was painted a solid white, and it was still clean enough that I didn't have to paint it. Everything else is Sherwin Williams Creamy.

I just bought my Duplex for $82k,  insurance is $1,013 . Personal liability on Duplex is $500k. I go through an agent, but he has me with Foremost Insurance Group.

Umbrella is $285 through Safeco for $1M in liability (my personal residence and auto is with Safeco as well)

@Daniel Hofmeister  Hey Daniel. I just purchased my first duplex as well! Congrats on getting to contract, hope it goes through for you!

I've had the same question about LLC. I've flip flopped several times on getting one. After doing some research, here's what I've decided to do. For my first 2 rental properties, I'm not going to do an LLC. Instead, I got $1M of umbrella insurance for an extra $280/year. This insurance sits on-top-of my other insurance (car, auto, rental, etc), and acts like a reservoir should one of my other insurance limits be reached.

Why am I waiting for rental property number 3 before I go LLC? Right now I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible to reduce any barriers to jumping into Real Estate. And, the smaller you are and the higher your debt/equity ratio is, the less likely you are to get sued. An attorney isn't going to waste their time going after you if they know the bank has first dibs on all your debt (tenant could only go after your equity if you were sued). As I get bigger and become a bigger target, I will for sure go LLC.

One last thing to note. I called my Lender about possibly transferring the Deed into my LLC, he said they would let me transfer to an LLC, but they will have the right to call the loan if they wanted to (but said they "most likely" wouldn't).

Thanks for the post @Michael Hooper. I just purchased a Duplex in Cincy and have the exact situation as you. I have a finished basement with full bath that could easily be converted into a Studio Appt. I would make my ROI much better for the property, but I'm not gong to do it if it's illegal.

Have you done any market research on the demand in Cincy for a studio? Could you possibly convert your finished basement into an additional bedroom for of the units?

@Mike Wood Thanks Mike for the feedback. I was planning to paint the closets white... but given your feedback, I agree it make sense to paint the same color as the rest of the unit.

For those following, I bought the the Pro Series 200 paint from Sherwin Williams (About $35/Gal) per @Joe Splitrock 's recommendation. I'm hopeful that it will coat with one layer, saving me labor and time.

I went with a Semi-Gloss Creamy and plan to paint walls, ceilings, and trims with this (I think I will paint doors  solid white). Once it's all said and done I'll upload an image to this post so you can all see!

Thanks as always for the support! Love BP!

@Joe Splitrock  Joe thank you so much for the detailed posted. Yours is the first that truly convinced me to not go cheap. I still want to do all semi-gloss and all (trims, ceilings, and walls) one color. For efficiency of labor, and for ease of future touch ups.

Now I need to find a good quality paint that will work for my needs. Searching the BP forums, I found Sherwin Williams 200 series. I will either go with this, or your VOC paint recommendation.

Also searching BP, I found these four suggested colors, that might work for my (paint it all the same color) plan:

China White

Simply White

Creamy

Moderate White

I'm going to slap some of each on the walls tonight and see what my wife thinks!

Thanks again!

@Sylvia B.  lol  Well, my brothers and Dad are helping me so.... they CAN'T hate me...... right?   :-D