All Forum Posts by: Bill R.

@Charlotte Edwards, I totally get that.  I remember first becoming totally aware of the absurdity of it all when I was in Bangkok once and you see these 30-something and 40-something year old expats who have saved up enough money to be able to semi-retire, with 5 year old smart phones, meanwhile you have locals who work jobs making $15 - $20 a day with the latest and greatest iPhone.   

The problem is a poverty mindset.  It's universal.  Go to a third-world country and go into the inner-cities in America and you see the same exact poor (by our standards) life/financial decisions being made.  

And to elaborate a bit, it just doesn't seem dumb to me when people say things like, "Didn't they think I would check?"  Actually, they have zero chance of being accepted if they are up front and even if it's a 10% chance you're too lazy or greedy (keeping the application fee and not running the reports), 10% is still greater than 0%. How is that dumb?  They're simply playing the odds.  

  @Steve Babiak:  Exactly.  Someone is renting to them.  I find it somewhat odd that in a community of people who tell you, "Keep going" when someone posts about making their 100th lowball offer without success or getting declined for financing for the 10th time, those same people seemed utterly amazed that someone with bad credit or felony convictions would submit an application and hope for the best.  

It seems like this thread has taken a detour from "dumb things tenant applicants say" to "frustrations of owning in C and D level neighborhoods and the types of tenant applicants that come with the territory."  

Not that it isn't educational.  I've learned a ton reading the entire thread.  But I think that it's wrong to imply that the applicants are saying something dumb when they don't have a high enough income ratio or they submit an application which obviously disqualifies them.  

If they were trying to buy a rental as an investment and posting on BP, many of these landlords would be rooting them on and telling them "there's a deal out there if you keep looking hard enough."  

Wow, just got done reading all 34 pages.  Some of this stuff is comedy gold.  

On the flip side, I do feel for some of the folks described in these posts.  Yes, there are some true nut jobs but I read some of the posts and think, "Well, you don't really know what that person is going through."  Like the poster who commented on the lady who said she was going through a divorce.  Maybe her divorce wasn't because of her attitude.  Maybe her attitude was caused by her divorce.  

Ultimately, land lording is a people business.  If you're renting out C and D level properties and you don't understand or connect with people in that economic class, of course they're going to sound crazy.  

For instance, it's been my observation that many poor people tend to over compensate.  So someone renting Section 8 and driving a BMW?  Makes perfect sense.  In their world, that BMW is a status symbol.  People look up to them because they drive a nice car.  

To many, that sounds crazy.  Why would someone buy a BMW if they're living on welfare?  But, I've been out in the boonies in developing countries and you see people living in shacks that I wouldn't keep livestock in, and outside their house are parked brand new pickups, scooters, motorcycles, etc.  

Likewise, the tenants on government assistance who demand granite counters and wood flooring, they're just trying to act like they think people with money act.  That act indignant and entitled because they see people doing it on TV.  

Being in the mode of a buyer (i.e. renter), it's one of the rare instances where they feel like they are empowered.  They're milking it because it feeds their ego.  

I'm not saying you have to buy into their way of thinking but everyone acts in a manner which seems logical to them.  If you can understand that logic, whether or not you agree with it, perhaps you can develop more effective strategies to deal with it.  

@David Zheng  Congrats!  Inspiring.  

I'll echo what @Michael Gansberg said except, at your age, go for it.  So many high paying careers start off with the first few years being a weeding out process.  12, 14, 16 hour work days.  Hazing.  But those who hang in are rewarded with careers that will make them rich.  

Except, you won't be graduating to a high paying gig working for someone else.  You'll be setting yourself up for success the rest of your life.  

Like Michael says, you can't run at this pace forever but everything that you're putting in today will pay off.  You'll eventually get to the point where you're trading up properties, delegating work, and being able to enjoy the fruits of your labor.  

I'm much like you in the sense I want to know everything so I get where you're coming from.  I find it invaluable in my business (technology).  I'm better at estimating jobs than the people doing them.  

Nothing wrong on educating yourself that way.  The learning curve is massive but once you get over the hump, you'll be so much better positioned going forward.  

@Mike Cumbie, I wasn't aware that they could choose on a property by property basis.  Thanks for the info.  

@Jeff B. I don't remember ever seeing an MLS number on any of their flyers. 99.99% of open houses I've been to her in the Vegas area they have a sheet presumably printed from the MLS with all of the pertinent details. At this property, I've only seen them offer custom flyers at the open houses.

@Russell Brazil:  I get the same feeling about the agent/owner not agreeing on pricing.  Just really baffles me how after several months they still avoid mentioning the price.  

@Tyler Mutch:  I'm just thinking, most markets have a shortage of inventory.  It seems unlikely people didn't see the property listing and passed over it.  Far more likely that once seeing it, they felt that the price was unreasonably high.  

Hey, it could work.  Worth a shot.  But just think that you're going to find people who have a house listed at $300,000 that is worth $200,000 at full retail value and that's why it expired.  So, you're not even starting off at trying to get a discount at full market $200,000, you're trying to talk them down from a completely unreasonable $300,000.  

@Kieran Jackson:  I don't think I have one any more.  I throw them out now after laughing at the "Just Listed!!!" headline.  :-)

Just had a quick question.  I'm more curious than looking at this as a purchase and was hoping someone could shed a light on what I'm seeing.  

There's a house in my neighborhood that I keep getting flyers put on my door that says, "Just Listed!!!"  Yet when I check it out on Zillow or Redfin, I don't see the house listed.  

I know, "Well, they don't always update Zillow or those online sites as quickly as the MLS". But this has been going on for about four months now. Surely the house would be on Zillow by now.

And what makes it even more curious is the fact that there is no price.  None of the flyers the agent posts in the neighborhood ever list a price.  

They've had several open houses and we stopped in and someone introduced themselves as the agent and even had a mortgage broker there to "answer any loan questions you might have."  

But the agent refused to quote a price.  She kept asking, "Well, what do you think it's worth?"  "If you had to put a price on it, what do you think this house should go for?"  

Any ideas on what the strategy is here?  Are they just fishing for pricing info for the owner?  

Other than the logistics of working with an agent to supply you with these lists, I'm wondering what kind of properties and owners you're going to end up with on that list.  My first assumption would be that the people who have their listing expire are grossly overpriced and-or the seller is acting in an unreasonable manner.