All Forum Posts by: Marc Miller

First time looking for a tenant in a few years. An applicant said he's a disabled veteran and that his disability pay covers the rent. Is there a way I can easily verify this? 

Thanks in advance for any help! 

This is an older post, but I'll add to it for anyone in the future. 

I've been using Redx for a few months. I've got the geoleads and preview line dialer. I think it works pretty well. A lot of the numbers are trash, but I still get in touch with a bunch of home owners. 

@John Warren

Thank you for the help John!

I’m relatively new to land lording and need some opinions/advice from more experienced investors. How would you screen someone’s income in the following scenario:

An applicant for one of my units said he is semi retired. He said he lives off his stock investment portfolio and has a small computer business with two employees. His income varies from month to month, and it sounds like the computer business isn’t a full time gig.

What type of documents should I ask from him to ensure he meets the 3x rule?

Any help is appreciated!

@Adam Hoak I was in a similar situation when I bought my duplex. I had a tenant in her mid-70s paying $530 when Market rates were $900. She had been living in the unit for over 20 years and kept it spotless. I was straight up with her and told her I’d be raising the rents to market rates. I did an immediate increase of $150, but I told her since I would be living in the other unit, I’d take care of her lawn (she was paying 150 a month for lawn care). The rest of the increases were over the course of a year. I’ve also been updating the unit to help justify the rent increases. I redid her bathroom, did work on the exterior and replaced her windows.

Hope this helps.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment in Panama City Beach.

Purchase price: $162,000
Cash invested: $40,000

First Deal!!! Buy and Hold/House Hack. 1bd/1ba Duplex less than half a mile to the beach.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My wife and I were looking for a small multifamily property that we could live in and rent out the other units.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS/Little Negotiation. We were a backup offer and the first offer luckily fell through.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional Loan with 10% down. The rest of the invested money has been used for renovation.

How did you add value to the deal?

Renovated the half we are living in by putting in new floors, appliances, fixtures, lighting. After hurricane Michael, we rebuilt our fence, carport, added a drain field line, and installed a new front door. About to start our renovation on the second half of the duplex.

What was the outcome?

Perfect first deal! I've been learning so much and I'm glad I have had the chance to start on a small scale.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The two biggest lessons I've learned are:
1) Money goes quick on renovations
2) DIY Renovations take a lot longer than you think when you are learning as you go from YouTube

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

David and Lisa Sample with NextHome White Sands Realty!
Hank Stokes with Beach House Home Inspections. He went above and beyond by letting shadow him while he was inspecting, so I could learn what to watch out for when buying future properties.

@Maggie Medal I love how beachy your rental look! 

And my second unit is 1bd/1ba with 600 sqft. We are about a ten minute walk to the beach. I've seen a few other 1bedroom places renting for about 100 dollars a night. Does that price drop in the winter at all? 

@Margaret Wallace I would love to meet up and hear about some of your experiences.

Currently, we are renting the other side of our duplex long term. The tenant we inherited has lived in the unit for over 20 years! So it would be extremely hard to tell her that she can no longer stay there, but I think it would be really nice to have a place where family could come and stay if I decide to rent the unit out as an Airbnb.

@Crystal Chaillou How often was your rental vacant? And how far from the beach was it?

My wife and I are looking into STRs, but I don't know where to begin with estimating how many nights the unit will be rented.

@January Johnson @Margaret Wallace Do you tend to have your Airbnbs rented constantly?

My wife and bought a duplex on the east end last year and are considering Airbnb for one side, but I don't know what I should use for a vacancy rate. Any help is greatly appreciated!