All Forum Posts by: Vic Caldwell

Tim, 

Thanks for the reply. What % did the collection agency take?

I was doing my end of year review and have noticed that I have collected a pretty large collection of eviction judgements over the past 4 years. (>$15K) At the time I just wrote off each one because I was just happy to get them off the books and chalked it up to a learning experience. However when I look at them all in total it is not an insignificant amount.  I wouldn't know the first thing about how to track them down much less how to collect.  Looking for advice. Are there collection companies that handle these types of thing? What do you do? Should I have pursued it immediately after the judgement was issued?  ANY advice/help will be greatly appreciated. - Vic

T Payne... Were you successful in buying a property? Curious as to your financing process. I'd be interested in an update.

We just closed on our third property in Alberta (Edmonton and 2 in Calgary). Making 7% ROI. Factor in the 30% exchange rate when buying and that bumps it to 11%. Ended up buying down from what we originally wanted because we had to pay cash. Canadian lenders wanted 35-45% down. Been quite the education learning the differences between US and Canada.

Vic

I used Tenant Cloud and was quite happy with it for my 12 properties. The main thing I was looking for was the ability for tenants to pay online and streamline the application process. TC met my needs. I have recently been testing RentRedi because Google started cracking down on using Google Pay for landlord/tenant transactions. RentRedi offers a pretty good applicant process, has a phone app, and has online ACH for rent payments that is only $1 for the tenant. The BIG downside is that it can take up to 5 days to actually get your money deposited. Both have a pretty good "listing" feature. Overall I liked Tenant Cloud better... functionally it's easier to navigate, makes communicating with tenants easy, has document storage, if you can get around Google for payment you get your $$ immediately and IT'S FREE!!!

I think for your needs Tenant Cloud will work well even if you can't get Google Pay to work for you.

That's my opinion.

Vic

Dave, Thanks for the quick response..... That's what I was thinking but want to make sure I'm not missing some "insider" secret. Sometimes it's not the question you ask but the question you don't ask that can make all the difference.
Vic

I just did my first 1031 exchange selling a single family and buying a 4 plex. I did this outside my SDIRA (Self Directed IRA). It got me thinking about using the 1031 exchange within my SDIRA. Here's my thought process..... The purpose of the 1031 is to push capital gains (which are higher than normal tax rate) to some date in the future. What about within the structure of a SDIRA? Profits within my SDIRA aren't taxable until they are withdrawn and then they are taxed at your then current income bracket rate. Would that mean that any capital gains realized on property within the SDIRA will not be taxed at the then capital gains rate but at the lower personal income rate. If that's the case then there is no real reason to do a 1031 on property within the SDIRA because I'm not really gaining any advantage. Right?!?

I am interested in the thoughts of others here. Am I correct or am I missing something? Please let me know.

Vic

I have a tenant who would like to pay half the rent every two weeks to coincide with payday. I have been playing around with agreement wording (suggestions welcome) but am not sure of any negatives to agreeing to do this. My thoughts have been trying to figure out pitfalls of late fees, and how to bi-weekly could affect eviction if needed. 

Anyone have experience doing bi-weekly? Thoughts and ideas greatly appreciated.

Vic

Jay..... In WIlliam's example I agree with you. Without a sound exit plan, using ANY LOC monies carries high risk. As well, the whole credit card LOC balance shifting idea being advocated by some has some serious pitfalls in my mind. But then I lived through two housing bubbles and have seen the result of friends who were financing their lifestyle playing CC roulette. It's a slippery slope and usually doesn't end well.

If what William is looking for are ideas on how to continue acquiring rental properties my method is one that will work BUT the ARV MUST be high enough so that an 80% LTV note will cover the purchase price + reno costs so that the LOC is paid off. As well, the cash flow must meet whatever your personal targets are. Using LOC to buy an "at market" property with no room for equity mining is a losing proposition. This method has you paying interest on two notes. The ONLY way I would even possibly consider this is if the monthly cash flow potential was SO good that it could cover BOTH notes and still have significant positive cash flow. Not sure of what markets where this situation exists and if the market is that hot I'd rather flip the properties, build cash reserves and wait for the bubble to burst so I can acquire long term properties cheap.

Overall, I think it depends on ones goals. Asset acquisition and long term cash flow with no personal capital at risk meets my long term goal. This method is allowing me to add properties to my portfolio quicker than I may otherwise be able to.  I always plan to hold on to properties I buy but have flipped a couple due to market fluctuations or unforseen expenses. Others may be looking strictly at flipping in which case one may be willing to take on more risk to realize a higher reward. It's just not for me.

JMHO,

Vic

I have a personal LOC at my bank. It works like a revolving charge account. If I need $$ i call and have that amount deposited into my DBA account. This allows me to move quickly when good deals come my way. Just closed on one. So I'll use it as example.

REO listed on MLS 40 days at $70K - est ARV $100K (conservative) - reno budget $25K

Bought with quick closing (10 days) for $50K CASH (called bank had funds transferred day of closing and wired the funds to seller) Seller took less because it was an "As-Is" cash deal. No waiting for inspections, No FHA, No buyer trying to find lender, etc...

Rehab contractor draws weekly (call bank Friday afternoon and transfer enough to cover draw)

Materials/Supplies (put on my CC and get points, pay off before interest charged - call bank ...) 

NOTE : I only draw money when I spend money to keep interest charges minimal

When we get to 85-90% completion I start shopping for commercial real estate loan. I usually use the same bank where LOC is at as this has shown bank that I know what I'm doing and has allowed for increase in LOC. If I did my homework right upfront and there are no major budget killers I have used $75-80K of LOC, the property appraises for $100K and I get an 80% LTV note (amort 10-15-20 years depending on what makes sense) based on the appraisal ($80K). Pay off the LOC (with minimal interest expense) and I have a newly rehab'd property which I can get top $$ rent for, have 20% equity in and most importantly NONE of my money at risk. With LOC paid off I am ready for the next opportunity to present itself.

HOPEFULLY!!! project done in 30 days to minimize interest.  (I usually plan for 60 days)

How monthly cash flow fits in as another discussion but it is part of my evaluation of the property. I am a BRRRR advocate and am building for retirement so long term cash flow is important to me.

Hope this helps.

Good call Crystal. Hoping they will be good tenants for a long time.

Vic