All Forum Posts by: Mark F.

Quote from @Account Closed:

Quote from @Mario Morales:

yes, under my name. 

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The fact that you have 34 posts is hilarious since you are obviously not who you say you are. Bye bye spammer. 

One of my tenants does this but in a non creepy/annoying way. They’re making sure they are aware of anything bad happening or issues they need to be aware of. I get where some people could do it in an odd way that throws off red flags. But I’d say if you check the spaces and everything passes the smell test, should be fine. Unless they are cooking meth in a room they don’t want you to see or find the body in the freezer. 

I've separated out electricity but not water (never heard of sewer being separated) and I've always had separate gas meters on my properties but have separated the heating system on one. You would contact an electrician plus the power company to separate electricity. Water you could have a plumber do it or do it yourself if you do the sub-meter route. I would have a plumber do the gas if you have that in your area. 

The heating system, while straightforward, wasn't cheap for my 3 unit and will have a longer payback period. I don't remember exactly but it was around $10k total for labor and the 2 new boilers. I got a deal on labor as I know the contractor personally and helped out a bit with the project. Worth it still as now I don't have gas bills to contend with for heat which I would say was around $1k a year. I know that is a long pay back period but don't plan on selling anytime soon, plus you never know what nat gas prices will do. I believe it'll help with eventual resale of the property as well. The water heaters were already separated. 

It cost me $8500 in my HCOL to get the electric separated on a 3 unit. This was labor and parts and I know the electrician personally so it would have cost more going through someone else. For that I also had to deal with the power company. The electrician got the 4 gang meter pan installed and went through all the fuses and whatnot to divvy out and installed separate panels for each unit. The power company supplied and installed the new meters (at no charge, at least not yet) and verified all the work around the 4 gang meter pan was done up to their standards. I also had to get it approved by the city which was pretty easy. 

This was a no-brainer and has a payback of about 3 or so years (probably less with how my tenants use the AC in the summer) plus again, it'll help sell the property down the road.

I really wanted to separate the water as I found a few good sub-meter companies but the water lines go every which way and make it impossible to attach a meter to one. In theory I could attach one to each water heater since they are separated out, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. 

It's a scam. There's a key word and a phrase that makes it 100% a scam. Learn to spot these and it'll help you immensely in your real estate career. Been in law enforcement for some time and while they do evolve over time, they will keep the same red flags in for long enough for people to figure them out and spot them. 

Echo what others said, 7 is overkill. At the moment with 3 rentals (6 total units), I have one account and a credit card associated with it. My main account has all the rents deposited and all expenses deducted such as mortgages, some utilities and an electronic payment app connected to the account to pay contractors. Then I have a credit card to charge supplies and any utilities which allow credit card payments. This card is tied to the first bank account and is on auto pay. Since my rentals cash flow, there is an excess to cover cap ex, vacancies etc. This account is also a savings account so I’m earning interest on it. Yes, companies allow mortgage deductions from a savings account without issue. Like Scott said, I use a large bank with no fees and also have my (separate) personal account with them so I can keep an eye on both when I log in. If I ever run low on reserves, I can easily transfer funds from my personal to rental account. I also do not take any money from my rentals as I’m in the growth phase with a W2 and low personal expenses. 

I’m curious if others opinions on how I do this. @Nathan Gesner would love your opinion. I do my own bookkeeping for now and rentals are in my personal name. 

Ok I lied, I also have accounts for tenants security deposits but that’s just a set it and forget it until they move out. No need to check those since they’re all no fee no minimum accounts. 

The way I countered this (still not as good as buying a note with idle cash but I have checkbook control) is the money paid out from a note fund I invested in is at Axos bank. It’s a business account and I just checked, paying 3.95%, more than my personal one! No fees, no minimums, been very happy with them.

Unfortunately the note I own is still paying out to my custodian (did checkbook after note purchase) so the money does sit idle. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the note pays off so I have the cash to buy a new note and no more cash sitting idle. 

I want to buy another note in my SDIRA but I’d have to wait a full year before having enough to buy a decent one. Definitely the chicken and the egg problem. Guess I’ll wait for the fund to redeem. 

Quote from @Salil Surendran:

By the way the landlord insurance that I applied to is Steadily. Anyone have an opinion about them.  I got the below coverage for $80/month which looks good to me?

The coverage limits are as follows:
$200k -> Dwelling
Premises Liability -> $300,000 per occurrence
Medical Payments $500 per person / $25,000 per occurrence
Additional Living Costs And Fair Rental Value -> $19,000
Loss Assessment Coverage -> $1,000
Ordinance or Law -> $20,000 or 10%
Water Damage Limitation -> 10% ($20,000)

Deductibles
All Other Perils -> $2,500
Limited Theft Coverage -> $2,500
Water Damage Deductible -> $5,000

No one can answer you question as we don’t know where you are or the value of the home. Sounds good but what’s their reputation as well? 

When I move out of my house hacks, I call my insurance broker and he moves my policy to a landlord one. For me, it’s usually about 25% more for the same home on a LL policy. I also never make claims. 

I’m going to be 100% honest here and you won’t like some of it. By your whole post, you seem like you’d be a nightmare to deal with if you were my landlord. It’s obvious the tenant is a total PITA and has zero desire to deal with all of your rules. I’m sure they’ve violated all the stuff you’ve mentioned but why don’t you just give them notice and do whatever your local eviction laws states? Just saw your questions, you can find most of your answers in the NOLO state guide to landlord laws. I’d be surprised if you needed an attorney assuming if your rental is in Texas. 

Better yet, tell your son to talk to them like a normal human, not detailed in bullet points, and just say “hey man this isn’t working. You don’t like me or this place. Why don’t you find another spot and I won’t charge you breaking the lease.”

That’s interesting since I have 3 loans with 3 of the servicers you just mentioned. Not many complaints from all 3 luckily but I’ve never had my loan sold that many times. Usually just once or twice within the first year. 

It’s the new word for wholesaling. Say good bye to the negative connotations of wholesaling, hello to cross selling.