All Forum Posts by: Martin Zawarski

Brian, Having your license is a must. Even if you do not become an active realtor the other percs are worth it. But A rule of thumb I use is that the homes sold are average on average. LOL, as a whole some will be better and some will not be but on average the home prices will average out in your radius search. I also know that when my home is done that it will be in much better shape than most if not all of the comped properties.

But if you are still a little bit uncomfortable with this is take two hours, map out all the homes and then drive and visit the neighborhood. Not only look at the comps, but the other homes in the community. In my case I typically rent out the home, so I want to know is this a good neighborhood for a rental. I drive up and down all the streets in the area of where the home is that I am buying. This tells me so much about the value of the home I am buying.

I keep my geographic area of home purchases to with 20 minutes of where I live, so I know most streets, but it is still a good practice to scout out the neighborhood.

I use a similar sign. It also states "for sale or lease" I have the image on my other computer and will try to post it Great post. The sign goes up once I settle and own it. Most of the time I have a tenant before I am even half finished with the home.

Dan, nice post. You seem very motivated and your words are well thought out. You live in one of the most expensive areas of the country. The homes in your area are just over the top. A couple of suggestion, try to find some part time work that deals with real estate, homes, property. Maybe work with someone to cut grass, paint homes, maintenance type of things. Maybe there is a realtor that you could be be a runner for. Go to local municipality meetings. My point is involve yourself with tasks just being around real estate. My sister lives in your town -take care

Over the last year I have bought and rehabbed 8 homes valued at $1.2m 7 are buy and hold and 1 I will sell. Going to keep doing this as long as I can but I need to get one on the books that is an "Owner Financing" situation. I have never done this, never even tried it, but it seems that plenty of people here use this technique. Just like riding a bike, I hope, once I learn the skill, you never forget. But I would think you have to look at the details a little bit different then if you are buying a foreclosure or any type of distressed property. If there are any " quick tips" you can lend me, I would appreciate it.

Yes I have been listening to podcasts and will dig deeper her on this site. I will get this Mastered- for sure!

I would say no matter what it was for, it is a deduction against income. I would further add that if you had to put a quarter in the parking meter that I would deduct that as well.

it seems that most people here are all on the same page that I am. It also depends on supply and demand. In November I had zero empty units, now I have ten empties about 6% of my holdings so I have to be a bit more flexible. If it was a situation where I only had the one opening I would take a harder stance. But in November I was asking 975 per month for a two bedroom town in a complex, now I am at 899. What a difference three months make. I saw a post about staggering terms to a 14 or 15 month lease if they sign now because then the anniversary would be April/may. That was a good idea so I won't have this situation of ten empties in the winter.

Thank you all for your reply

best advice, find a great realtor and buy that property, Experience is the best teacher than anything else.

this tenant has a 550 and his wife is like 670 . I am getting a double security deposit, a one month non refundable pet fee, plus the months rent, like $4,500 total. He said he will be just putting boxes in the home.

when a new tenant signs a lease for the upcoming month, and pays all fees and rents,how many days will you give him to move into the unit without charging him a prorated rent. If the unit is done and clean and ready for occupancy I let them move into unit one week early without paying a prorated rent. Any more than that and I charge a prorated rent. At least the utilities are in someone else's name during this hard winter.

Does your policy change depending on if your investment is a single or in a multi unit complex?

wow! Great job. Looks great. The first one always seems the hardest. Enjoy your reward for your work and have fun with your next home.