All Forum Posts by: Mason Blake

 Yeah I am not going to use a full-on property manager. They will take 20-40% of your rental income, and in that case - you're absolutely right. The math doesn't work.

But what a lot of people do is find an "on-island representative", pay them a flat monthly fee ($400-500/mo) and they will do house calls, handyman work, etc. Otherwise much of the "property management" is left to us in a remote capacity, coordinating with cleaners, etc. 

I am wondering if there are any STR owners in Maui here? We just got into contract on our first investment property, a 1/1 condo right on the beach in Lahaina!

Curious if anyone has recommendations in the area for cleaners and property managers? 

@Adrian Herrera That is fantastic to hear. I wonder what it was that I am mis-remembering.... 🤔 Perhaps that only 1 per state is allowed? 

Either way - good news! Thank you.

I am on my way to finally purchasing my first property. Just got into contract yesterday. An STR 1/1 condo on the beach in Maui with 180º views of the ocean! I'm stoked!

@Jon Martin is correct. I am not talking about a 2nd mortgage on the same title/home. I am talking about a "2nd home" as in literally a 2nd property, purchased through a "2nd home mortgage" whereby I can get 10% downpayment instead of an investment property mortgage with 20%+ down payment. 

@Adrian Herrera how does that change your answer?

I have it in my head, probably from listening to many many REI podcasts, primarily BP, that one can only take out a single 2nd home mortgage at a time. If you wanted to do an additional 2nd home mortgage, you'd have to pay off the first or do something creative to "release" said mortgage product.

Do I recall incorrectly? My mortgage broker tells me that there is no limit, but this doesn't seem right. 

Yikes... this makes me worried we didn't get renovation insurance overall. We relied on our homeowners insurance policy. 

Since our current homeowners insurance does not cover renovations, it is going to lapse unless we can prove we are moved in and complete, but we're 2-3 weeks away. In this case, as long as we have home renovation insurance - does this mitigate the 'uninsurable' aspect you mentioned, @Tim Herman?

I have a home we purchased, and we have been doing a remodel on it. We are so close to being done and will move in 2.5 weeks from now. Insurance company tells me it will laps this week unless we provide evidence that the house is not vacant. We do have our Insurance & Tax payments rolled into our mortgage payment, not separate. So I have several questions:

1. What happens if the insurance laps? 

2. I assume that having insurance is a requirement of most mortgages? 

3. Do you think it's worth risking not having insurance for 2-3 weeks, then reinstating our policy once we move in? 

What would y'all recommend here? 

Hi folks, I am an out of state investor looking to get started investing in the KCMO area. I'd be interested in getting to know folks, learn more about the area, neighborhoods, strategies, etc. 

I know there are several local meetups and what not, but they seem to be happening in-person, which I won't be able to attend. I am happy to meet people 1:1 or setup a group event to get interested folks together for a meet-and-greet. 

@Nathan G. That's incredibly helpful thanks.

Very tactical question, here. I am curious what people are doing with the flow of funds from cash flowing rental properties. A few questions here:

1. Do you setup completely different bank accounts for collecting rents and making payments? I will have an LLC, so this is currently my plan
2. With the calculations accounting for vacancies, repairs and the "sometimes" expenses -- do you just hold that cash in a savings account? 
3. If you were cash flowing a $200-$300 per door on your properties, how are you "paying yourself"? I'm not sure I would want to pay myself anything but in the case of a single-member LLC I suppose it wouldn't matter, right? I can just make a transfer or cut myself a check.

My thinking behind these questions is that I want to make sure separate my operating account from cash accumulation that I can then use for more property acquisitions. 

What do others do here?