All Forum Posts by: Matt Moldenhauer

I have a Schedule E Excel spreadsheet I started using to track all expenses as well as help out at time time. It has all of the categories from the IRS form. My questions is, when you're looking at your mortgage statement, would you enter your escrow fees under the "Insurance" section? 

Welcome!

I should have been more clear, I reached out to a couple of lawyers to discuss setting up an LLC. You can do it yourself online. Learning the in's and out's is a whole other story though. If you don't treat your LLC like a business, it's useless. If you plan on researching it and going at it alone, I suggest you google the following terms in your search: "Piercing the corporate veil", "self managed", "commingling funds", "self repairs". After you read up on those, you'll probably want to talk to a lawyer. I know I did. If you're just looking to have your tenant write the check out to "ABC Properties" instead of "Zack Sprague", then pay the $50 bucks and be done with it. If you want REAL asset protection, talk to a lawyer. If your LLC is not managed correctly it's worthless and a false sense of security. One of the best things I've read so far about LLC's pertaining to small investors like a lot of is, "You can't protect yourself from yourself." What I took from that is, if you go install a bath fan and burn your rental house down, your LLC is not going to cover your butt.

Here is the link you're looking for: http://www.sos.mo.gov/business/corporations/filing...

@Zack Sprague I reached out to a couple a few weeks ago. One was $150/hour and the other was $200/hour. No free consultation either. I can send you the contact info if you like?

Has anyone had experience with the Allure products? http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Allure-6-...

From everything I've read i think i would go with this over the laminate?

@Omar Merced, @Aaron Smith is correct. Electric baseboard heat would eat whoever is paying the bills lunch. If you can't go with a standard air to air split system, i would consider mini splits. https://samsunghvac.com/products/fjm_-_free_joint_...

You could set the outdoor units on the roof if you're worried about theft. There would be no ductwork involved, just copper line sets, power/comm wire and drain lines. Utilities would be cheap and there would be no need for mechanical room(s). 

Unless your area does not require cooling units, i would stay away from boilers. They are expensive and there is no reason to buy another heating system when you're buying one that is capable of heating and cooling(split air to air system or mini split). 

I'd be happy to kick around any other ideas regarding your heating and cooling if you want. I've been in the HVAC distributing business for 14 years now. 

@Chris Anderson from what I've read, getting your RE license makes sense if you plan on doing it full time or buying multiple units for yourself every year. If not, it's not with the hassle of getting it, keeping it and staying in the know regarding all of the rules and regulations. 

@Kristina Inglis if this is your first deal and you're doing it with a Fannie Mae loan, you'll need at least 15% down, so around $83,000 for your down payment. Another thing that just surprised me with my first investment purchase is closing costs. Maybe it's just our area, but i'm told it's normal for the buyer to pay closing costs when purchasing investment properties. Even if you can work it into the loan,  the seller can only pay 2%, so $550,000 x .02 = No more than $11,000 paid by the seller. Estimate your closing costs at 3.5%, would be $19,250, which would leave you with another $8,250 to come up with. 

Good luck!

@Annelyse Finley EXCELLENT question. I would like to hear more recommendations on this as well. 

Hi @Kevin Fox. Sorry about that. I meant more for listing your properties. 

@Jassem A. That's where my head is at. "For Rent" signs and Zillow, which automatically lists it on Hotpads and Trulia. I just don't see how an individuals site could drive more traffic than a national one like I mentioned.