All Forum Posts by: John T.

Marc C - This is excellent advice. I'm glad to hear about the 16 unit, congrats!

Hey All,

I am wondering what the best route to finding properties is. I have been using a realtor that primarily deals with residential properties and not so much investments. I am in the market for a 4+ unit buildings but every time I see a good deal on the MLS, it is sold before I can get to it. Not to mention that there aren't many good deals to begin with.

Do you use a realtor that specializes in investment properties, or have a different method?

Thanks

Bump. Still looking for advice and a management company in cleveland that someone can vouch for.

Hey All,

As I continue my career in real estate, I am learning more and more each day. As business increases, I am finding out that some things work that I didn't expect to and conversely some things aren't going as smoothly as I'd hoped. With 6 tenants I am fielding about 1 call per week. It could be anything from my pilot isn't lit on the stove, or an email from the water company saying that they have noticed a potential leak. I work a full time job in addition to managing my 3 duplexes. This doesn't leave much time to do the things I enjoy.

I am hoping that a property management company is the solution. I would like them to be a liaison that fields all calls from tenants and carries out any necessary evictions. It would also be nice if they are able to carry out small repairs in the event that I am unavailable. The flexibility is crucial. I would still like to find my own tenants, as well as prep the units for rentals during vacancies. I just want to be sure not to let them know that I am the owner of the property. I will probably say that I am a representative from the management company or something.

Are their management companies that are flexible and affordable? Please help me get ahead of the learning curve here and inform me of some of the pros and cons of working with a management company.

Thanks,

John

I closed on a short sale that took 12 months and I found another deal. It all just worked out with poor timing. I can still pay all my bills without rental income thanks to my salary. I'm not in a state of emergency.

Thanks everyone, you have already provided me with a few solutions.

1. Screen

2. Keep large cash reserves

I'll sit back and save for a couple months and I should be in good shape. I just had 2 houses close within 30 days of each other and a tenant left at the same time, which caused some financial worry.

Hey All,

New landlord here. I have bought 3 duplexes in the past 2 years. To this point I have been lucky in that no one owes me any money and I haven't had to file for an eviction. On the other hand, I can't stop worrying and stressing when someone is a few days late or when looking for new tenants. I think that this is probably due to my budget and current savings. I have been budgeting to buy as many houses as possible as fast as possible and it is wearing me thin. On the other hand I know this is my path to financial "freedom".

What are financial/psychological techniques that you all use to keep a low stress level? I have considered a management company when I have acquired enough properties, but that will be some time down the road since they're expensive.

Thanks

Hey All,

I am about to go through my first eviction. I have a habitually late paying tenant who has had their utilities shut off from non payment. The unit is still fully furnished, including clothing and food but no one is staying there. This tenant came along with the property when I purchased it and all I have is a rental application for month-to-month. There is no lease with written rules. Will this be sufficient in filing the eviction with the court? I served a 3 day notice that stated "Failure to pay rent. Utilities are shut off including gas and electric. This is in violation of rental terms."

After the eviction, does anyone ever get paid past due rent, fees and such? Can their wages be garnished in the future? Also do I really need a lawyer? 

I have tried to contact the tenants family in hopes that I can get them to agree to move out to avoid the eviction altogether.

Thanks

Hey All,

I am having some trouble understanding how DTI is calculated and it seems that the different lenders I have talked to are telling me different information.

I have 1 year of landlord experience renting half my duplex and just filed my first schedule E in 2015. My schedule E shows rent income, and after expenses such as repairs, taxes, utilities, etc, I ended up with a net loss. Is this going to negatively affect my DTI?

Further, I am looking to purchase two more properties this month. Will my lender be able to use rental income from those properties when calculating the DTI in the loan approval process?

Thank you.

Well because of the 3 months that I need to renovate, also my holding costs are 6 months, but thats not a big deal. I found a double down the street for 50k, just needs paint and its net rent is $675, with 12.5kdown, so im probably going to go that route to forgo the 3 month sweat labor.