All Forum Posts by: Michael Paling

I've been a landlord for a little over 2 years and I've learned a lot of stuff, but one of the most annoying lesson's I'm dealing with is that I just can't trust anything tenants say. At least 3 out of 6 tenants I've had have been liars. I know that's not many yet, and I'm still new, but I'm curious what you all think is the percentage of tenant that DON'T lie. 50%? 25? 2? 0%?

I'll just keep working on learning to stop trusting tenants as if they all lie, but I'm just curious.

The security deposit is only to be used after they have moved out. Tell them to get caught up on rent, move out, or you'll get the eviction process started. If you haven't been charging late fees, make sure you start, because that will help reduce the amount of times they're late on rent. 

Hey Sarita, what’s an SRO?

Welcome Dailyn! My best suggestion for finding a mentor is to start networking locally. See if you can find a local meetup, meet some realtors or other investors, etc. I started investing 2 years ago and I've been going to a local meetup religiously the whole time. I've never once asked anyone to "Be my mentor", but now I have several people that I consider to be my mentors. All because I kept showing up to this meeting, listened to their advice, and took action on what they were telling me. good luck!

I started investing just under 2 years ago. I bought a duplex in the UP of Michigan to house hack. That went well, so I did it again about one mile way from the first. So now I have three rental units, plus I also rent out a spare room in my personal residence. And I just purchased a mobile home in one of my friend's parks that is my first rehab project and I'm learning soooooo much and having a blast doing it! It isn't going to stop anytime soon!

Absolutely. I'll send you a DM. 

@Jill Barrett welcome to BP! If you're ever in the Marquette area, we have a group of investors that meets once a month on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. We have people of all experience levels join us. I own two duplexes in Gwinn and I'm happy to chat if you ever have questions. 

Hey Duncan, 

Way to jump in and get started. If you're interested, we have a local group of investors that meets once a month. We've been meeting at the Upper Peninsula Brewing Company in Negaunee lately, but it changes once in a while. Send me a Dm if you're interested or have any questions. 

Hey Yash, It's hard to say if it's "too good to be true" without more information. Could you share numbers about the income and expenses, including CapEx, maintenance, property management, etc.?

Depending on your investment strategy, you could definitely have a property cashflow right away. Inheriting a tenant comes with risks, but if they're good tenants, that's great! 

Hey Evan, you sound like you already have a pretty good start to getting into the REI business. Keep working hard, saving, and studying everything about REI that you can get your hands on. Even though you don't yet have two full years of job experience, you might be surprised what a loan officer tells you. I have only been investing for just under 2 years, and I thought banks required two years of tax returns to count rental income in my DTI (Debt-to-income) ratio, but my lender said they only needed one. This allowed me to qualify for a 3rd mortgage. My point is that it wouldn't hurt for you to start talking to one and see if they have any options for you. At the very least, they'll tell you what you need to do so that you're moving in the right direction.

Also think about lenders this way.... You're the prize for the lender, just as much, if not more, than they are to you. lenders need to loan money for their business, but they need to loan it to responsible people that will pay them back. So, they might give you pointers about what criteria you need to meet for them to loan to you, because you'll be a responsible person.