All Forum Posts by: Michelle Elsaid

I'm not sure why this would be handled any differently than a roommate. With my roomate, she signed a six month lease with utilities included, at market rent for the room. You could change this to month-to-month since she is a partner, and include or exclude utilities. The lease will cover you in case of a disagreement or separation the same it would any other tenant. But, if you would be worried about a bad separation that would be a whole other topic for the relationship board that i'm not sure exists on BP :-)

By no means should the rent for the room have anything to do with your mortgage payment (taxes, insurance, etc.) or share a part of the expenses. It should be market rent or slightly under if you wanted.

HI Bp,

I lost about 60 shingles on my duplex during Hurricane Irma. The total sq feet of the house is about 2200 sq ft. How will an adjuster determine repair versus replacement? I have quality renters and do not want to have different color shingles all over the house.

I do have before and after pictures.

Thanks,

Michelle

Hi Tyler,

Consider this excerpt from the FL sales associate continuing education course:

Credit Scoring (1 of 4)

One of the most significant changes in mortgage lending has been the use of credit scores to better evaluate a borrower's ability to repay.

Credit scoring uses statistical samples to predict how likely it is that a borrower will pay back a loan. To develop a model, the lender selects a large random sample of its borrowers, analyzing characteristics that relate to creditworthiness. Each of the characteristics is assigned a weight based on how strong a predictor it is. Credit scores treat each person objectively because the same standards apply to everyone. Credit scores are blind to demographic or cultural differences among people.

The most commonly used credit score today is a FICO score, named after the company that developed it, Fair, Isaac, & Co. FICO scores range from 300 to 850. The lower the score, the greater the risk of default.

Freddie Mac has found that borrowers with credit scores above 660 are more likely to repay the mortgage, and underwriters can do a basic review of the file for completeness. For applicants with scores between 620 and 660, the underwriter is required to do a comprehensive review. A very careful review would be made for persons with credit scores below 620.

@Jovan Dinnall http://floridadownpaymentassistance.com/

Are there any background, credit, eviction check reporting sites that I can use without sending email to tenant? They have already paid application fees and provided all necessary info.

Thanks,

Michelle Elsaid

See if your county has downpayment assistance options. In Orlando, they have a bond program that will give new homeowners up to $15K down payment grants.

I am trying to find renters for a duplex in Orlando FL and having a hard time finding someone who meets criteria of a credit score >660 and income 3X rent ($45k/yr). Do you accept roomates who (together) meet the income requirement? Both would be on lease.

Michelle

@Account Closed Thanks for that feedback. I think it really can go both ways and can be very subjective. The tenant ended up liking the carpet on another visit - put in an application - that rescinded. So I am back on the hunt anyway.... for someone who likes the carpet. :)

Also - my advice to you would be to save, save, save! Unless you have a big network of lenders, saving and having your own license are the best ways to get started.

@Avery Hill One thing that is not talked about very often is the commissions on your own investment purchases as a licensed agent! It helped give me extra cushion while working through my first duplex purchase. Depending on your broker, sometimes you can even apply the commission directly to your closing costs to reduce out of pocket expenses instead of waiting for the commission check.

Best of luck!