All Forum Posts by: Michael McKay

I recently did this with my brokerage account at Morgan Stanley for a house that I rehabbed and rented out. I'm 2 months away from passing the seasoning requirement for a cash-out refi, where I will pay off the line of credit. MS allows me to borrow up to half the value of my portfolio. It's very easy to do and was great when doing a rehab, as I would only borrow the money as I needed it (paying contractors, materials, etc.).

The downside, as some people have mentioned, is that if the value of your portfolio drops there can be a margin call. This could force you to pay the difference or sell your stock. To avoid this, I've left a sizeable cushion in case the market fluctuates.

I wouldn't use this as long term financing, but I like the strategy for buying in "cash" and the refinancing quickly.

I use an Amazon Fire Stick, which is connected to my Netflix account. I don't offer cable and have never had a complaint. Netflix's $12 plan allows you to steam up to four screens at a time, so the cost is $3/month per rental.

@Matt McConkey Thanks Matt. I'll message you now.

@Matt McConkey Got it. I was actually planning to go after the eviction niche. In my area (CT), I can find all the housing court records online, so it's fairly easy to build a database.

Any tips? Would you be open to sharing what your post cards look like? I won't copy them, but could use some inspiration to let my designer know how they look.

What type of response rate are you seeing? How often are you sending the post cards to the same people and at what stage of the eviction process are you reaching out to landlords?

@Matt McConkey thanks Matt! Do you use handwritten fonts to write the addresses on the post card or do you use a regular font? I've been debating A/B testing both options.

I stumbled across www.calligraphr.com when researching how to convert my own handwriting into fonts. It looks promising, especially the character randomization, which allows you to upload 15 variations of each letter, so it looks more realistic.

Does anyone have experience using this for direct mail?

As an agent, I don't find low offers disrespectful, but I do know some agents who do. My strategy when making offers is to explain the reasoning behind my (or my client's) offer.

My advice is to submit the offer for the price you think it's worth. Whether the agent agrees with it or not they have to present it to the owner. Ultimately, it's your investment and you need to buy it at the right price for it to make sense.

I use rentapplication.net. Ranges from $20 (only credit check) to $40 (credit, background, and eviction).

Applicants can also upload documents to the website and it allows you to customize the questions on the application.

@Ted Lanzaro Thanks Ted. I'll send you a PM now.

@Michael Kovac Thank you. Is he a GC or does he do the work himself?