All Forum Posts by: Mike Cumbie

Fully agree, so much better to get to them before the MLS

Make sure you do a lease though (Even if for free). If the expected is 3 months then 0 rent for 3 months and then the rent goes to 8K or some such. Nothing worse than having to evict someone later that you gave free rent :)

Personally I would recommend Door #2

They called an agent to list it and have went under contract. He hired someone to be his agent so I would respect that and go through the route he setup.

It's sort of like tenants calling the owner instead of the property management office, they are paying for a service to avoid the hassle. That is my opinion though, Good luck in whatever you decide.

That depends on how you want to run your business and how you want to be viewed by your peers (and the better business bureau etc).

Sure you can walk into every home, lock it under contract for 5K below retail and then post it on Craigslist and Facebook, every time it fails (Because it is not a deal.. but instead is a listing with no realtor to work it) pull out a reason why you can escape and leave the homeowner with lost time and confused. I would assume your reputation would hit the bottom pretty quick and investors and buyers will start to avoid what you list because they do not trust it. (Go on Craigslist in your area and look for the one person who listed 30 properties in 20 days and nothing since you may find many)

From what I understand (no expert) but you should make sure you understand market value and repair costs above all else. When you see that deal that you would tell your grandmother to sell her medications to invest in because it is that good, jump on it. You will find a buyer with no problems. If not you should start talking to grandma because you want in on this one bad and will make it work yourself. Your job is to lock it up when it is in the best interest of the seller to get it done quick and the buyer can make a decent amount of money on it while still paying you a nice sum for finding it.

If you are looking for a way to take zero financial risk yourself you will find the risk is actually your reputation which costs more in the long run. Start researching your area, learn the values, get with a mentor, go to open houses and window shop, find contractors and get into discussions, get an idea of what sheetrock and insulation costs. Practice viewing properties in your area and run numbers.

Just my 2 cents and best of luck

When I was in that position my lawyer added a contingency that we needed a letter from the tenant stating that there was nothing owed to them that was not in the lease and more importantly nothing that needed fixing.

It helped because the tenant had a few minor items to fix (which I took care of on day one) but it let me know that they were happy tenants and if anyone would know about a furnace/leak/roof issue they would be happy to spill it.

Yup love the VA loan, got my primary residence and refinance that way. I didn't see no PMI on your explanation though, is that still valid?

That was huge for me, the VA says "We back it so you can't charge him PMI on a 0 down house". Worked real nice, plus the other concessions. They do require a bit more work but overall I would happily recommend it.

Not in Maryland so I honestly do not know, but are you saying that the law requires you do not remove people from a property that may be at a health risk? I'd see a lawyer in this case to be on the safe side.

Good luck!

I would think so. There are so many parts and pieces and possible places to shine I tend to think there is a place for everyone who has an interest. Maybe you don't do the property management or you don't do the actual negotiation. There are things you an learn (numbers or taxes or estimating or values of areas, creative financing) and farm out the work you need someone else to do that requires an extrovert (Property management). Save on repairs by painting alone at night or learning how to put carpet in. It's just a numbers game and find where you can shave the numbers and have someone else move the numbers where you do not excel.

Good luck!

Remind the tenant that there is a strict "No pet policy" and that he will have to pay an additional $50 a month for each rat until he gets rid of them.

2 birds one stone

"How do you cope emotionally with nasty tenants?"

Bourbon.....

I kid... I kid, Keep your head up and take a breath. You got this! Then go take a little vacation and see a family member for a few days. Then you will be dying to get back to a felon with anger management issues :)