All Forum Posts by: Michael K.

Originally posted by Aly L:

Originally posted by Justin S.:

I did this exact thing. The first two years of lease I was at my tenants beck and call. Every month was something different. When they wanted to renew, I put a in a clause that says "All repairs under $50 are tenants responsiblity" or something like that and I've only received one call in the last year. When they do call, I remind them of this and they usually take care of the repair.

Justin, I would be concerned that the tenant would make sure there was more than $50 in repairs. As in, a cracked window may be under $50, so would they break the entire window to get you to pay for it?

I'm evicting a tenant right now, so maybe I'm a bit paranoid :wink:

A valid fear! Why not modify that to state that the tenant is responsible for the first $50.00 of each repair? In other words, set it up like an insurance deductible.

While the tenant could still cause more damage "to stick it to the man," they're still on the hook for their $50.00. While it wouldn't end maintenance calls, it'd definitely cut down on them.

Mike

Originally posted by Rich Weese:

You guntoters scare me to death!! My last MAJOR areas where I've bought have been St. George , Utah, Casa Grande AZ, and Rio Grande Valley, TX. I never felt the need for a gun. Of course, I'm a charmer, so that goes a long way I guess. Rich in Fl with new avatar and NO gun.

Rich, I used to live in Gold Canyon, AZ. While Casa Grande is a nice place, it can get interesting after dark.

That said, most of my Arizona gun pulls involved rattler removal!

Mike

Originally posted by Tim Wieneke:

Nice. I'm getting "Mad Max" images in my head. :mrgreen: That's really not a bad idea though. We can carry concealed here but I don't know if I'd need a Class III FFL to carry an AOW here...we allow alot of Class III in our state anyway.... What was the Class III FFL license process like?

It's probably best to begin by explaining the license. Under FEDERAL law, no individual/corporation/trust needs a license to own any firearm. The Class III license is the license necessary to DEAL in firearms regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, as amended. NFA firearms are machine guns, silencers, short barrel rifles, short barrel shotguns, Any Other Weapons (AOW), and destructive devices. A Class II is a manufacturer's license and a Class I is an importer's license.

Bottom line: As I am still a dealer, I hold a Class III. Assuming that you just want to be an individual owner and not a dealer, no license is necessary. Your only requirement is to pay a transfer tax (nearly always $200.00 per firearm, but AOW is only $5.00 per firearm) to purchase one or to pay a making tax (always $200.00 per firearm except for machine guns; machine guns have been illegal for civilian manufacture since 05/19/1986).

If you wanted a Serbu, you'd only be paying the cheapie five buck transfer tax!

Also, a dealer's license grants no special rights regarding carry under FEDERAL law. State laws may vary. Furthermore, state laws may regulate what type of firearm can be carried. For example, ANYTHING except for nunchucks may be carried in Arizona. Utah bans the carry of cut down shotguns. Other states limit the carrier only to handguns.

Here are some other helpful definitions:

Machine gun: Any firearm that fires more than one shot per pull of the trigger without manual reloading.

Silencer: Anything whose intended purpose is to lower the sound of a firearm.

Short barrel rifle: A rifle whose barrel length is less than 16" and/or whose overall length (stock extended to its fullest position) is less than 26".

Short barrel shotgun: A shotgun whose barrel length is less than 18" and/or whose overall length (stock extended to its fullest position) is less than 26". ILLEGAL IN INDIANA AS PER INDIANA STATE LAW.

Any Other Weapon: Gadget guns like pen guns, cane guns, etc. Breech-loading combo guns (a single-shot rifle and shotgun barrel on a camping/survival gun) whose barrel lengths are between 12" and 18" in length. Pistol-grip-only "shotguns" that are cut below standard shotgun length limits.

Destructive Device: Grenades and other ordnance that goes boom. Anything other than a "sporting shotgun" whose barrel diameter is greater than half an inch.

Speaking to the process of obtaining a NFA firearm as a non-licensee, it can be anywhere from easy to hard. It all depends upon your county of residence.

This is probably headed toward a thread hijack. However, I am a licensed dealer and love assisting new folks. Please let me reach the minimum required 10 posts and I'll be happy to assist on the email/PM end of things. Also, I used to live in Speedway outside of Indy-- and I still occasionally do the Indianapolis 1500 gun shows. We may be able to sit down to discuss the legalities and such at length there, too.

Sincerely,

Mike

Greg, my family specializes in lower income rental properties.

Evictions will depend entirely upon the tenant. Scumbags who don't pay and trash places come in both wealthy and poor varieties.

Your best defense against evictions is TENANT SCREENING. Have ALL applicants fill out an application. Check with their previous landlords. Verify income. Run a background check that looks into criminal and civil (other evictions!) matters. Also be sure that the potential tenant doesn't have outstanding warrants; nothing stops the rent from getting paid like incarceration.

I wouldn't bother with a credit check unless you have to do one to find evictions. Low income people generally have trash credit; assume that they're all going to owe somebody.

Other than that, keep a clean property. Trashy properties attract trashy people.

Have you considered rent assistance? I've got three properties of my own in a municipality where the rent assistance is direct-deposited from the city to my bank account. While I still have to chase the tenant for their portion, it's easier to handle chasing $40 of $925.00 than it is $925 of $925.

Mike

Thank you! I really do hope to make some connections here. While I'm learning from my cousins, I'm being kept busy. Too busy. It's hard enough to find the time to seek out potential places, much less investors to snag the quality places. I can't tell you how frustrating it was to discover that an estate drumped a triplex in fine condition (needed updating and paint but it was in solid structural condition) for $74,500 with rents of $650, $500, and $350. And I missed it because I was too busy working.

Maybe this will be like fishing (we all have stories of the one that got away). But I don't want to be the guy watching everybody land fish while I sit with a torn net.

Take care,

Mike

Originally posted by Jeffrey Gordon:

Mike,

wow, i can only imagine the super shorty leaves most folks speechless when it is flashed.

jeffrey

Flashing any firearm is generally illegal. Due to Wisconsin's laws banning concealed carry of a firearm, I have to wear it openly. The shorty travels with me in a special holster. Its holstered visibility works as well as flashing (but does so in a legal manner) and puts folks on notice that I'm not looking for and do not desire any trouble.

I normally don't tote it around. But I have zero qualms about bringing it with me in certain neighborhoods or if I feel that its presence will stop problems before they start.

Mike

Approximately 1,000 cubic feet of trash. (Three trips to the dump with a 10' U-Haul truck; twice completely full and the third time about 2/3 full.)

Ick.

As for weirdest items, probably a collection of destroyed tires.

Mike

My path into the real estate world has been a bit strange, but I suppose that there's no one right way to do this. :mrgreen:

Real estate's been an interest since college. Yet, I never went anywhere with it-- not even a single real estate class while I was in school! After suffering through a standard sales office job and getting paid off, I moved from Wisconsin to Arizona to try a change of scenery. Another techie office job (and another lay off) later, I decided to become an arms dealer, obtained my FFL/SOT, and also became a licensed firearms trainer. This was LOADS of fun and covered the bills, but there wasn't too much left over. Real estate again came to mind, but the housing bubble killed any chance of me investing. I decided to become a lawyer; while firearms were fun, I wanted more stability than the arms market offered. After a short and unhappy stint in law school, I sold my house in Arizona and returned home to Wisconsin.

Looking back, being unable to invest in Arizona due to the high costs turned out to be a lucky break. I sold my home 5 months off of the peak of the west coast housing bubble and pocketed a tidy profit. After pondering where to go next, I obtained my real estate salespersons and then my Broker's license. My cousins, already heavily invested in real estate, offered to let me invest with them in some properties. I accepted. Today I have three small places and help them with leasing and some maintenance. My Broker license also allows me to list and sell homes on the side.

It's not much, but it's a start!

Mike

I'm a beginning investor (only have 3 properties of my own) that's cutting my teeth assisting my cousins with their properties (around 100). And yes, this is my first post on here! Most of my cousins' properties are located in less-than-desirable areas. Furthermore, a good number of their tenants are less-than-desirable people.

What constitutes a war zone? Bullet holes in the buildings are a good start. Visiting the property and getting re-routed by the police because a bloody corpse is in the alley is another. Being approached to purchase / sell drugs (not counting pot in a college area) is a clear signal that you're not in the best of neighborhoods.

Speaking to investment, I can tell you that my cousins make excellent cash flow on these properties but have trouble selling them to trade up to other properties. Cash flow IS a good thing, but I'd rather sacrifice some cash flow for the ability to sell the places in order to step into other, better places.

How to handle problems? While I like the Beretta and Glock suggestions, I've learned that local law enforcement is best used by dropping dimes on the problems. Enforcing the lease is important. Keeping the property looking good (crap condition attracts crap people) helps. There's also getting the city involved by reporting problem places with code violations and the like.

FYI, I hold a Class III FFL/SOT. My open carry gun (concealed is illegal here in WI) is a Serbu Super-Shorty 12 gauge AOW. While it has a low capacity, I've yet to meet anybody who continues to cause issues after it's produced.

Mike