All Forum Posts by: Corey Demuth

 You guys are killing me... 

Originally posted by @Kenneth LaVoie:

@Corey Demuth - I have a document I'm happy to share with you that I give my lessees when the sign called "Emergencies vs. Urgencies" -- it compassionately spells out the differences while acknowledging that we understand how certain non emergency situations can seem like emergencies. Also instructed is what to do. We allow our tenants to call our heating person / plumber in case of emergencies and also spell out that if they call after hours for "non emergency" they could be liable for the overtime portion of their charge. Email or PM me and i'll send it over!

PM sent - appreciate it!

Jeff, the number of points you will lose is hard to determine but it will almost definitely be a HARD inquiry (ie the kind that affects your score) when you apply for a credit card.

@Jon Klaus there are ways around this. Like having so many accounts that it doesn't impact you. If you have 2 credit cards, your average age of accounts (AAOA) is 10 years, and you open a new credit card, now your average age of accounts will be 10+10+0 / 3 = 6.67. Ouch. 

But suppose you have 20 accounts, your AAOA is 10 years, and you open a new card - now it becomes 200/21 = 9.52. Pretty neat.

There are also ways to make credit inquiries fall off your TU and EQ reports, but EX inquiries can't be removed early. (If you really want to apply for something that is going to pull your EX score, some people freeze their EX report and then the bank magically decides to pull EQ or TU instead, thus getting around the whole issue of EX inquiries. I haven't personally bothered with the freezing strategy.)

Regarding rewards cards - the PenFed Platinum Rewards card is pretty good, and has the added benefit of being LOW INTEREST (you can probably get it at 8.9 or 9.9% APR whereas most rewards cards are 15-22% APR) which means that in a pinch, you could carry a balance without it hurting too much. Hell, 9% is less than what some people pay for hard money deals... also that card can go up to 50k limit.

I have a question for the seasoned landlords...

How do you handle it if a tenant calls you about an issue that they feel is an emergency (which may or may not be an actual emergency) and you are not able to go over there immediately. For example, their shower is not draining, or the stove will not turn on - and you are at work, or away visiting family in another state etc. 

Can you run into legal trouble if you tell them you will check on the issue in a day? What constitutes an actual legal "emergency" that you have to address immediately?

The woman in this incident was showing a house I believe... not knocking on a stranger's door to solicit business. Am I missing something?

I would definitely not recommend trying to drum up business by knocking on peoples' doors... those days are long gone. Send a letter, email, etc or look up their phone number and call. It's 2014.

I have a question about all this - I could swear I read somewhere that it is illegal to discriminate against section 8 tenants. But you guys all talk about it as though you can opt in or out of accepting section 8 applicants in your rentals...

I looked around online a bit, and here is one article about this issue in Oregon:

http://news.streetroots.org/2013/07/27/discriminat...

So is it basically a regional thing - ie in some areas you can choose not to accept section 8 tenants, and other areas you have no choice about it?

I should clarify, this is a place I want to buy, fix up, and live in - it's not a rental or flip. I just put the thread in the rehab section because it's rehab/repair related work..

I am looking at a condo and the owners have smoked heavily in it for years. When you walk in you get hit with a strong cigarette smell and you can see some residue on the walls from it. Also, the unit is carpeted so I would imagine the carpets are saturated with it.

If I buy the place and rip out all the carpeting, clean the walls and ceiling and completely re-paint, will this eliminate all traces of the smoke? Is there anything else that can/should be done? Any particular product/cleaner recommendations?

Thanks!

It can be a bargaining tool if you, as the buyer, order a home inspection and they find issues. You can ask the seller to lower the price based on the issues reported by the inspector.

I am looking at investing in condos in New Jersey and I found a property that seems to be a great deal; it is in a popular area that's close to a major transportation hub, it's a 3bdrm condo that's frankly priced at the level studios usually go for, and the electricity is included in the monthly condo fee. However, the condo is in the basement. From the photos, it does not appear to be a total subterranean dungeon, as there are windows with sunlight shining through them in several of the photos of the unit.

I crunched the numbers and it looks like it could be very profitable, but I am having trouble assessing how much of a detriment it is that the unit is located in the basement. How much harder will it be to rent, and how much cheaper will I have to make the rent (as compared to a comparable apartment that's not located in the basement)?