All Forum Posts by: Mike R.

we bought some great small MF properties in 2008 from people that over paid and had too much debt.  they couldn't raise rents fast enough to help them make the props CF positive.   yes, interest rates are low so borrowing today isn't a horrible idea if, and only if, the property is self-funding (i.e. the rents over all expenses PLUS the mortgage).  Other debt like CCs and student loans, cars, your primary residence mortgage, etc should be paid down as quickly as possible.  That doesnt mean you don't borrow to buy good investment props today, but it does mean you take any extra cash flow and pay down those other debts as quickly as possible.  this strategy provides you with financial flexibility to use when times are difficult (think 2008).  The problem is that you can't buy financial flexibility after the difficult economic times arrive you have to buy the "insurance" before you need it.  During hard times, flexibility is the one thing that you will wish you had it is the only thing that will let you sleep at night.

hi all,

the plan is to have enough MF rentals that the net cash flow funds our retirement.  Well on the way with 12 "doors" owned and expect more to come.  However, the only way the retirement strategy seems to work is if each property is paid off so most of the monthly rental income comes to us and not the banks.  However, i wonder about the legal risk (could be other risk too?) with 100% equity in each property should a tenant decide to sue for one reason or another.  Yes, we have LLCs and umbrella policies but is that enough?  is there another way to fund retirement without taking the equity-risk? or should we even be concerned?

thank you

i wonder about owning properties not located in the state that you reside, but clearly lots of people do it so what do i know.  as far as the "next" location i vote the west coast but more the Oregon Washington areas rather than Calf.  i work in downtown Seattle and can tell you the growth there is huge and that has driven up rents.  however, the city hasn't done a good job with keeping the city clean (too much crime and homelessness).  Rent control will make it there and "inspections" by city "experts" and the associated fees are already in place.  outlying areas are interesting but to find deals is another matter.  Lots of uninitiated investors coming into the market and cap rates are getting too low (IMHO).  look at more affordable/better priced locations that allow easy commuting into Seattle.  

had something similar, 2nd floor tenant caused flood to 1st floor but lied to me about it…fire department report says otherwise.  have a lawyer deal with it.  if they have a job, you can garnish wages.

not sure i would go the insurance route as each claim (big or small) brings you closer to having to find another insurance provider which means higher rates.  save insurance for the  really big stuff. 

working on our first eviction and it is not pleasant….i am struggling to understand how some people (tenants) think that they can stay despite receiving 20 day-non-renewal notices, etc.  

anyway, i wonder how many of you have had to do an eviction and for those that have done multiple evictions, can  you please share how you deal with it emotionally/mentally?

thank you!

i am so tired for the gutters clogging so i am looking to install gutter guards.  Anyone have advice on which ones actually work?

Rick. 

Thank you. To be clear, the block property status setting stops payments for ALL tenants at a property?

 How does erentpayment handle partial payments?  Can we set it up such that we have to accept/approve payments?  

We are trying to avoid automatic acceptance of payments (either full or partial) from tenants we are trying to evict because some courts will stop the eviction process if any payment is accepted.

all,

thank you for your time...what happens to our legal risk exposure if we payoff one of the rentals. this rental is in our LLC along with another property. if we pay off rental A and it is in the same LLC as rental B, does rental A become subject to legal risk if we get sued from rental B?

curious how many of you have starting billing tenants (either direction, installing separte water meters or sub-metering) for water.  given the worsening drought in the west it seems that the water bill is becoming a larger proportion of the monthly expenses and i thought billing the tenants for their use might encourage conservation and limit the need to increase rents.  your thoughts?