All Forum Posts by: Laine Furukawa

@Michelle Fenn Aloha Michelle — I know this is an old post, but I’m trying to figure out the best option in reporting a delinquent tenant to all 3 credit bureaus if possible. I’m aware that getting money back is less likely, but I’d like to report them and put it on their record. My properties are in Dayton, OH. Would appreciate any insight you might have discovered since your post. Mahalo, Laine

@Bryan Vukelich thank you! I’ll look into them. Appreciate your help 🤙

Howzit Hawaii BP’ers — I’m hoping to get some reliable and trusted contractor recommendations on the island of Oahu, HI for the following:

1. Foundation Repair (Property is on a incline and needs to be jacked).

2. Roofing (replace 2 roofs, 1 back cottage 700-800 sq ft and front house 1500 sq ft).

3. Plumbing (replace old galvanized piping)

I have some contacts for plumbing and roofing, but the foundation I have no clue. I’ve always appreciated the feedback from the forum and would appreciate any help with this.

Mahalo,

Laine 🤙

@Erin O'Connor Smith what do you use instead for screening? I also thought that $40 was a little steep to ask applicants to pay.

@Stewart Morrison Having the same issues. Lost applicants because of the delay and lack of communication. Thinking of switching to TU smartmove for screening moving forward, but they are pretty expensive $41.99 if making applicants pay. Did you end up finding another screening company? If so, who did you go with? I’m done with Naborly.

@Paul K. Thanks for this. I just recently found out that the screening wasn’t free anymore and saw that they still were claiming “free tenant screening” in the App Store. I find it a bit unprofessional not to let your users know ahead of time of such changes as well as continuing to falsely claim “free”.

Did you receive any email or announcement?

The change isn’t a deal-breaker for me as most platforms charge for background checks. Their support is pretty on it and probably the main reason I’m willing to continue using the app. The app itself can be buggy at times and the interface does have a learning curve with so many options especially for new users.

Overall, the app itself is free (as of now) and hopefully they will announce ahead of time if that ever changes, but taking that into account as well as all the features it provides and the responsive support — Tellus is a good option if looking to streamline how you communicate with tenants and manage your properties 🤙🏽

Seeing 3.6 - 3.9% for 30 year fix. Current homes in Dayton, Ohio (Kettering, Centerville, Montgomery) @ 4.25%. Would now be a good time to refi? Would it make a difference in lowering my monthly and raising cash flow? Any credit union recommendations for refi? I asked a few months before this drop and the consensus at the time was it wouldn’t make much difference. I know Ohio is not much of an appreciation market. Would like to know what other Dayton Ohio investors think or are doing.

Hi BP!

I'm asking more for a friend who will be "inheriting" his grandparents property (or in this case more debt).  I say this because he cannot sell the property which also is in need of repair and he has to pay out his siblings (brother and sister).  Not really inheriting if you ask me.  My initial thought was to have him arrange a way to just deal directly with his siblings in terms of payment.  I was thinking rather than take out a loan that would require 20% down just to pay his siblings a lump sum -- maybe fix up the bare minimum, rent it out and arrange a monthly pay out figure to his siblings that could still allow for him to cash flow.  He would essentially make his payments to the siblings his mortgage (interest free) and rent it out at a figure to take care of insurance, taxes and possibly even cash flow depending on the numbers.  Of course, there's always the option to pay off the siblings at a higher rate and just break even having the house pay itself off.

The other side to this story is that he's currently paying a mortgage for a townhome he bought maybe 3 years ago. So, his initial thought was sell the townhome and use the money to pay the down on the loan as well as his siblings for the inherited house and use the the rest for repairs. My thought is that if he sells his townhome he'll get taxed and why not find a way to keep both properties? This is an exclusive opportunity that only he can have through family and I believe he needs to leverage that. Of course, there's a lot of variables and what if's in this scenario as siblings may want the lump sum, etc. The inherited house also needs repairs done and I was thinking either refinance his current townhome if it makes sense or maybe even pull a HELOC on the townhome to use funds for repairs. I know there are downsides to HELOC's (variable interest rates) and would just add another payment that would take out of your rental income, but if he's got no income for even the repairs to get the house in rental shape then this could be an option.

Any strategies, creative financing ideas, or advice on how to turn this opportunity into a potential positive investment would be appreciated.  The guy is like a brother to me and he's a great father, husband, son and friend.  I truly want the best for him and his family.  Thank you + much Aloha in advance!

Laine

@Don Roberts

Aloha Don — I’d be interested in joining and familiar with Restaurant 604 (great sunset view). Pls keep me updated if any changes / cancellations happen. Mahalo 🤙🏽

@Gary A deblaquiere

Hi Gary — I’d be interested in any Dayton homes especially in the Kettering area if selling. Do you have management set up in Ohio already? Thanks for your time.

Aloha,

Laine 🤙🏽