All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Never approximate. Numbers should be based on actual comps. Use craigslist to see what rent is advertised for in the same area. Once you find a few comparable properties, monitor those listings to get a feel for how long it took to rent out. 

If your comps include a few properties and the values are consistent one to another, you can safely take those values to be market value.

Hi Mark, there are a number of things you could do:

- You could finance the purchase through a bank, with between 20 to 30% down, depending on many factors like your income and credit score. You could also take out a loan for renovations, but I would check what banks do that.

- You could ask your grandfather for owner financing and that is preferable because regardless of your financial situation you could get a loan for buying the house + cost of building a house/renovating. Also you could work out a payment plan with him so you don't break the bank on day 1. As you may know, when you buy a property through financing with a bank, you've got mortgage payments to pay starting month 1, even though you have not yet sold the house. Add to that real estate taxes. So there is a holding cost while you do flip to the property that are not negligible if your cash reserves are low.

I am sure other members will give you other options as well, but yes, it is feasible.

The first thing specialized lawyers look for before advising their client to sue is the net worth of the person they're suing. If it's worth it, they'll go after some or all of it, depending on the case. They generally do not go for more because if you don't have it, well you just can't pay it, or maybe you could give them 10 bucks a month until you die. Now keep in mind you can get sued for a major issue  unrelated to your rental properties: Say you're playing golf and you pull off a 400 yard drive, the ball lands on this guy's head who's brother in law is a lawyer who's job is to wait for cases just like this one, well you're in for a ride. They'll pull off your records, find out that your net worth makes you a good candidate to be milked out of some easily accessible cash. You're an even ether candidate because if you're not insured, you could even settle out of court since you could pull cash out and payoff that poor guy with the broken head and his caring brother in law.

I recommend having an umbrella policy that regardless of the amount covered by your real estate properties', covers you for at least the amount of your net worth. Prices are relatively cheap and they provide peace of mind. Also, you could then go all out trying to improve on that drive at the golf course.

A 70-100 dollar per hour fee for labor + costs of parts is fair I think. Check with the laws in effect in your state though. Give a details statement of the work and time that it has taken to repair the damage and include photos. The statement needs to look professional and "official". Also always wait until the tenant is out before you do any of that and send his safety deposit minus the fee along with the statement  to him by certified mail with delivery confirmation to his new address. No verbal exchange is necessary and it should be avoided in my opinion because it can generate arguments and conflict. In most cases, when the tenant receives his check for what remains of his safety deposit along with a statement explaining in detail where that money went and pictures of the damage he caused,  it is left at that.

Great advice about entering a shut off date @Colleen F. , I'll see if I can get that done in MA. Thanks all for the input.

Great thread. This is how I see it:

Buy cash: More negotiating power when purchasing, fastest way to find and buy a "deal". Immediate substantial cash-flow, which can be relatively quickly reinvested as downpayment for another property. Possibility to refi if more cash is needed down the line.

Finance: Higher cash on cash return when done right, much lower cash-flow at the beginning.

For me it came down to this important question in choosing to buy cash or through financing:

Do I want a higher return on my cash invested regardless of cash-flow or is having a more substantial monthly cash-flow more important than my return on cash invested?

The answer ultimately lies in your short and long term investing strategy and your current financial needs.

I would attend RE networking events in your area and just connect with investor and talk about your deal and what you want done with it. This is the best way to target investors who  can act fast, or in this case buy cash.

Also post your deal on bigger pockets, where you would be targeting out of state investors as well.

Wanted to update this thread with the latest happenings regarding this situation:

I had the new tenant call NGRID to ask for a new account, as their lease started Sep 1st. As it turns out they were successful in doing so but there was still no gas coming through the stove. I checked the meter in the basement of the building (it's a condo) and it looked like a valve was closed. Called NGRID and explained the situation, after which they sent out a service team to resolve the situation. Problem solved.

The turnover is relatively high in the area I am invested in (college areas) and NGRID must be familiar with such issues. Although I always ask the new tenant to switch utilities to their own name, as required in the lease, it's always good to check it has been done.

Of course the tenant can always opt out and discontinue service during the lease without me knowing about it, and there is no way I would be verifying that throughout the year, but wouldn't  continued usage of the utility ultimately be the utility company's responsibility? Utilities should be shut off as soon as account is not active anymore and should not be billed by default to the unit owner after the fact.

Hello @Corneal Allen and welcome to BP. I'm in the same area and I look forward to networking with you in the future.

Hello @Josh Kabage , you'll find a wealth of info on BP.  Make sure you setup and use your keywords alerts. 

I'm always looking to connect with like minded investors. I'm in the Boston area and always looking for properties to buy as well. Good hunting!