All Forum Posts by: Nathan A. Johnson

@Karen Margrave, This is a great list. I'm actually taking the classes to get my license in Ohio, and my teacher was talking about the topic of safety.

He suggested to not only ask the new client to come into the office first, but also to register them with your company. I.e. Name, number, drivers license, etc... Most people in today's world expect to have their identity verified when trying to buy property and other large ticket items. 

Also, he suggested having a set code word with your broker's office. The example he gave was "Red File". So you can call your office in a perfectly calm tone, if something is wrong, and say "I'm at the 123 Main street property, can get the red file for me please?" The broker then knows that you are in trouble, and will call the police. 

I'm actually able to make it tonight. It'll be nice to finally meet people who invest in the area. See you guys there!

I am actually a paint chemist and can lend you some insight into this. Typically, the higher the gloss, the easier it can be to clean, but a lower sheen can be more durable. It's all about balance. A satin or eggshell finish usually gives the best of both worlds. With paints, you actually get what you pay for. If you want a good hide and easy cleaning, with lasting durability, you are going to pay more, because the quality of the materials used to make the paint can vary. If you want to save some money, I would recommend skipping the primer, and just getting a self priming white base paint, these will have a high titanium dioxide quantity in the can, comparable to what's in a primer. Why pay for two different types of paint when you only need one. Priming is typically only necessary if you are using a clear base with a deep hue color, these don't provide good hide, so a primed surface is important. Also, if you want to save money, and you plan on buying a decent amount of paint, you can get discounts for being a "contractor" and setting up an account with a store. I know HomeDepot does this, and so do Sherwin-Williams stores. As for which is better, that will be up to trial and error. A lot of the paint around a similar price point is going to perform about the same, since all the different companies are competing for the same business. However, if the paint is less expensive, you are probably getting that discount from a lower quality material they used in the formula. A good quality paint, like around $50 a gallon, will last a long time on walls. Maybe ten plus years with no issues. But if you are planning to repaint year after year on a rental, then a lower grade contractors paint is perfect, and might be $20 a gallon or less. But it won't last more than a year or two, so that adds up over time. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will happily answer them.

While I haven't done my first deal yet, I would say that the value I have gained from bigger pockets cannot be measured in dollars. The wealth of information for new investors is insurmountable. Thank you @Bigger Pockets for all you have done!

James Edmister As an inspiring investor myself, I can only give you advise on your personal finance situation. I would have to agree with most of the other commenters. If I were you, I would focus on paying down your debt and increasing your current monthly income. I would start by paying off your credit card debt. If you have 20% or more for a down payment on a rental property, then you have enough to pay that card off right now. Credit cards charge somewhere around 15-25% in interest every month. You are throwing away money every month by not paying that off ASAP. As for your student debt, there are a couple of options out there, but I think you should change your payment plan over to a graduated repayment plan, or an income based plan. With the graduated plan the monthly payment starts small and increases every year, but these options could help reduce the amount you owe per month right now, opening up some more cash each month for investing. Also, paying off student loans early typically incurs a penalty. Have you read the fine print to know how much that might be? If there is a penalty, it might not be worth taking a HELOC out to pay your loans. Some loans also offer a 0.25% decrease in your interest rate if you set up automatic payments, which can add up to thousands of dollars saved over the ten year repayment plan. As for getting started in real estate, have you considered a Live-in-flip? I know you said your wife doesn't want to move every year, but if you fix up your house, and live in it for two years, then you don't have to pay capital gains tax on the profit you make. You could then take that money and either pay down debt, or roll it over into a 1031 exchange on your next property or possibly two properties? I'm not too sure on the specifics of the 1031. For some more info on the live-in-flip, listen to episode 129 of the BP Podcast with Mindy Jensen. She also talks about the importance of frugality and that could help out as well. If you are able to get a loan, and you've lived in your current property for one year, I believe you can get another FHA loan and move into another house/multi-unit. If that becomes your new primary residence then you only have to put down the 3.5%, which would leave you some cash reserves if you really have 20% to put down already. You can then use your current property as a rental property to start into investing. Overall, I would focus on decreasing your monthly expenses, and improving your credit, which will allow you to save up cash quickly to start investing and then gain access to financing from a bank as one of your options to entry on a property. I hope some of this is helpful!

Thank you guys for this sound advice. You hear about different deals all the time with rentals, on the podcasts and the forums, but no one ever talks about the security deposits. I think the check for the Security Deposits from the previous landlord/seller sounds like the best option.

Thank you all for the warm welcome. It is good to know my plan is well received. I am sure I will see you all around the forums! 

When buying a rental property you inherit the old tenants that have a valid lease. What happens with that tenants Security Deposit? Does the old landlord transfer the money to you? If so, what would that process be like? Do you have to ask for this during negotiating/closing? Or does the old landlord give the money back to their tenant to give to the new landlord?

Hello Everyone,

I am a newbie Will-Be-Investor, just getting involved in the Cleveland Area. I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself, my name is Nathan A. Johnson, and as time goes on, you will hopefully hear a lot from me. Right now I am just getting educated on the investment subjects of Real Estate, as I just started my current career this past year. My current plan is to start with a duplex house hack this time next year, and move up into other buy and hold multi-families. Has anyone tried this approach in this area? Thank you in advance!