All Forum Posts by: Sylvia B.

Can't help you there. I don't flip, and I don't buy townhouses.

As a buyer, you don't pay commission, the seller does. When the seller listed the house, he agreed to a certain commission, commonly 6%, though this varies around the country. If the listing agent sells the house he gets the whole commission. If another agent sells the house he and the listing agent split the commission, usually equally. At closing, the commission is subtracted from the money the seller receives. 

First you need to decide what quality of tenants you want to market to, then improve the home to appeal to those people. Some people specialize in renting to what might be called a rough crowd. Their houses are going to look very different from those owned by landlords who rent mainly to high income professionals.

You also need to evaluate your market. What amenities do other rentals in your area have? Don't over-improve for your market. In some areas adding a dishwasher would be over-improvement, while in others renters expect granite counter tops.

Some other things to consider: How fast do you need that property to start putting money in your pocket? Do you have the cash for improvements, or will you finance them? By dated, do you mean it needs new paint & carpet, or are the bathrooms pink/baby blue and the kitchen cabinets falling apart?

There are a lot of issues to consider, but these will start you in the right direction.

Just found something else that bugs me even more. I hit the "Load More" button 4 or 5 times before I found something I wanted to read, read the post, then hit the back button. It did not go back to where I was, but instead went to the bottom of the first page (before Load More). Terrible user experience! First, allow the page to load 50 (or at least 20) threads at a time. Then, realize that "back" means back one step, not back to the beginning!

This new format is horrible. The functions/features that I liked the best are now either gone or hidden so well that I can't find them. 

Posts in chronological order - Many times this just makes the thread make more sense. I can read through from beginning to end and see how the thread changes over time. For threads that I follow, I can jump right to the last place I was reading and continue on. Some threads have hundreds of posts and go on for years. I like that.

Quote function - I want to know what post a person is answering/commenting on, but I don't like a thread that branches like a tree.

Favorites - I had quite a few threads marked as favorites and it was very easy to go back and find one anytime I wanted. Can't seem to do that now.

There are other things I dislike, but I'll leave it at that for now.

My experience as a renter: We live in Missouri, so when we vacation at the beach we want to be on the beach. We would only consider renting a block away if we had no other option, which is highly unlikely. However, we don't do condos. We even try to avoid renting houses near condos, though that has become practically impossible. Pools don't sway us. We don't drive 12 hours to the beach to swim in a pool.

So for me, neither of your options is good. But if I had to choose between them I'd go for the house.

 It's a small bank in southern Missouri, unlikely to have a branch near you. 

If you decide to allow it, be sure to put everything in writing! Include in the list of terms that the shed becomes a permanent part of the rental, and will not be removed when the tenant leaves.

On my scale of trustworthiness, wholesalers fall below used car salesmen and politicians, and only slightly above Charles Ponzi. Does that answer the question?

Properly admitted? What more is necessary than, "You were right and I was wrong"?