All Forum Posts by: Nick Buonanno

@Matt Lincoln Hey Matt, I ended up going with Epic after talking to my realtor. Haven't had a bad experience with them, but like Jason said there fees tend to be on the higher side to do work.

@Amber Forkey Thats great advice, I didn't think of that! I'll try that first.

There is a property that I'm interested in near where I live, it's not for sale nor do I know the owners. The property is vacant and looks that its been vacant for awhile. I was thinking of writing a letter to the owners to see if they would be interested in entertaining an offer. I've never done this before, and don't know what to say. Do I just write letter saying who I am and ask if they would entertain an offer? Is it that easy? I assume I wouldn't include my offer in the letter, but hope for correspondence back to then discuss my offer? Any insight on this type of strategy would be greatly appreciated!

@Jason Carter Great, thanks for the info! Was there any other reasons with Epic that you looked elsewhere? I will check out NHL.

I'm getting into the Detroit Metro market and currently have one single family under contract in Warren. I need a property manager for this property, and I'm  currently looking at both North Bloomfield Properties and Epic Property Management. Does anyone have experience working with either one or have any other recommendations? 

@Karac Davis I do think that is enough, especially if this is your first rental. I think if you were to buy more rentals at a later date, you should re-evaluate. I'm not an attorney but that is my advice. Way too many people (including myself) get caught up thinking they need an LLC on their first property when in 99% of the cases they don't.

@Karac Davis Depending on the type of rental it will be (STR vs LTR) you should look at either short term rental insurance or landlord insurance. A standard homeowners policy actually doesn't cover rental properties. Typically these rental insurance policies will have some liability coverage built in, the one I just got had 500k. Then you could get an umbrella policy to go above and beyond that.

Depending on how many you're looking to buy, I'd make a list of markets you're interested in and find a realtor in each market.

Everyone has different opinions on the LLC question. My take on it is that one LLC and an umbrella insurance policy should offer all the protection you need. As far as your second question goes, that really comes down to what you're comfortable with. If it were me, I would look for a separate property, preferably a duplex, to house hack.

The more cash you can keep in your pocket the better. If you can afford the extra $200 a month, put the 10% down and use the money you save for another deal.