All Forum Posts by: Michael Pilarski

Bryan Vince it comes down to what you are willing to accept and what liability i think. She's seeking prior approval to paint based on your approval of color. I would ask if she'e painted before and what supplies she might have or have her do one room and see if its up to standards. You supply the materials (that way if you have to have someone redo or finish you know what you used) reduce the rent the based on what a handyman would charge to paint a room. It really comes down to what you are comfortable doing. I've seen it done many ways. When I was younger I had leased an aprtment with a friend with the same stipulation you have. The landlord sais it was not an issue, we had to pay for paint and do the labor ourselves. The only stipulation (and he added this to our lease agreement) was if the paintjob and/or color we're not good we would have to pay to have it redone to the original conditon at move in. It worked out for him, he got his rooms painted for free and we didn't have to stare at hospital white walls. He liked the color so much that he ended up using it on another of his units when it came vacant. Good luck and Welcome to BP!

Jeanette J. You stated the stay at home mom would not be responsible for any of the rent. Why would you not make all adults signing the lease rsponsible for the total rent? I'm just curious. After reading other threads on here regarding divorces, break ups, etc., why wouldn't you have recourse to protect the payment you receive? What would happen if she's on the lease, but not responsible for full payment and the husband leaves?

Ciera Calhoun All of what Sabrina Laplante, Gordon T. , and James Vermillion has suggested is awesome advice. I would suggest listening to what they have to say. I would add, since you know, what path you want to take in investing, research and learn alll you can about the 50% and 2% rule for rentals. Get with a good real estate agent in your area that is investor friendly and knowwhat type of exit strategy to have if something should go wrong. Since you want to go into rentals, I would suggest calling some of the for rent signs in the area you are looking to invest and talk to the landlords. One of them may be willing to mentor you and at the same time you would be learning your market. Good luck and welcome to BP!

George Gray Thanks for the Info. I love learning things like this. Takes me one step closer to being able to calculate quickly and figure costs. I wonder if anyone else has some shortcuts to share? I know there are some great rehabbers and flippers on here that must have some quick calc. tips.

@J Scott when you're the man (like you are) you can pull that off, but for us poor schlubs trying to be the man, its our best Sunday "gone to meetin' shoes".

Keela ChambersI think we need a little more context regarding meeting new investors. Will you be meeting them at a Real Estate Investors group meeting? If so, casual business attire. I know the group I belong to is very casual and we have people come in suits and tie and others in shorts and t-shirts. Some are agents, attorneys, etc. and some are Rehabbers flippers and property managers. I think you attire would depend on the situation. You can never over dress, but can underdress. If you're not sure you can nevr go wrong by dressing conservatively. I hope this helps.

Dave Meyer The reports are free and yes you do have to pay for the scores, but they generally give a discount at the time you pull your credit info if you purchase your score then. The scores you get are the msot accurate right from the agencies themselves and you can give those to the bank to use. The banks will usually accept those scores if they were pulled with in the last 60 days. Some banks would require another credit score pull if those are under that 60 days. Lokesh W. juste curious as to why your using the myfico site instead of going directly to the reporting agency that has your report? Besides getting your report for free, you can verify all ther info is correct and instantly send in disputes for any inaccurate info.

Adam Y Welcome aboard! It sounds like you'll have a nice downpayment and reserves for whatever you decide. I would recommend what Dave Meyer and Scott Williams start with a mutli-family unit and live in one and rent out the other/s. Going duplex, triplex, or quadplex would be a decision you'd have to make. I say go quadplex. You mentioned always having avoided real estate in the past, so I'm assuming you have a lot to learn. You've definately come to the right place for that. I would suggested learning about the 50% and 2% rule for renting, getting involved with your local Real Estate Investing club and talking with landlords in the club, and you may even want to talk to some landlords by calling some of the for rent signs that are up around the area you would want to have the rental in. Talking to someone already doing it will help out considerably. I would also suggest learning how to create a rock solid lease agreement and consult with a good real estate attorney to help with that (as well as researching that on this site). Ask what you want o know and the experts here will be glad to guide you. Good luck!

Lokesh W. Why not just pull your own credit and scores from the agencies by yourself? You are allowed to pull your credit for free once every twelve months and when you do that each generally offers a discount at the time for pulling the credit score they have for you. I did that recently and all were within 3 points of each other.

Kurt Hedden Do you have an agent you are working with and if so are they investor friendly? If they are, you may want to ask them about a CPA and/or attorney. I second what Ned Carey said about meetups and Real Estate Investor Clubs. I've met a lot of great people at mine and when I'm ready to jump in I have a few agents that are investor friendly willing to help me out. I already have a CPA and attorney. Oddly enough my CPA is my personal CPA too. I was talking to him about my taxes one day and mentioned about getting involved in real estate investing and he mentioned he has a lot of customers that do that for a living that he handles. I asked some other questions and he's now my CPA for the business. I asked him if he knew of any good attorneys and he mentioned one he works with who also does real estate investing and this is how I got my attorney. My wife used to work in the law field in my area and I asked her about this attorney and she said she is very good and didn't even realize she was invovled in investing. Ask around and eventually you'll get some names to contact. Good luck and Welcome to BP!