All Forum Posts by: Brook W.

Hi Everyone. I am a small time (3 units), small city investor. I have mostly rented to people who are somewhat connected to my social network in my small city. There's a certain comfort with local people who are well woven into the fabric of my neighborhood. Also, my tenants, for the past 5 years or so, have all preferred paying rent using the electronic payment system I have set up.

I am renting to a couple relocating from out of town for the first time ever. We have emailed and done a video walkthrough. I told them about the electronic payment system but they want to bring a cashier's check when they arrive in town the day before they move in. 

I've been doing this for quite a while and have seen some ridiculous things but so far I haven't had any big financial problems, besides one tenant (out of about 15!) who was chronically late on rent (but I got the money in the end). 

Would the cashier's check raise a red flag for you? I can see an issue in that I haven't asked them to send the deposit prior to the time they move to town. I looked up cashiers check fraud, and it mostly has to do with goods. The one big issue I could see coming up, is if they move their stuff in and I'm not able to cash the check. It might take months to get them back out.

@Cappy Jones hello and congratulations! I think I am too slow for an auction-- that is awesome! Best of luck to you.

Cincinnati is a good place, and I love to see hometown people investing in our own city. There are a lot of people from the coasts who invest here, and some let their properties sit vacant. If you check the Hamilton County auditor site for some of the blighted buildings in northern OTR, Price Hill, Avondale, you'll see California, NY and FL owners almost down the line. No offense to all you out of town investors but it is nice to see our money staying here.

Hi Tim! Good to know.

We actually bought a SFH since I wrote that profile. Now it's been a year and we're working on our next purchase. The duplex and SFH are fairly central in Cincinnati, just west of the Clifton area. We live in the neighborhood as well.

We're toying with the idea of 4+ units in our next purchase. The duplex/SFH have attracted such good tenants that I'm not sure about moving towards an apartment complex that might have higher turnover. But the numbers are attractive, and can be a decent place to live if well managed, so maybe you can attract decent tenants. Still debating!

I do think that SFH is a good idea-- easier to find tenants who want to stick around and not destroy the place.

Hi @Tim C. Welcome! Miami grad here. Have you considered the student rental market? Not sure what it is like there, but I imagine there will be demand for many decades to come.

@Wayne Brooks that's a good idea... She was considering selling them to get the income. I am only interested in doing buy-and-hold since I have a day job. Sorry, could have specified that intention...

So I'm experienced enough to know that no good deed goes unpunished. I'm trying to figure out if there's a way set up some mutually beneficial agreement with someone who has really helped me in the past.

This person hired me for my first job out of college, has provided some great advice, and gave me glowing reviews that allowed me to step into a better job after working for her. She made arrangements for a real estate deal after that, and that deal has been a great boon in my life.

She has several properties in a neighborhood that I'm already invested in, and am interested in acquiring more rental property there. A year or two ago she suffered from some awful health problems. Since she is a landlord, etc. with no sick time or medical leave, these problems were economically devastating. She's been able keep things afloat for a while, but is now looking to unload all of her property, including a personal residence with units that provide a substantial amount of rent money for her.

I'm interested in acquiring some of these properties, or figuring out some mutually beneficial arrangement that will help her recover. My guess is that she is in her late 50s, so buying all her rental property (especially the one with her residence) at this point in her life is something I can't abide by. I think it could turn into another big crisis down the line. I don't think she would suggest something that would put her in the poorhouse at some point in retirement either.

She would probably have some ideas, but I want to come prepared. Is there some kind of arrangement you can think of that would be mutually beneficial?

Hi Ryan! Welcome.

@Ryan VanPatten -- I agree with @Dave Savage . Unless you are paying utilities and you manage to get your costs down significantly, the benefits of making a building energy efficient are hard to reap. People just don't look for that in a rental property. They will pay higher rent when heat is included, though.

There is one long term benefit to having lower utilities: while people may not be excited about it when they are shopping for an apartment, the good tenants will stay longer. You can have happier and higher-quality tenants. That's a really nice thing in the long run even though it doesn't help cover the front-loaded costs of retrofitting, etc. right away.

If you're early in the process and you have access to funds to make it happen, it could be a very nice up-front investment that will help you for years. But it's so hard to figure out how to make the money work at first.

Hi @Sylvia Nelson ! Welcome-- I find this website to be a great resource.

@Wayne Brooks I just checked in with my broker about options, thanks!

@Xing Zhu thanks for the recommendation!