All Forum Posts by: Peter M.

@Adrienne Medina hire a structural engineer to evaluate it. Probably cost $3-500 if that will give you piece of mind. Most home inspectors can recommend a few.

@Jerry Davis All of the above options are great and probably easier but another option is have your mom put it in a land trust and name you the beneficiary. This will protect from the due on sale clause if it is a fannie/Freddie loan

@Peter Giokas Put less down and keep the cash as reserves. Even paying 550/mo put of pocket is cheaper than renting but if one tenant moves out you'll need to cover it for at least a couple weeks until you can get a new tenant. Good luck

@Suresh Kannan @Andrew Postell

@Charles Dufour There is nothing wrong with it, everybody's path is different but I recommend self managing at first. You learn so much more by doing and when you do hire a PM, you know what to look for and can notice red flags easier.

@Jessica Silvers Sounds like you should move but obviously there are other factors involved. At minimum I would be looking to see what's out there and what it would cost to move. Depending on your landlord, negotiating leases may be a non starter for them. If you do try to negotiate, be prepared for them to say no. And if you say you will move out, make sure its not a bluff. Read up on some negotiating tactics figure out what your strengths are. You may feel like you have no power in the situation but you do. It's expensive for a landlord to turnover, they may be liable for some of those health hazards you listed. Don't threaten them unless they start to get unreasonable and threaten you.

@Gustavo Gonzalez Personally I build my own excel spreadsheet if I want something like this. Since the PM will be giving you everything you will be able to just plug it in. And doing it this way you know all the formulas and how it works so you can make tweaks if you need to. Kinda along the lines of "you have to really know the material to teach it" this will force you to make sure you understand it.

@Paul Henning Keep it short and sweet. They're professionals and hopefully the act like it. Watch the part in Moneyball about trading someone.

@Ivan Chavez if you really want to go above and beyond: clean out gutters, inspect all appliances (or at least those you provide) ice and vinegar in the disposal, check stove elements and use oven cleaner, run vinegar or bleach through the washer, vinegar or bleach in the dishwasher, clean the dishwasher strainer, check light bulbs in vent hood and change charcoal filter, electrical system check-make sure gfci work with a tester (not the button), check all bulbs, fans, and outlets, plumbing check for leaking toilets, dripping p traps under the sinks, you can also check resistance on electrical water heater elements to make sure they aren't busted. Pick up trash, clean ac condenser coils, check all cabinet pulls for tightness, lubricate door hinges and make sure security devices work properly.

@Sarah Bee It's no big deal for him. He makes his money on loan origination fees. It will hurt you more because you'll be paying closing costs twice