All Forum Posts by: PJ Muilenburg

@Mary M., no haven't found comps with no garages. Bad time of year to look for rentals comps though. 

I'm analyzing a foreclosure SFR in highly desired neighborhood that has a garage conversion (why oh why do people do that!?). With the garage conversion it's 2500 sqft, and they are pricing it accordingly. I don't feel I can un-covert it due to the value lost in $ per sqft.

It would rent for around $1600, which is quite high end around here. Question: is the no garage a deal breaker for a higher end rental? Or would having a second large living room/flex space overcome that? There are two large sheds on the property so storage wouldn't be an issue, just no indoor car parking. 

Thanks for your feedback BP! 

Zillow just started doing ACH for rent payment, and for free. Not tried it out though personally I currently use 'Place', formerly Rentshare and it's great too. Erentpayment I've used to and has a ton of options if you need that. I've started offering my tenants pay a variety of the peer to peer systems too, which are all free and get instant payment (Google Pay, zeele, Apple pay, venmo)

@Jonathan Bouren. Yep, I think the skill sets required for the two professions can seem pretty far apart week is why maybe most don't consider it.

@Jonathan Bouren. Yep, I think the skill sets required for the two professions can seem pretty far apart quick is maybe why most don't consider it.

@Drew Eldridge I'm a physical therapist full time and have five single family or duplex rentals. I don't know of many other real estate investors around here who are in the medical field so this is an interesting post.

Yeah that does seem really high. I have five similar sized properties (1500-2200sqft) in Tulsa area and they cost $500-600 each per year, with 80% coverage and 1mil liability. State Farm. As mentioned above, I also don't cover for replacement cost; if the place burns down are you really going to rebuild? Likely not but instead sell the lot and move on to another house. In that case you just need to cover the value of the property. Some landlords will cover for only the loan amount but if there was a catastrophic loss, I would at least want to get the payment for the full value of the home....and not loose my investment earnings. Note that if you go below 80% coverage you will get a coinsurnace penalty and any claims, even small, will only be partially covered.

Just shop around like crazy to find the best deal. I like to get 10+ quotes. If the properties are deeded in an LLC then you'll have much fewer choices, unfortunately. But State Farm does cover LLCs with no trouble. Farmers does too.

Good luck! 

Thank you @Roger S....yes. 

I'm done some more digging online and I can't find anything specific for my state but from other discussions, I do believe I can take money from the security deposit and pay myself for my labor. It very well be a gray area in the landlord-tenant laws. 

I do realize I can't claim my personal time/labor for tax purposes/deductions. 

Gotcha. That makes for the normal wear and tear argument and the depreciation schedule is a really good idea. 

My question is can I charge for my personal time cleaning or painting, since I would not be able to produce a receipt like I could if I hired a cleaning company or painter. 

Ok thanks. I am referring to a deep clean where there's significant dirtiness. I just didn't know if I could charge for my personal time, since I'm the landlord.