All Forum Posts by: Ben Skove

I agree with what Aaron wrote. I also would be concerned about your potential liability, particularly now that you're aware of his background, if he were to commit a crime at one of your properties. I assume he's not bonded?

I'm not a lawyer, and hopefully those with more pertinent experience can chime in.

It definitely varies from area to area, as the program is driven by local PHA, rather than at the national level. Given how rental vouchers are handled differently from HA to HA, this is pretty unsurprising. Mine did 9 HVP last year alone, so the odds are better here. I'll get in touch with them and see what the process looks like, then report back.

I'm curious if anyone has had experience helping line up financing assistance for low-income buyers with HUD's Homeownership Voucher Program? I've no doubt that this has been affected by the current sequestration - given that it appears to come from the same pool as rental vouchers - but for those vouchers that are available it seems to be a way to help buyers qualify.

(I know, same moral hazard as rental vouchers...I'm just curious as to anyone's experience with the program.)

I'm curious about the HUD inspection. They dinged her for no water, but the fact that the house is unfurnished and vacant didn't cause any problems? I'd think, if anything, that's the sort of thing that would get her voucher revoked.

After transferring utilities into my name for a newly purchased SFR, Duke Energy patched me over to another division which gave me a "move-in" package, as well as tried to sell me on letting them activate the cable/phone/etc. I obviously had no need for the upsell, but I was all for the free move-in package as soon as I heard there was a HD coupon involved. I don't know if utilities in other parts of the country are doing this, but I thought it was worth mentioned, especially since the coupons that used to be included in the post office change of address packs appear to be gone.

This is why I like SmartMove. I get a full credit report - not just a thumbs up or down - and don't have to have an in-home inspection (at least as of last year.) This doesn't mean that I don't take my responsibilities seriously, as I keep all information locked up and/or shredded. However, it's one less hoop to jump through.

Karim Shah For some reason this has been a tough summer for property crime...there has really been a spike that I've seen. The police response has been frustrating at times.

Joe Delia Good luck on your sale! I think you're hitting the market at the right time - I haven't seen many multifamilies in good shape that haven't been snapped up quickly.

Periodic small increases are probably your best bet in retaining your tenant while getting closer to market. Here are a couple of other threads on the same topic:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/83593-raising-rent-on-long-time-trouble-free-tenant

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/83593-raising-rent-on-long-time-trouble-free-tenant

Hey Al, great posts - I don't know how I missed them earlier. Unfortunately, NNO snuck up on me this year, as I've been deep in the acquisition of a new property. The neighborhood NNO party is in a park a mile away, but I may try to drum up a last minute get together for people on the block. It won't be much, but hopefully it'll be something that can be built upon next year.

Wendell De Guzman I would say "it depends." There are war zones in South Avondale, but there are also middle class and decent working class areas. There are areas in decline, and areas which are poised for renewal. The point being, you need to know your neighborhoods on a fine-grained level.

That being said, if you're investing from Illinois or New York, then yes, you're probably better off in a different part of town.