All Forum Posts by: Rachel Degennaro

 Thank you, I wasnt sure if it was legal or not.

 Sorry you had to go through this as well. Crazy that people can just enter your house, have rights and we get left to pay and deal with it.

I would consider cash for keys but I rather just be done. When I lived closer it was fine, now that I'm across the country it doesn't make sense anymore. But will keep that in mine thank you.

 I haven't yet, she was supposed to message me today when she got her work schedule so we could agree on a date and that's when she started getting rude about it. I'll have to wait till Monday. 

personally I'd like to just sell and be done, I just can't find any info of whether or not it's legal. I called one of those "we buy houses in any condition" numbers and they told me they would buy it but I had to get the squatters out..

I have a townhouse in clairton, Pittsburgh. (I moved to another state) I had a guy with a verbal agreement to live there and fix the place up a little so I could sell it. Well he did not hold up his end of the bargain, so I had him move out. The house was empty. After a few months he must of told his friend that the house was empty (and I was out of state) and gave then the key he stole.

Apparently they've been there for 3 months or so and I was able to get her phone number and was trying to be nice and give her the chance to leave willingly before involving police/court. She said she was going to leave but wants a month to do so. I don't know if I can trust her or if in a month she will change her mind or come up with an excuse to not leave.

police won't remove her for tresspass since she was given a key, even though it was by someone who had no right and wasn't even a tenant at the time.

I have trash and sewer utility bills in my name from them. Although they say they are paying gas and electric. I am not sure if thats true.

At this point I just want to be done with this property. They are trashing the place. Im too far away to deal with this and its getting expensive. 

What is the course of action here? Can I just sell the house (with the squatters) to someone local that feels like dealing with it?

Can I sue them for "unpaid rent" and the ultities? Sewage in this town can be put as a lien. 

Any advice greatly appreciated thank you.

@Thomas Weidner, @Chris Youssi, @Corby Goade, @Thomas S., @Khayyam Latif, @Steve Vaughan, @Anthony Wick, @Rivy S., @Eric Veronica, @Marian Smith, @Michael Simolke, @Matt Ott, thank you every one for your responses, you have given me a lot to think about and a lot of insight, which I truly appreciate. It makes so much more sense to me now.

 I guess my only other question would be: if I were to buy, say 2 - 4 properties a year, would that hurt my credit taking out so many loans and getting hard inquiries? I have a pretty good score somewhere around 780 right now, I have never taken a mortgage out, but I know with credit cards and hard loans it does impact your score a little bit. Not sure if it would be more drastic for a larger loan like a mortgage.

Also, let's say it doesn't impact it that much, but when the day comes and I want to apply for my 4th mortgage of the year, credit still in good standing, stable job and income, taxes paid, other 3 loans are paid on time and everything, would a bank at some point say, "you have too many loans", or do they just keep dishing them out?

@Christopher Phillips, thank you, I think I am actually getting it, I have read a few blogs on it but they all seem directed to an audience that knows more than I do, I needed the simplicity. The money cautious part of my brain reads this and just keeps screaming "but you're wasting money over the life of the loan"

You've definitely given me something to think about, because it's going against my "tv" way of thinking. 

So, I did the housing hack, buy a duplex, live in one, rent the other out, and it's going really well so far, I'm super happy I finally took the plunge.

I got an insane deal on the duplex, although it did need some work, nothing too major. Between savings and a small hard loan (that I just paid off) I was able to buy, free and clear. So now I own, get paid to own and don't owe the bank anything.

I'm ready to buy again, this time I was thinking of a SFH, I have a bit in savings, not enough to buy another house outright, so I will probably go the bank loan route.

My question is, I see a lot of investors talking about putting the least amount of money down and doing the traditional 30 year loan to increase your monthly cash flow and free up cash to do it again, and I get that, because I am trying to collect more than a few houses, my problem with that is, even though you are putting a few extra bucks in your pocket every month, in the long run you are paying considerably more to take out such a long loan vs a 15 year. 

So wouldn't it be smarter to pay it off quicker and for less interest and own it outright then to drag it out for so long and ultimately pay more over the life of the loan, or am I missing a key factor in this?

Sorry if it seems like a dumb question, I am still new and do not know any other real estate investors/landlords personally so I am just trying to find the best route.

I still work full time and plan to until I can afford to quit, also I wouldn't mind making the next property my primary residence if it got me a better rate and I can then rent my current house out..

 Thank is for this advice! I had never heard of it, (an obvious newbie here) I am looking into it now. It's just crazy to me someone can put you through the motions and not show up at closing (I did my final walkthrough the night before and he said he'd see me tomorrow) I just want some form of justice, however small it is, this is just so wrong.

 I am putting a link to the page that Keller Williams sent me, I had to pay it before they would put an offer in for me.

I uploaded it to imgur: 

http://i.imgur.com/k1sZj2A.jpg

I agree that it may be a blessing in disguise, but right now it just sucks, I had put a lot of side work into it as well, coming up with my own lease and having a lawyer review it for me, ordered and paid for new locks, and just overall dreaming of little things to do to it, especially in my unit, as I was planning to live there for a few years.

I mean I am upset, but it also comes through harsher in text because I'm trying to relay my situation to a screen.

He had evicted her 2 weeks ago, so I wouldn't of had to deal with it.

I liked the potential that was there, I just figured as soon as it was transferred to me, the seller didn't matter anymore, so I tried to ignore what was probably god warning me haha a