All Forum Posts by: Rob Donovan

I have been doing solely MTM leases for the last few years. The way I look at it, if the tenant doesn't want to stay, a 12 month lease is not going to keep them there, and the cost to take them to court and actually get them to pay after the fact is not worth the effort. I have not had to use this to evict anyone during these crazy times, but in any circumstance, it will be easier to not renew a MTM lease than it would be to try to evict while a long term lease is in effect, especially now.

Hey Dakota, I am in Dubuque. If there is anything I can help you with or if you have any specific questions , let me know. 

Right now I am open to beach or inland, small multis or single families. As long as they cashflow, have a chance of appreciation, and are in a good area, I'm interested.  Dont want to deal with slum type properties. Looking for solid blue collar type property for long term rentals or mid range seasonal rentals as long as there is a good management company I can rely on. Mostly just looking to get started down there so I have an excuse to leave Iowa winter.

Pretty general question, but what location in Florida would be best for investing from out of state? My areas of interest would be Tampa, Ft Meyers, and Orlando. I would be looking to get into SFRs or small multi familys that would "require me" to stop down there once or twice a year to check on them. Ultimately, it would be nice to have some property we could use to vacation in over winter.  Any input would be appreciated.

Marcia, we a have source of income ordinance being proposed in our city right now. I am interested in how things have changed in your experience. Why is the flat $ better than 3x rent? Any other changes that were unexpected?

Hey Matt, I am also from Dubuque. Let me know if I can help you out with anything.

Depending on the condition you might want to bump the CapEx up to 10% or more. Also, what about management fees, lawn care, snow removal? $400 sounds pretty low for rent unless you are in a pretty rough neighborhood. If that is the case, I would bump the vacancy factor and also plan on some non paying tenants and eviction costs at some point. If your numbers are right and the place is in decent shape and in a decent location, it doesn't look too bad. Just make sure you have some reserves especially for your first one.

Something that I have done in the past is asking the newly acquired tenants to sign your lease so you can maintain the same lease throughout all your properties. You can't force them to sign a new lease if they don't want to because you are buying the existing lease, but I have not had a problem with them voluntarily signing my lease. I don't change rent from what they are paying until after the lease period they have already agreed to is up, which I am assuming is a big reason why they choose to sign my lease.As long as the new lease is not more restrictive, I don't think you will have a problem.

I am a general contractor that owns rentals. Both companies are in separate LLC's. Who should be doing the repair work to the rentals? Do I pay myself? Should I run everything through the construction LLC? Should I do the work without paying labor costs to the LLC or me personally, and chalk it up to further personal contributions to the LLC, and if so, how should I account for this? Curious on where the tax man stands.

Thanks for the responses. Same thoughts I had. I was planning on estoppels. This will probably be the best way to figure out if they are in jail or not. No signed estoppel, I'm guessing no paying tenant in the unit. I will be checking on the leases too. Hopefully they are month to month. It may make life a little easier unless the person is actually in jail, non paying, and has an apartment full of stuff that will need to be removed. Time will tell. I will update as this plays out.