All Forum Posts by: Ralph Justiz

Welcome aboard! GO Pokes!

Everything is negotiable. Figure out a purchase price that makes sense and then adjust the down payment amount, the interest rate, and length of the loan. My wife and I purchased a duplex last year and did so using owner finance. We offered the seller 3 different options to choose from, we adjusted all three variables listed above so that each offer was different enough for the seller but we were still comfortable if they accepted. The seller choose the offer that benefited them the most and we were happy to get a cash flowing property. Win-Win.

From personal experience I'd say it depends on the tenants currently living in the property. I used to advertise as soon as I knew the current tenants were going to move out. Issues always arose when trying to show the property to prospective tenants because the current tenants still lived in the property. I would need to give a 24hr notice to the current tenants for each showing. Sometimes the tenants didn't feel comfortable if we walked through their house without them being there. Some houses were just plain dirty and messy during showings. It became a huge pain. Peoples schedules never lined up and no shows were very frustrating for everyone involved. So now I just wait until everyone moves out and I can clean the property. 

You should always check out the major systems in the property i.e. the roof, the A/C, the water heater, the foundation, etc.. Really anything that you feel is too expensive to fix is probably a red flag. 

I've found that properties in the middle of a rehab do not show well with prospective tenants. I've had people not apply for a rental because they where spectacle that carpets would take more then a day to install in the bedrooms of a 1500 sqft house. What seems like a quick and easy job to you or me might seem huge and daunting to people that are not familiar with fixing property. Personally I'd wait until your 95% done before showing anyone the house but that's just my two cents.

@Robert Shoffner Roger that. I have no experience in that area. Hopefully you'll find someone who can help!

@Nick Liddell I am not an attorney. Anything I say is not legal advice, it is only my opinion, and is probably wrong. Consult an attorney for real legal advice. 

But.. you should read your lease! Most of those issues can or cannot be resolved by the wording of your lease. 

Your lease might have a provision in it that defines what an occupant is or isn't. This provision is dependent on state laws.

The lease that I use states that after 14 days concurrent days in our property that person becomes an unauthorized occupant. Unauthorized occupants = lease violation.

If you do have that provision in your lease you can contact your other tenant and notify them after X amount of days they are in violation of their lease by allowing the evicted person to stay in their unit without authorization. 

Scope out the neighborhood where the property is located using Zillow or another website. If your property is in a neighborhood with rents that around $1000 then its usually safe to say your property will rent for about the same. I've found that bedroom/ bath count and square footage will have the most affect on a neighborhoods average rent. Obviously there are exceptions to the norm but that is a good rule of thumb I use when estimating rents.

@Victor S. L&L is $25/ sf installed. I think their sinks are either 100 or 150 per sink. It's been a minute since I used them.

Depends on the situation. Technically sellers are supposed to disclose known defects but if you purchased the property directly from the seller or an investor there is a chance they may no have known the requirements. The seller might have also not known of the repair. You might consult a real estate attorney just to make sure but I believe you only have two years from the time of sale to rectify any issues with a seller disclosure.