All Forum Posts by: Ralph Poirier

Rates have come down since 2016.  Do a no cost refi (no points).

You need to look at your spending to decide which credit card is best for you.  As an example:  If you travel frequently these travel cards may be right for you.  However, I know way to many people who travel on vacation once maybe twice a year that it makes no sense.  The card companies give 5X points on travel because most people don't travel that often.  Then they give 1X points on other stuff because most people spend a majority of there money on other stuff.  Don't forget to include the annual fee into your calculations.  How much money do you have to spend to get your annual fee back?  Here's my opinion:  I'd rather get 2% on everything than 5% on travel and 1% on everything else.  Do the math.  At the end of each month look at your statement.  How much money do you spend on the special point categories and how much do you spend on the other categories?  I have multiple cards.  I have a Lowes card gives me 5% back on Lowes purchases; BJ's card also gives me 5% on BJ's purchases (if they don't have it at BJ's we don't need it!!).  Finally I have a card with no annual fee and pays 2% cash back!  Winner Winner chicken dinner!

Good luck!

Please search BP.  There is a post from a few months ago where someone wanted a long term AirBnB.  The customer pays the first 30 days and stays for months without paying.  Make sure you understand your local laws regarding what constitutes legal residency. 

I use DocuSign

I just looked at AirBnB  and there isn't a ton in the Rock Hill area.  Rates are around $25-40 per night.  This tells me that there isn't a big demand but I could be wrong.  Rock Hill is a decent ride out of Charlotte and there is a ton of supply in Charlotte.  Think about what your expenses are and divide that by ~$30 to get how many nights a month you will need to rent just to break even from a cashflow perspective.  Do you think that number is possible?  I think about checking AirDNA.  They can show show more about what the rental and vacancy rates are like in that area.  Good luck!  Hope that helps!

Sorry I don't trust them with pictures of my dog never mind financial transaction.  We use Venmo!

I don't think it's the worst problem you could have.  Xfinity has the ability to turn off the service via an app.  See if Frontier has something like that.  I would include the payment with your monthly rent.  Adding more to your security deposit helps but in the end not sure if it's that big of a help.

I agree with Ken.  Here are a couple of my approach:  My houses are immaculate as my promise is I wouldn't put anyones kid in a house I wouldn't put my own in (all three have lived in my houses). Parent co-signer a must; Leases are for one year (in SC we do Aug-jul); Rent to a group and the lease says that if someone leaves (graduates) they are responsible for finding the new rental or I will not renew the lease.  I ask them in February for their lease renewals.  I pay for a house cleaner every twp weeks to clean the common areas.  This helps me get an eye in the house.  The cleaner looks for damage; smoking and anything else she thinks is out of line.  This costs me a bit but the peace of mind is priceless.  Lastly I spend time with them making sure they understand that this is my house.  You take care of my house I'll take care of you.  I do tailgates; send cookies before finals; etc.  So far so good for me!

Good answer.  Sounds like you are not as far behind as you made it out in your question!  Nice job!  You are on the right path.  I've seen people say they start listing the property a little above what they think the high for the area is then (for you thta might be $1800) they slowly bring the rent down depending on the response they get.  The market will tell you what the right number is.  Hope that helps!

I can't speak to your luck but here's how I handle the student rental.  Rent to a group not individuals.  Renting to individuals is to big of a risk of personality issues.  I only rent to a group of four students.  My lease states that if one person leaves they need to fill the room or there lease is terminated.  I also ask the students in early February if they will be renewing the lease which gives me several months to find a new group.  This has worked well for me so far.