All Forum Posts by: Ramon Purifoy

@Jacob Barnhart 

I posted my review a little while back in another forum so below will be similar to that, but since then I’ve finished my post licensure course as well. Note that my review is for the Georgia course and states may have different regulations. 

I used Real Estate Express and I highly recommend them. Their system was easy to use. You have 6 mos to complete the course at your own pace. Everything was straight forward and I even found a great price on Groupon at the time (deals seem to run regularly).

I've since finished up my post-Licensure course (bought the Competitive Edge package). I received an additional 6 months to complete the post license after I activated it. Completed the whole course while stationed overseas. It was very easy to get the testing center here certified to do my online exam. Even got a response to comment from the instructor within 24 hours on a question I had. I passed both of my tests on the first go. I highly recommend using the practice tests (or the reviewing the end of chapter questions). 

In summary, great school, easy to use system, highly recommended, cost me less than $170 for pre and post-license course. 

+1 for Cozy. I've used it for two years and was able to extend my tenants lease for an additional year very easily.

The only nick I would give it is that I don't think the tenant screening is very robust, but it is adequate. I used it with no problems and the tenant pays for it directly.

I will probably continue to use it until I hit around 8-10 doors and then consider moving to a system like Buildium.

@Ashford Perry Welcome to BiggerPockets.

Thats a lot of information here and it's easy to spend a lot of time "going down the rabbit hole" as there are so many topics to explore. If you haven't already, I recommend getting started with the Podcasts. As it seems you already have some experience you can check out the File Place to see if there is anything to help you with your transition.

You can have more than one property utilizing a VA loan. I can say this, because I previously had 2x properties until just last year. Your eligibility is based on your entitlement, which when all of the math is done, is more than likely around $417,000 in Georgia (may be slightly more by now). If your first house was less than $417k, then you have a bonus entitlement that you can use for a second property.

For example, if your first house was $160,000, then you have $257,000 (417,000 - 160,000 = 257,000) that you can use on a second property and still have a $0 downpayment. If you decide to purchase a 2nd home for $300,000, then you will most likely have to make a downpayment on the difference of $43,000 (300,000 - 257,000 = 43,000) and it would still be a fully backed VA loan.

Here are two resources you can use for accurate information regarding VA Loans: VA Benefits and Vets United

As far as to sell or rent, you should take sometime to run the numbers on your property. Find out the rent you will likely get and subtract not just mortgage, but insurance, interest, taxes (assuming those aren't already included), vacancy, property management, CAPEX, maintenance and any utilities or other miscellaneous expenses. If the math tells you that you will be cash flowing negatively (as it seems it might from what you have described), then it may be the better option to sell.

Also, consider managing from a distance. Are you willing to deal with management issues from Maine or come out of pocket $120/mo to pay a property management company to do it for you? If no, then it is probably best to sell.

Having a rental near an active base can be a good thing, but you don't want to overly stress yourself out and end up hating real estate after your first property. Again, based on the info you provided, if the numbers do not work and you can come close to breaking even, it may be best to sell and start investing locally in Maine.

While Fiverr can be a good resource, be cautious when choosing a designer. When you consider the fact that they may be churning out designs within 24-48 hours, consider the quality. If you are looking for a highly creative and custom piece, be careful as many people use clip art for generic designs that may have been used in many of their previous designs and are really a copy and paste job.

If you do use Fiverr, it would be best to find a designer that has been recommended by someone you trust.

As far as 99Designs, Biggerpockets has use them in the past. While it is more expensive, you are more likely to get a better quality product.

See here and here

Below is an old link from a few years ago that may still work for a discount.

https://99designs.com/biggerpockets

I used Real Estate Express. I highly recommend them. Their system was easy to use. You have 6 mos to complete the course at your own pace. Everything was straight forward and I even found a great price on Groupon at the time (deals seem to run regularly). 

I'm finishing up my post-Licensure course (bought the Competitive Edge package) now. I'm stationed overseas and it was very easy to get the testing center here certified to do my online exam. Even got a response to comment from the instructor within 24 hours on a question I had. 

In summary, great school, easy to use system, highly recommended, cost me less than $170 for pre and post-license course. 

@Tim Swierczek

That makes sense. I will consider that when I revise my lease.

As a follow up, I went with option #3. They paid immediately and all is well for now. Thanks everyone for the input as it got me thinking about something I had not considered. I will most likely revise future leases.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

To clarify, we use electronic payment through Cozy.co. Similarly to @Max T. we only consider payment complete when the full amount has been paid. Cozy allows multiple tenants to pay whichever portion they choose and it is normally not an issue.

The original idea behind the high late fee was to strongly discourage late rent. I can definitely see how not enforcing it would be counter intuitive.

Your comments spurred me to review Georgia's tenant handbook and there is no specific guidance about the amount of late fee. It just states:

"If the lease does not allow for a late fee, the landlord is not allowed to impose such a fee. The amount of the late fee will be the amount agreed upon by the landlord and tenant in the lease itself."

Fortunately, our fee is explicitly spelled out in the lease.

I am still considering the best course of action, but I really do appreciate everyone's input.

I have a rental where we have tenants who have paid on time for the last year. We use a rent system that is due on the first and late on the 5th method. We have student tenants who choose internally to split payment. Half was paid on time but the other half was not. When I contacted them on the 10th, they immediately paid the remainder and apologized, but were concerned about the late fee. It is in the lease that a late fee of $300 is assessed after the 5th. I was curious if anyone had opinions on leniency since they are typically good tenants. My considerations:

1. Pay the whole late fee immediately. No remorse.

2. I can't remove the late fee, but I can give them until the next rent payment to pay it in full.

3. Reduce the late fee to $100 as a one-time good faith reduction.

4. Remove the late fee as a one-time forgiveness.

I am leaning towards option 3 as they have been good renters overall, but I've read and listened enough to know that I do not want to compromise my lease/future payments. People usually bring up other real world examples and I have personally had late fees removed when I had just forgotten about a payment or something did not go through (granted those were usually $10-25).

What would you choose?

Awesome. Glad you didn't let your age or any other objection hold you back.