All Forum Posts by: Randy Campbell

Title of discussion says it all. What is everyone using to complete tenant criminal background / credit checks?

@Aadejoke Jagunna Not gonna try and give a lot of advice here do to the fact I am still new to the game as well and I do not live in TX. I just recently purchased and rehabbed my first property and one thing I wish I had done prior to buying was looked into setting up an LLC. (Limited liability company) Seems like there is a lot of benefits to doing so. There is also tons of information about the benefits of doing so on YouTube.

@Jesse S. I would do one of two things. Either call your landlord and voice your concerns and see if they would address the issue or simply go to your local hardware store ( Lowe’s or Home Depot) and get a small piece of thin plywood or some other material to place over the hole that would still allow the lines to come through. Shouldn’t be that big of an issue to fix or resolve. As far as just sealing it up where rodents won’t get through you could even use the side of an old plastic tote cut to fit with a little silicon around the edges to close it off. Hope this helps.

@Wayne Holliman good info and thanks for your response. I actually met with a local realtor today that also manages a few properties himself and he gave me a lot of insight on how things work in our area. I think networking is a big key to success.

@Jordan Petty Not recommended! Continue looking until you find one that makes you money. I’ll let others chime in on this as well but just an idea. I had 17,500 cash Found a house through an online auction company from a finance company that had previously bought it on the court house stairs. Went and talked to a local bank. Because the house was in desperate need of repairs I was able to get 100% financing for the house and all closing fees which was $32,000 by handing over my $13,500 as a draw on repairs that would need to be made. It was a two faze construction commercial loan. So before closing on it I had to come up with a list of all repairs and estimated costs $13,500. Based off that list they send out an appraisal company which deemed the property would have been expected to be worth 65,000 after all work was completed. So they deemed that the house would have enough equity that they would loan 100% of the cost of the house. They cut a check to the auction company and I quickly began the rehab process. As expected there was more that needed to be done than what was first expected and I ended up with the full 17,500 invested in the rehab. With that being said though I’ve got right at $50,000 in ( 32,000 mortgage) ( $17,500 cash ) on a property that now appraises for $80,000. Keep in mind I done 95% of the rehab myself over a 4 month period. Oh that brings up another point the loan being a construction loan was interest only for the first six months. Which averaged around $115.00 per month plus insurance which was around $60 a month I do believe. Just fixing to list the property for $675.00 per month. I’m no pro at this and just getting started but in the area I’m in with very low property taxes ($250 yearly) this should leave me with a pretty good ROI the best I have figured. Like I said I’m just getting started as well and would love to hear others comments on if how I got started was wise or not.

So I just spent the last 4 months rehabbing a previously foreclosed home in Central KY. I’ve put a lot of time and money into doing so and have built great equity in this property already. My Question now is this what’s my next move. I have spent months trying to educate myself on the process of managing it myself and looking into the pros and cons of utilizing a property management company. I would really like to manage it myself but the legalities of doing so kinda have me a little scared to be honest. For example if I was able to put everything into the lease agreement that I wanted too it would be 30 pages which I completely understand would detour anyone from wanting to rent from me. I know everyone recommends finding an attorney to review your documents but then how do you know your selecting the right attorney. Really wish I had a local Mentor but unfortunately I live in a small town and it doesn’t seem like there is a lot of people willing to help. The legality of it all kinda has me stumped.