All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Minge

Big storm came through here the other night. A tree fell and landed on hood of tenant's car and knocked out the windshield. Some other dings on 2 other cars also. Tree was not a dead tree, it was a healthy tree that got uprooted in the storm. These are older cars and tenant only have basic insurance coverage and does not have insurance coverage for damage (there is a technical term for this but cannot thing of it right now).

Who pays to repair the damage to tenant's car?

Tenant's car insurance.
Tenant's renter's insurance.(possibly they don't have)
Landlord's homeowner's policy.
Or something else

Thanks for the advice.

Jennifer

Thanks for the feedback on google voice. I have spent past 1/2 hour reading about option for using a google number or your own number. That is a great option for a beginning investor.

I am looking to also have someone take calls from potential tenants that respond to my internet advertising or yard signs. They give basic information and if want to see then send details to the people that show my property. Plus of course I want current tenants to be able to call in with maintenance requests.

I got a local investor here that referred me to continentalmessage.com. He uses them. i have asked for a quote and waiting to hear back from them.

Thanks everyone for the information.

Jennifer

In our case it was a lender that did very few loans in my state. They had one investor that defaulted on all their properties in my state. We were able to pick up everyone in our area that we wanted and they financed us. To the best of my knowledge we are the only loans they are carrying in this state and they no longer lend in this state. They carry the paper.

Now can we keep topic on track and help me find a call center that will help tack maintenance calls? Thanks everyone.

You can piece the corporate veil if you fail to operate your LLC according to laws. If you lapse at doing this then it can easily be pierced. If you manage your LLC correctly then it can be pierced.

No you do not need to have your LLC before you purchase your first property. I did not. You quit claim deed them into the LLC when the LLC is created.

Keeping everything in your name means that you can have everything you own taken from you if you are sued. That means your house, your car, your savings account and your retirement accounts.

In a an LLC if they get a judmgnet against the LLC then they can only get the company. Not your car, your house, your savings account or your retirement account. You are much better off with an LLC than keeping everything in your own name.

I would say pony up $150 and talk to a good cpa. Better pay that than to lose your own house and car in a lawsuit. That is unless you home and car is worth less than $150 then it that case keep everything in your name since you have nothing to lose.

Jennifer

Do you have the name and number of the call center? That is what I am looking for is a call center that I can talk to to get pricing and what not.

My first purchases were using the traditional 20%down and get mortgage. Quickly realized that money did not grow on trees. Most of my purchases have been subject-to or banks that foreclosed on properties that let me buy and they finance with only $1k down. We have reached the point that we are satisfied with number of properties that we have now and are not actively looking to add any more. Too much to manage ourselves.

Ok, now that I answered your question, now can you find me the name and number of the call center. Even if it is the number you called as a tenant because once I talk to a person they can transfer me over to someone in sales. Thanks

Jennifer

Paul,

Good point. Seems the authors business model reflected the quality of property he purchased and the quality of tenant he rented to. Doesn't mean that transfers just as conveniently to someone that would own a "A" class property renting to "A" class tenants. The best suggestion is to take what others have done successfully and then modify it to your particular setting.

I have had Section 8 tenants that my partner and I have turned their names into verbs to describse something so bad that there is no other word in the dictionary that describes how bad it is. But then on the other hand my first tenant was a Sec8 tenant and she is still with me and she is a dream of a tenant.

Sec8 tenants are not different than any other tenants. There are good ones and there are bad ones. If you have a sec8 tenant where housing authority pays 100% direct deposit on 1st of each month into your bank account, there is nothing better.

We rent to anyone that meets our criteria including section 8 tenants.

Jennifer

I already have someone that posts twice daily to make online sites for vacant units. These posts have the phone number of someone else that takes the calls, shows the properties, signs lease and gets paid when lease is signed. Right now I handle calling tenants to collect rents and maintenance. I want to outsource the maintenance calls to somebody else who will txt me when the calls come in.

When the mortgage is paid off on these properties I am going to live better in retirement than anybody who put a bizillion dollars into a 401k. Problem is I have co workers who seem to be jealous of my success and they complain when I get calls on my cell phone at work. Needless to say the calls are usually less than 2 minutes and do not interfere with my productivity at work.

My partners and friends txt msg me because my co workers "can't hear" the txt msg when phone is on vibrate and I can get lot of calls done that way. If I can outsource maintenance to where I get email (can check email on phone when in bathroom where nobody sees) or txt msg (where nobody hears it) it would make my day job a lot better.

Hope that answers your question.

Jennifer

Hello Everyone,

My number of rental units has increased to the point that I am at 24+. I am thinking of using a call center to handle maintenance requests instead of having tenants call me directly. Anyone got suggestions on reasonably priced call centers that charge based on the calls taken? I am in Georgia and would need a local phone number but call center can be anywhere in the US except India. Thanks for the leads.

Jennifer

Hey Paul,

If you were a tenant and you had to choose between a house that had carpet and a garbage disposal and other items one expects to find in a house or a house without a garbage disposal and concrete floor painted black, which one would you chose? I would think common sense would make you chose the house that violates all the provisions in the landlord bible book. So if you follow the book then you are not getting tenants. Sec8 tenants don't look at these 2 houses and say well technically carpet is not required so I guess I will live in the house that doesn't have it instead of the house that does. They are human beings too that would prefer to live in as nice a place as they can afford and I bet you a zillion bucks they will chose the house with the carpet. That is my answer to your question about whether or not you should provide the bare minimum and nothing more.

Jennifer

I own multi-family properties that are quads. We have 2 security lights attached top right and top left corner of front of building. They have light sensors on them so they come on when it gets dark and goes off when sun is out. The power bill averages $14/mth per building.

I am considering installing solar powered flood lights to replace these 2 lights. Anyone have any suggestion or recommendation on a solar powered security light with light sensor on it that they can recommend. Also if you don't recommend a particular brand please let me know.

My goal is to get rid of the expense of the power bill each month.

Thanks!