All Forum Posts by: Ray Hage

@Fernando Roman Romero if he just unilaterally terminated it, I would really have to think about letting him come back. For the 2+ week vacancy, cleaning, painting, etc, I would definitely charge him for that before you let him back in. Also, if it is legal in your state/county, you need to ask for a higher deposit just to protect yourself in case, he decides to break the lease early a second time.

Would I let him back in? Eh I guess if you think he will be there for a long time due to his medical issues and being close to hospital, it wouldn't be a bad idea.

 Congrats on the increased cashflow and great that you basically have a buyer lined up whenever you are ready to sell!

Well, regardless of experience, people are going to assume younger people are not as qualified, skilled or yes, even experienced (haha, I know it is goofy!). There's not much you can do about others initial perceptions. Just show your experience where needed and the respect will come. Essentially, you're going to have to work a bit harder on the social level vs a guy with the same experience as you but is 40 years old. 

I don't have a preference for age in terms working with other folks but young can be good from an energy, optimism and having enough time to put in the extra hours when needed (usually a younger person is not going to have a spouse, 2-3 kids and a bunch of other responsibilities).

I am down in south Florida....but as an investor and realtor, I would highly advisor having calls with a few realtor-investors in Tampa (sort of like an informal interview) to get to know them. I find most realtors are just working in RE Part time and are not as knowledgeable as they could be due to time constraints. Then, pick the one you're most comfortable with and let us know about your RE wins!

@Gladys Cepeda It is always a tough situation dealing with an unprofessional HOA board. I am both an investor and realtor.... I would generally lean towards selling it and cashing out to reinvest in a better property. There is an excess of inventory right now and I think it will get significantly worse. Another concern is if the tenant moves out, do you think it will be relatively easy to get another tenant? You have to worry about the HOA board controlling this timeline as well.

I am not trying to scare you into selling by the way. If you can keep the current tenant and raise the rent to market level, I think that's not a bad idea either. As you said, you're ok with it not appreciating much more so if the cashflow and tenant are good enough for you, then it why not. 

If you can get the conventional loan, go for it! It will save you a couple thousand dollars in financing costs. No reason to do this hard money loan if you have a lot of time. Save yourself from the HM rate and points plus the cost of refinancing later.

@Ash Hegde What do you think about this? 

Great idea. I also house hack my primary. Do you have a relative that would be willing to co-sign? Maybe you can give them as small % of the equity for them doing you the favor? It is tough for the FHA if you have a very limited history. You may have to go with another type of loan

Congrats! I consider this to be a huge win. You're basically getting paid to live there! I also house hack my primary and the income is more than the PITI! I find this to be an under-utilized strategy.

@Jaden Jung I generally stay away from these things. The reward is certainly not worth the risk. 

I am also a PML and that would be a far better use of your money (still some risk to it, of course). Ideally, you could also be an investor and buy something in a cheaper market and have it managed by a PM. I would generally go with one of these two strategies to put your money to work.