All Forum Posts by: Michael J.

@Jeremy Ferguson, that is interesting I am planning on doing something similar with the counties in my area. I am a few notches below an armature coder though. Do you have any suggestions on what type of language to use for something like that where it will pull specific data from a web site? I would love to pull sales prices on houses and figure out a way to use it for comps a little easier than pumping in addresses on the tax record site.

I am building a real estate investing site that will handle the PM face of things, and lead generation for deals to buy and selling my deals. 

You just about have to make up a new word now days to find something that has an available domain name but if there is another company in a different state are you limited to how you can name your company if you operate in a different state. So if there is a XYZ Properties in Texas and I want to name my Company XYZ Properties in Ohio then will there be issues if the other business is not wokring in Ohio?

@Kyle Allen, that is great. Even though it was a pain to get it wrapped up now you can benefit from it for who knows how long!

You could use short term hard money to BRRRR and just refi out with a more traditional loan. You have to be careful of the numbers since hard money can be really expensive over too long of a time period but if you buy it right it will work.

What do you mean by this?

"but that he takes 10% of the rent and future increases (n lease up fees)."

their fee is 10% of the rents and 10% of future increases? Do they get paid the 10% even if the unit is vacant?

After cleaning I cast another vote for Zinnser BIN, it is expensive but it is the best primer for covering smells I have found. It is a shellac based primer and has a strong odor so must use respirator and have ventilation running through the house to be safe.

The bad thing about smoke is it gets in everything, literally. The appliances will stink, the light fixtures will stink when they are turned on and heat up, any residue in the vents will stink the house up. You may want to hire a company or rent a heavy duty ozone machine to run through the house for a few days also. The effect from that can be harmful also so don't go in the unit while a ozone machine is running.

There are pros and cons to both paying off and having a mortgage. I would take the cash flow and save it in order to invest in more properties.

Ultimately my goal is to have nice paid for SFH rentals. I don't mind using leverage to get there but whatever you do don't be over leveraged before a crash in the economy. Since we can't predict a crash its best to plan as if one could happen any year.

If the tenant is responsible for the water bill and you fixed the issues in 24 hours and the issue is in fact due to the flapper then I would not pay or credit anything back to the tenant for the bill and remind them they need to let you know ASAP if there are any problems. Chances are if that was the culprit then it has been draining and refilling constantly so they should have known something was wrong.

Its doubtful that a leaky flapper, unless it was big steady stream leaking, would cause the bill to go from $70 - $400. You may want to investigate and make sure there is not a leak somewhere else or underground. Is the yard soppy or wet when there hasn't been rain? Do any faucets drip? Is there any water on the floor around the hot water heater? Do they have a large number of people living in the unit or have new people moved in? We have three relatives visit us every year and I can see a substantial increase in our water and sewage bill even thought they only stay with use for a week or two due to the extra baths, cooking and toilet use.

Washing cars or neighbors stealing water from a faucet can also be a problem in certain areas.

If you can find a good time to check then check the meter on the street, make sure there is no water running in the unit and that no one will turn on or flush anything at all, let it sit 30 minutes or so and see if the meter goes up which would indicate a leak somewhere.

The tenant may also be able to call the water company and plead their case (Not blaming you) that there was a leak that was out of their control and that they didn't realize it soon enough and see if they will give them a break on the bill, it depends on the water company but I have seen the water companies in my area give a break on the bill for certain circumstances.

J Scott actually makes a great point. There is no way to answer the question you have. It depends on what you want to accomplish and what your goals are. 

Buying rehabbing and selling houses and buying multi units to rent are completely different business models. IMO flipping houses is not investing, it is a business and you pay earned income taxes on it unlike rental income.

 Did you read any specific material or follow someone advice on BP for mail marketing? Do you use a web site for lead generation also?