All Forum Posts by: Richard Weinberg

@Kiara Crespo

I can give you the shortest answer and tell you that David’s advice to go through an attorney before you finalize the sale of a foreclosure is 100% correct. I can also tell you why because most of the homes in my portfolio were in fact bought out of foreclosure they may not of been labeled Foreclosure they may have been from Auction.com they may have been from Xome they may have been from home path but they were a for closure of one type or another. And what you learned in foreclosure is you need to make sure the for closure is complete and all of the other liens liabilities and obligations from thePrevious owner and/or financial institutions are completely discharged and that you’re able to get clear title of some type. You are already buying a property in as is condition out of foreclosure and sometimes that means neglected and sometimes that means very neglected but the last thing you want to worry about is hearing there is some open lien or liability or claim against the property and that’s what the attorney needs to do for you. That’s why the advice you got from David is completely correct just make sure you are closing only with an attorney and only with your attorney not somebody else’s somebody with the responsibility to protect you. Good luck!

@Jason D. If you have just the one property and that market is 1000 miles away then I would agree you should hire a property manager.

Most of my properties are a similar distance away and I self manage. The way I find tenants is by making sure the property is spiffy, listing it on Zillow and other websites, putting a lock box on the door and then making sure I am screening the tenants before I let them go into the house. I get identification before I give them the lock code so I know who is going into the house. In my case I have more than one house in the area and so my efforts to commute in and out of the area can be scaled against different houses and staying active in the community. But if I had one house and I have a market where I have one house, I would get a property manager and be done with it. One last thought www.rently.com has a lock box digital program and screening tool you might want to consider if you want to do it your self. Good luck!

@Michael Bowser

I am sure Cozy is fine for payments and they are a great additional advertising platform.......but payments comes well after advertising, screening and great state by state contracts.

They are not perfect but ezlandlord is really quite good. I am a modest size buy, rent and hold landlord with a small but meaningful portfolio and here’s what I do...

Before you market your house, freshen up and get a lot of pics..

Setup a profile for all your properties and make it as complete as you can on Zillow... it will remember your content for the next time your remarketing that property. (Believe me the year or two goes by quick.) Zillow will syndicate it to trulia, hotpads and a few others, quickly. You can copy a lot of the pics and descriptions into Cozy.

Screen applicants well, very well before taking apps or showing the property...

But always,,,, always run a full application.....credit, criminal, eviction... always... before offering to rent your property to a prospective tenant. Don’t take shortcuts here. You only hurting yourself.

I can say yes to tenants with past payment issues, modest credit issues, light criminal issues and make reasonable accommodations once I know what I am dealing with and I can end up with a great and appreciative tenant and protect myself if it goes sideways.

Several companies now offer applications, contracts that are state specific and integrated. The tenant will pick up on your professional handling and will both respect your process and act accordingly. They know not to mislead you as your doing your homework.

I set up a separate account for each house and require tenants to make electronic payments or if they choose they can drop it off at the bank. One tenant with a mixed payment track record elsewhere, asked about Cozy, because it assured they paid on time elsewhere. It can work. That tenant has never been late with me.

These are important but basic steps. There are other good options but these are some that will work.

Good luck.

@Eric Geers

I am not a CPA but I do out of state investing and I know Irvine and Fort Wayne pretty well. They are worlds apart. I would assure I was hands on on Fort Wayne or pass. My CPA is in Chicago... where I used to live almost 40 years ago.

i suspect the learning curve in Indiana is heavier on the landlord than he CPA. Local laws, ordinances and leases.

Good luck!

@Marty Summers

Unlikely that will make sense. Try to use it as collateral and borrow against it.

Good luck.

@Jason Ines

There’s some great info on YouTube. Try advanta on YouTube.

I thought a lot about doing it and I will share why I passed. I think the profit and joy of buy and hold real estate is being a hands on owner and property manager. I have learned to be efficient, profitable and wiser, hands on.

I don’t want to be told I can’t deploy sweat equity or I need to be careful and set up my retirement account in such a manner that I can’t use other people’s money without complications or recourse.

The turn key rental providers are actively pushing the ira narrative, but it does not appear to be the panacea to me. Plus, its tax season. Think about all the depreciation, and tax abatement benefits you get from using after tax dollars.

Check it out fully before using your ira funds for buy and hold real estate.

Good luck.

@Tony Anuez

When I was a newbie landlord I was overly tolerant and ended up having to evict the same tenant twice. I lost the first case when the tenant lied to the magistrate and the second time I won the case and judgement... but in truth... I still lost.

The tenant did tremendous damage to a brand new home. I have a judgement worth a few thousand I will never collect on.

But I learned this is a business and must be run like a business and that means super levels of customer service served up with a total intolerance for serious lease violations ecspecially non payment of rent, creating a neighborhood disturbance, etc....

Don’t misunderstand, I want the tenants to enjoy the home and if that means a little extra wear and tear from kids, a garden in the yard, some extra painting when the tenant departs, my efforts to send repair teams same day or quickly for service at my expense, that’s fine... but the lease terms and conditions for payment and local and state law compliance are the lease terms and conditions and they should be adhered to consistently, by all parties.

The tenant that does not want to pay leaves you no option for damage relief....don’t even think about it.

Best of luck.

@Derek Morrison

We include all appliances and think it allows our well cared for homes to shine and presents a rental advantage. Also shows we care about our tenants customer experience.

Two additional learnings... a few years back I allowed a tenant to move a washer and the floor got damaged. My learning and at my expense...don’t ask or allow tenants to do major things even if they offer. Second learning... we are getting lease extensions and rent bumps without apprehension from the tenants. I think it’s all about a great customer experience.

@Heidi if this is as you mentioned your first deal you definitely shouldn’t walk you should run. I have done eight deals I’m working on my ninth and I have not jumped into that deep of a rehab... if I did I would make sure all of my numbers worked and expect the kind of things you mentioned. I would mention that you thought somebody might follow you and offer $100,000 less....

If I were you, I would take a moment and reflect on whether you were taking on the wrong price point in the marketplace for your first deal. The hottest housing market out there right now are entry-level homes and in many markets those homes are at or below $100,000 plus or minus. Not sure what price point you were at but perhaps it was higher than you should’ve been looking at for your first deal.

Good luck!

@Nicholas Olson

I am a modest size single-family residential investor but I have learned that when there are domestic issues between tenants and/or domestic issues between tenants and neighbors it becomes a lose lose for the landlord.

I succeeded when I had my issues by having a very hard line about... if there is an issue with legal infractions, please call the police

if there is an issue with parking please notify the HOA.

I would encourage you to be apprehensive about personally engaging with these folks too much because then they will both turn on you as if you caused or allowed some issue. Lastly if they are both on month-to-month I would recommend that you notify them both that their leases will not auto renew and that you would gladly renegotiate a new lease for them, a new lease monthly rate, inspect your property do some nice modest but inexpensive upgrades and when you give them the new lease, you can add the language you need to minimize and address these issues and add value for your self.

I use EZ Landlords for my leases and that language is automatic.

I won’t tell you my own long story but I will tell you that in the incident I handled it did ultimately lead to eviction and $5000 in expenses between damage and repairs that I did not see till the tenant was out and weeks without rental fees.

In essence my suggestions take a hard line, get new leases with the right language or get new tenants or ‘E’ all of the above.

good luck