All Forum Posts by: Rob Gribben

I've got a rental in Kansas City, MO.  Tenants just moved out, and there was about $8,500 worth of damage to the property (floors, paint, exterminator, new stove needed).  Not only that, tenants left and were not paying utilities, so gas had been cutoff to the property.  I'm really lucky there were no frozen pipes, and water damage as a result of that.  I'm obviously going to work with the management company and file a claim against the tenants.  I'm dismayed with the condition of the property and the fact that it was allowed to get that bad.  That kind of cost at tenant turnover just kills your profit margin.  What would you do to try to ensure that the PM company is more pro-active in preventing damage to that extent in the future.  I'm not going to disclose the name of the PM company, not here to bash them, but looking for some advice from others who use PM services.  I have 4 rentals, 3 of which i manage myself.  I've never had damage/turnover costs to the extent i have at this property.   

I would establish a process for requesting repairs.  I would raise the rent, and i would also consider hiring a PM to deal with her.  My willingness to part ways with her though would depend upon the quality and quantify of potential tenants.  If it could be easily rented to a quality tenant, then i think i'd raise the rent, and if she decides to leave, fine, you just move on to the next and be done with her.  If the quality tenant pool is low, then i would be willing to put up with a lot more since she does pay on time.  

Def granite or quartz IMO.  Some buyers won't even consider with laminate counters.  I would get some other quotes, you can probably get a better price than HD.  

Kansas City.  I am in MD, and have 3 rentals in Baltimore, and was looking for an area with lower sales price, lower taxes, lower rental fees, and a good balance between rent and property appreciation.  I purchased in Independence, MO in 2015 and have seen good appreciation in the last 3 years, and it's been fully occupied by the same tenant for 3 years now.  So, overall it's worked out very well.   

The bank has to agree to take a loss on the property, and they typically have some minimum sale price that they'll agree to sell and take the loss.  It takes some time, the process can be very slow, but you can potentially get a very good deal.  I purchased a towhnome in Baltimore County that was a short sale about 5 years ago.  I got a very good deal, paid about $70K, and rents for $1225/month right now.  I did have to put a new roof on, but i was expecting that i would have to put $5k to $10k into it to have it rental ready.  The house had been renovated previously, so outside of the roof, all of the repairs needed were cosmetic.  You do have to be patient with short sales, and they may not have utilities working during the inspection if you get one. In many cases the owner has already moved out of the house, and utilities may be turned off if that's the case.  I pushed and the seller finally agreed to have utilties turned back on for the iinspection.  Also, if you plan to finance, some banks may not finance a short sale.  I was able to finance it, but eventually i paid the loan off and refinanced a different property to pay off the balance.  

Hello.  I own 2 in the Eastwood neighborhood of Dundalk.  A fairly stable area, and it looks like there are quite a few investors who have purchased, rehabbed, and listed properties for rent in the last 5 years or so.  I prefer the county side (lower taxes, lower water, better schools) of Eastwood, but I own one in the city and one in the county.  The line runs literally straight through Eastwood.  Rents range from $1,100 to around $1,400 on the high end. 

I am a cost analyst (work for Tecolote Research) working for the Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground in MD.  I am an engineer by degree and about 5 years ago i made a switch to finance.  I've always had an interest in finance, and there is significant demand within the DoD for analysts who can estimate large scale program costs from development, production all the way through the sustainment and end of life.  It's a challenge, and sometimes frustrating, but I do enjoy the work.  I have 4 rentals, and i don't really want to be a full time investor.  I like my job and the benefits, and also like the additional revenue the rental properties generate.  I do most of the management of the properties myself, except for 1 of the properties in KC that is managed. 

@Lue C. I give them the option of using Paypal, but i write my lease such that they are required to mail checks directly to my credit union account.  I provide the accoumt number and instructions in the lease.  On the back of the check they just indicate "For Deposit Only XXXXXXX".  My credit union sends me postage paid envelopes, and i provide 12 of them to tenants at lease signing, and they don't even need stamps to mail the rent.  This eliminates me from having to handle checks, i just look for the deposit in my account.  It's worked well for me over the last 2+ years.  

Another interesting article about HomeServe.  Wow, the city really picked a winner!

https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2014/09/18/kamenetz-says-water-pipe-insurance-is-not-needed/

I've cancelled my State Famr policies and secured insurance on the rentals with sewer back up protection (up to $5k).  The link below is an interesting artice in regards to the Homeserve insurance that the city DPW is endorsing.  I"m still considering purchasing through Homeserve as well since cost is so low and no deductible, and covers water line and sewer......

https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2014/09/17/concern-and-confusion-as-city-promotes-water-pipe-warranties-from-one-company/