All Forum Posts by: Rob Campbell-Nixon

This weekend I received a letter from the city government saying one of my rental properties has an non-operable vehicle in front of it, because of flat tires and expired license plates,  the letter states i have 20 days to fix it or will have to attend municipal court and will receive a fee up to $500.  I immediately notified the tenant and sent a letter stating the lease violation.  If the tenant doesn't fix the issue what should i do?  Can i tow the vehicle at their expense?  property is located in independence mo 

If your not listening to the biggerpockets pod cast you should, they have lots of flippers on.  I think a good episode for you to listen to would be 168 and probably 174.  If you're intention is to flip, I would flip to sell.  flip to rent can be an alternative if it doesn't sell but I know of multiple properties that have had multiple offers within hours of listing and under contract within 4 days.  The market is very competitive and hot in KC right now. If you can buy for the right price, get a contractor in there and go for it

I agree with Hem.  Avoid it, if your rent isn't at least 1% you will struggle to ever make money.  Keep looking there are better deals out there!

I have been thinking about add a line on my rental application which would require a w-2 for the last two years from all applicants.   My hope is that this will make screening a tenant's income/ job history easier and more accurate and it will help deter those who would try to lie about it and maybe put down a friend as there "boss".  I already check facebook/ linkedin etc. to try to stop that, but does anyone have experience with requiring a w-2?  Did it work, did it not work?  Is there specific wording I should use?      

1st step figure out exactly what type of property you want, single family, small multi family, 5 unit or larger multi family, vacation rentals, storage units etc and then write a business plan and become an expert on that asset class.  then when you find a great deal you can show your business plan and state why the property is a great deal to close friends and family and see if they would like to invest or know anyone who would be interested in investing.   

Since your question seems to be tailored to vacation rentals, I would look up what the most popular vacation destinations are and the demographics of who is most likely to rent a vacation home in that destination.    I live a couple hours away from branson mo and I know its one of the most popular places in the Midwest.  I then logged onto the cities tourism website and  found that 3/4 of the year the largest demographic is baby boomers who are retired.  Then I would google to see what baby boomers most want while traveling/ renting a vacation rental. I also learned that baby boomers who travel have more money then the average person, so I would avoid limited service properties, properties which have stairs etc.   these statics will be different for every destination, but I think are important to consider when purchasing a vacation rental.    Also who wants a vacation to detroit? Just because a city might have great cash flow possible doesn't mean its great for the type of real estate you're looking for, every asset class is different. 

From my experience cracked paint on the outside of the house can be enough to stop and FHA mortgage from going through. If you are looking at a rehab and a FHA you will have to get a 203k loan added on for sure and probably pay an approved contractor to do the work up front. I would suggest looking for a turn key property for your first and get the property management side solid and then when you have some experience you can start looking for investors and commercial loans to take on properties which have a greater risk/reward.

I would agree with your "I'm sure waiting till we are married would be easier".  You are about to get very busy and stressed out and I would say focus on each other and enjoy this time in your life.  I just got married in October 2015 and bought my first property in March 2015 and its gone well, but I closed more than 4 months ahead of the wedding.  You don't say what type of property you're looking for but multifamily can take 4 months or more to close and being gone and trying to close a property or get one up and running would be a hassle.  You have to find a property, negotiate price, schedule inspections, tenants have to be notified in advance usually 24 to 48 hour minimum, re-negotiate price, schedule appraisal, notify tenants again, wait for them to send all info to the bank, the bank to review everything, and schedule a closing date usually several weeks out.  It can be a long process.  The first property I tried to buy fell through because the tenant wouldn't let the appraiser on the property and called the police. Needless to say I moved on before the owner could evict her and eventually sold the property to someone else.   Also do you have a management company in place or the business structure and all the leases and documents you need? Is the property occupied or would you have to find a tenant?  If you have an amazing deal and the management structure in place I would try to get it closed as fast as possible! If not just wait   Good luck!

I recently bought a new duplex and it came with two new central air units. Yesterday it was a 115 degree heat index and the units were having trouble keeping up, it was about 83 degrees in the apartment. Should I be concerned about buying fans or a window unit to help them out or should I tell them to get there own fans? 

So you are converting a duplex to a 3-plex?  Your tenant might leave on his own because he doesn't like all the noise and inconvenience of construction.  Ask the current property management company for a bank roll on the unit to see how long he has been there and what his payment history is like.  Make sure to have good communication with the tenant about your plans for the property.