All Forum Posts by: Ryan Pearson

 Be careful with lithium batteries.  They do last about 5 X as long as Alkaline batteries however they will show as 100% battery life until the day they die.  Unlike Alkaline batteries they maintain full voltage until they die so battery meters can't detect a true % of battery life. The locks that I use also specify to use Alkaline because Lithium can damage the electronics in the lock. 

Hi Jeff,  I believe your going to need a line voltage thermostat.  The Amazon smart thermostat that you have pictured is only compatable with low voltage HVAC 24V systems.  I was just in the same situation looking for a smart thermostat for a baseboard heater and two wall heaters (all 110V/220V line voltage) for a short term rental in Mammoth Lakes.  My research landed me on the MYSA thermostats.  I've been using them now for about 6 months and they work great. Super easy to use and very reliable.  Hope this helps.

Ryan

I've done this on serveral properties now and it works great. In my properties I'm using my HELOC to cover both the purchase price and the rehab costs. I'm forcing equity with the rehab and then refinancing out the purchase price and the rehab costs to pay off the HELOC balance. Couple things to note. I had to wait 6 months from the date I purchased the property before the bank would allow me to do a cash out refinance. When you fund your deal using a HELOC its considered revolving credit and goes against your credit usage. Depending on your debt to income situation, it can temporarly lower your credit score. The HELOC is a great tool when used correctly.

I just closed on a 1 bedroom 2 bath condo in Mammoth Lakes, CA.  The condo is in great shape but very outdated.  I'm planning to do a remodel on the property before throwing it into the short term rental market.  My plans are to fully update the kitchen and bathrooms.  Replace the floors with LVT. Scrape the popcorn ceiling and add recessed lighting.   Replace all doors and update the configuration of the owners closet. Does anyone have any recommendations for general contractors that they've used in the Mammoth Lakes area?  I appreciate any help.

I just used Caliber Home Loans for my last cash out refi in Philly. They had the best rates and terms when I was looking.

Sale was completed 2 months ago.  I'm the owner. This is why I now have this information.

**UPDATE on the purchase** It's been 3 months since I went under contract and the "Red Flag" that I was inquiring on is now very clear.  Before I went under contract the seller tried to remove the tenant. He only owned the property for 9 months and the property is in terrible shape so I'm assuming he had plans to renovate.  The tenant has been dealing with cancer and says she's unable to move.  Each month she continues to pay rent and requests for more time to look for a new rental to move into.  It appears the seller thought is was a better option to sell the property than proceed with evictions and go through the moral dilemma of kicking out a elderly tenant with cancer. 

@Steve K.I'm asking to have the property handed over vacant because I plan to do a full gut rehab and would like to start work ASAP after closing. I'm offering a 5K deposit which is equal to about 6 months rent. From my perspective it seems like minimal risk for the seller as he would have 6 months rent covered if for any reason I backed out. In this area properties sold vacant with clear pictures of the inside seem to sell much quicker and sell (sell in 1-2 week) for 10K-15K more than properties sold with tenants and no interior pictures. I have no problem removing the tenants myself just trying to understand why a seller would not remove the tenants themselves to get a quicker sale and make an additional 10-15K. I would rather take the property for a discount and remove the tenants myself but just trying to make sure I don't end up with an eviction that delays my project and locks up my capitol for 2-8 month. I already tried offering 5k under asking price and it was rejected with no counter. The seller does have at least 1 backup offer. I like your suggestion to request rent roll and profit/loss bank statement to verify property performance. I really appreciate your feedback.

I just went under contract on a row home property in Philadelphia. It's a 3 bedroom 1 bath SFH with current tenants paying on a month to month lease. Seller is requesting cash offers only and 30 days or sooner on closing. In the original offer we requested for the seller to provide the property vacant at closing. The listing agent got back to us saying "serving vacant would be a deal breaker". Owner has verbally said to our agent that the current tenants are up to date on rent. I'm assuming the seller is apprehensive that serving vacant could delay closing? Other than that I don't understand why the seller would not want to provide vacant at closing. I even requested permission and reached out to the current tenant to get more details but have not received a response. Does this give off any red flags to anyone? Does anyone have any advice on what we can do to protect ourselves in this situation? My biggest concern is that we get the property and the tenants refuse to leave after terminating their rental agreement. I appreciate any advice.