All Forum Posts by: Ryan King

Thanks for the help! I'll definitely start taking applications for next year now. Do you guys require a full deposit right away? @Kelly N. you said you take a holding deposit, what % of a full deposit do you require and when do you require they give you the full deposit?

I'll be careful about who I lease to now. I agree that I'd rather leave it empty for 5 months and take the loss than risk someone coming in I wouldn't normally lease to. Hopefully I can find someone regardless.

Appreciate you help!

About a week ago I listed my duplex for rent available immediately. The only inquires I've had are from college students wanting to rent it next May/June. I'm in a college area and my goal is to do a short-term lease until that timeframe and get college students in, so this is a good sign but I also want to get some income until then. This leads me to two questions:

1) Can I have them apply and sign a lease this early to start in May/June? Should I offer to give it to who ever gives me a deposit and passes my application first right now or is it way too soon? If not, when do I say I'll be accepting them and how to I handle who gets it if they're both qualified?

2) Anyone have tips for finding renters in the winter months? And finding renters for short-term leases without getting into a sketchy situation?

Thanks!

@Tom S. thanks for your reply and that's what I was thinking I would potentially do. My fear is what if banks continue to tighten up and they all say no and I'm left with a balloon payment I can't make? I'm a glass-half empty type person so I always think of the worse but I want to make sure I don't leave me and my family in a dire situation. Do you think there will always be a bank out there that will loan the mortgage as long as you have some evidence (leases/tax returns) that rent is coming in and covering the costs?

Thanks!

I am not. Also, how does that relate to my question at all? Pretend I have 50% down or I have 5% down, it doesn't change the question: should I use a buyer agent to represent me or not?

I'm not asking them to do anything. I said they might offer that on their own since they won't have to split commission. So far no one has told me I need 20% down and closing costs so I'm not sure why you're saying that.

I'm looking into Owner Financing deals and wondering if it's a good idea to bring the realtor I typically work with into the discussion or not. My thought in NOT doing so is that it would give the selling agent freedom to maybe offer to take a lower commission (since they won't have to split it) and would entice the sellers more to accept my offer. I can just have the selling agent submit my offers anyway. I'm finding these deals and valuing the properties on my own so I don't feel like using an agent would be that much help except holding my hand through the process.

Thoughts?

Thanks for those tips they're helpful. I totally agree that the seller is perfectly in line wanting a large chunk up front, I just can't do a big percentage right now (maybe I'll have to wait...). 

Can anyone tell me if they use their own realtor when doing owner financing deals? So far I've just been talking to their realtor directly rather than through my realtor I used for my last deal.

I've always thought seller financing was a good option in place of traditional bank loans but I'm not really seeing a benefit after looking into it. Most sellers want a balloon payment after 3-5 years. That's pretty fast. If I'm not qualified due to DTI now, I probably won't be in 3 years and the bank still isn't going to want to loan the balance to me right? After 3 years in a low volatile market, I would doubt I'd be at 25% equity either. So basically you need to have 20-25% upfront (needed for bank loan anyway) and you need to be able to figure out financing in a few years. Am I missing another exit strategy?

Thanks!

@Julie O. oh wow, yea sounds like you're just fine as-is! That would be a good opportunity for you. I've also heard of people around the college renting by the room. That way if something goes wrong with one, you still get rent from the others. Not sure exactly how that works (idk if it's separate leases or 1) but it's another option. Good luck!

@Julie O. I allowed a friend of the 2 that were staying to move-in in-place of the 3rd that moved out. I'm sure a lot of people will say that was dumb but it worked for. I had everyone sign a Lease Termination Agreement and then had the new 3 sign a brand new lease so technically it wasn't a sub-lease which I felt more comfortable about. It's worked out great, no problems at all.

I can't imagine requiring one of the tenants to qualify. I could never get the rent I want from young professionals or college students if I did that (which is what my area is mostly). I think the risk does go up but if someone has to leave you just make them terminate the agreement and find a new group. Simple as that.