All Forum Posts by: Mark H.

I use a discount if rent is received by me on or before the first, and a daily penalty if paid after the 5th.

It might be best to talk to other landlords in your area to see what will "fly" with the judges there...

FWIW, I advertised my property without the "discount", and after vetting the tenant, explained that my wife (the accountant), would kick my behind if she has to write a mortgage check on the first, and we haven't received a rent check yet.

Then, I offered the "discount" for early payment... the tenant then (gratefully) offered a stack of post-dated checks to ensure she gets the "discount"...

It's working for me so far...

$16k - closing costs - short-term gains taxes...
I'd keep it.. too much hassle and risk versus a fairly minor reward...
Longer term, you've got income and the possibility of appreciation...

If they guy's wife is "in love with the place", they'll make it worth your while to walk away from that steady monthly check.

I don't think it's the agent's responsibility to point out repairs - as soon as an agent makes a "list of repairs", someone is going to sue because something was left off. Agents aren't home inspectors or contractors.

I do wish more of them would mention in the listing that there's a major issue (that isn't obvious from the pictures) if they know about it - i.e., "stinks like cat pee"... "missing hvac", etc... that's only fair.

But if you're in a $200k market and a property is listed for $25k, asking an agent for a list of repairs is pretty silly. You're buying dirt, not a house at that price.

FYI - those brackets sometimes come with lag bolts - be sure to let the tenant know to toss them out & buy some from the hardware store instead - I had a couple of those things snap off when they were only 3/4 of the way in...

Having installed and removed a few of those brackets, I'd rather do it myself - that way I know it's going into a stud. If the tenant tries to mount it using hollow-wall fasteners it's likely to fall right back down, along with a big chunk of drywall. I'd expect four 3/8" holes... patched pretty easily & likely re-drilled by your next tenant...

You're "allowed" to have a complete & total length of 35 feet.
Every 90 degree turn gives you a 5-foot "penalty" - so if you have four 90-degree turns, that's the equivalent to twenty-feet of straight pipe, and there's only 15 feet of straight pipe left on a code-compliant install (and shorter is going to work much better & clog less).
I wouldn't worry about the "hood" at the end - although there is a version of that "hood" that has a lightweight "flapper" inside that will keep pests out.

Take a peek at these low-restriction elbows...

http://www.dryer-ell.com/dryer_vent_duct_elbow_comparison.htm

Phoenix might be good for you - it's the 5th busiest airport in the US (but very well run) ... and values have been hammered...

I bought one through Auction.com a couple of months ago - hopefully, you read the terms & conditions fully - you don't get an inspection period, nor do they give you a financing contingency - if you can't close the deal for the high bid, your deposit is gone. An attorney is going to tell you that it's a one-sided contract... not a surprise.

That said, if you got the bid right, & didn't pay too much, the company itself was decent to deal with - the escrow company for my deal was out of state, so there was a little hassle there, but I was able to "e-sign" the contract, which was convenient.

I tried to do a deal with Homepath financing - the broker dinked around for 3 weeks, then demanded 15% down instead of 10%, a big list of "questions" & conditions, a total waste of time, and too late to get a "regular" investors loan. Luckily we were able to close it cash.

If you decide to try it, get the details on who they plan on selling the loan to - if your broker/banker has ever done one, etc. - I was told Wells is the only game in town (no idea if that's true), and they want 15% down, even though Homepath is 10%, the investor can write whatever silly rules they want on top of the standards.

With all the fees they nick you for, a 20% down loan actually costs you less out of pocket, and not so many hoops to jump through.

I wouldn't waste my time with it again... hopefully you'll have better luck.

If you find the property because it's being advertised in the MLS, the listing agent will be due a commission when you buy it - you won't be saving anything, and you might get run over by an agent who is dutifully representing the seller, or, depending on the state, you might have an agent who becomes a "dual agent", which is shorthand for "does nothing to help either party"...

not sure why you'ld want to be in either situation... :cool:

I bought one from Auction.com a couple of months ago - you can finance their properties, but be careful to know what your lender will accept as far as problems with the properties, or you could end up in a "loop" that causes you to lose your deposit.

I.E., around here, missing or stained carpet means you can't get financing. If the property you're looking at has bad carpet, you can't get a loan, even if you are perfectly willing & able to replace the carpet.

As far as "guidelines" for your offers, I can tell you that I spoke at length with someone from auction.com after buying from them, and although she said my bid met the "guidelines", she never told me what they were. She did however pull my property from the "big circus" auction at the convention center

For reference, the "starting price" was nowhere close to what I bid - my bid was a LOT higher, and my bids started low and were rejected a couple of times in the mini "web" pre-auctions. I think we ended up somewhere near 30% below the last published MLS asking price.