All Forum Posts by: Sam R.

The most important piece of distance investing is good management. They are your eyes and ears and find quality renters. Consider interviewing management companies in your target cities. That might help you narrow down your list.

The first rental I bought only required 5% down. Banks simply had more reasonable terms like that. The next few rentals were bought using the HELOC for a down payment. Yes I had to season the money, but I don't recall that being a big deal. The banks were more concerned with the debt-to-income ratio of all the new debt since they did not know how to consider the rental income. I ended up getting a private mortgage in one case and buying some rentals in a much cheaper city. In one case I even ended up using HELOC money to buy a house for all cash.

I ended up losing the HELOC because I paid it off in a few big chunks thinking I could pull the money out again. Unfortunately the bank took the HELOC away before I had a chance to pull the money.

I don't have a good answer on the neighborhoods. My rentals are just north of downtown. Compared to other cities I deal with, Everett is quite nice. Just about any area could work with the right price and good management. You are right about Seattle spilling into Everett. I know some of my tenants work in Seattle which has become too expensive. 

 I use a company called Rental Connection. Their rates are much better than other companies I work with in other states. The best part is they have in house handymen and so they are able to keep repair costs down.

Hi Kari. I own some rentals in Everett and know of a great management company in the area when you get to that point. I got my start by using a HELOC on my primary residence. One difficulty that might come up is showing enough personal income to cover your mortgage, the HELOC, and the rental property mortgage.

I have a small building (7 units) which is a behind on rent increases. Even if I raise the rents to market rent for 1 bedrooms in the area, it would still be behind because I pay for the heat. The management company suggested the possibility of utility charge. I am interested in doing that so that the rents for the current and future tenants are more easily compared to other rentals in the area.

What are the downsides of a utility fee? Is there any requirements that it go towards utilities only?

How can I most effectively market some large (850 sq. ft.) 1 bedroom 1 bath apartments to renters? If I simply list them at a higher price, they don't get much traction because they are at the higher end of the price range for 1 bedrooms. I don't think their layout would present well as a 2 bedroom. People would have to walk through 1 bedroom to get to the next. 

@John Thedford Interesting. I did not know there were states where you could not advertise wholesale deals. It seems like you should be allowed to with the permission of the owner.

@Account Closed Bad analogy because Trump never said anything like that. You are only listening to the media spin.

I have 25 units in 3 states. The management companies track mostly everything and pay the utilities. Recently I handed over the mortgage payment responsibility to the management company. I am thinking of doing the same for the taxes and insurance. The management companies are well staffed and so much more organized than I can be. When the management companies send me the monthly statements, I enter the key numbers into a big spreadsheet. That allows me to see the trends, creates year-to-dates for mortgage companies, and an end of the year summary for the CPA.

@Roy N. you may be right. It just frustrates me that the bank says the service that THEY purchased with my money is not good enough to use.