All Forum Posts by: Sam Sharata

This home has been renovated and features all new flooring, bathroom, and kitchen with all appliances. All mechanicals are fully functional. Located close to the new West Baltimore train station, this property will easily rent for $900/month (more for section 8) and quickly pay for itself. Don't miss this opportunity.

Near completion of a full renovation. This solid and well built triplex is completely turnkey and features all new flooring, windows, doors, electrical, plumbing, kitchens, bathrooms, and mechanicals; no expenses were spared. Located close to downtown on major transportation route, this property will easily rent for $850 per unit (more for section 8) and quickly pay for itself. Manage it yourself and bring your tenants, or I'll find quality tenants and recommend a reputable property manager. At $65K/door, you truly won't find a nicer property at this price. 

I too was contacted by a fellow from Holiday, Florida about investing in Johnstown. The deal sounded too good to be true, and he was aggressively marketing the properties which immediately raised a flag for me. As @Dennis Wasilewski mentioned, "Johnstown is in an extremely depressed part of PA", and you should ask yourself the following questions before moving forward:

1) Why would Citrona price properties at approximately 20K/door for the privilege of charging $50/month/door to manage them?

2) What would you do if your relationship with Citrona ended? Can you manage the property or find a buyer?

@John Woodrich many thanks for the sound advice. It does sound too good to be true, and I read about the founder. They're looking for significant capital and the red lights are flashing all over the place!

@Bradley Gudim I assume your contact started his business in CR then eventually moved to Minneapolis. I can't begin to imagine the challenges of building a successful business in CR while residing in the US.

@Angela Przulj If I were in Melbourne, I wouldn't give CR a second thought! Unfortunately it takes a minimum of 2 honest parties to play an honest game. 

Thanks to all of you for your wisdom and perspectives!

This is an interesting thread because I was just approached by a group called The Costa Rica Team looking for investors to develop a complex called Cielo Vista. They claim that they will pay 8% per annum for the first 2 years, then make a balloon payment of the initial investment. After balloon payment, they will pay quarterly dividends averaging 20% per annum (up to $100K for a $100K investment, or for life with $300K+). I'm not even sure I know how to go about doing the due diligence on this deal because I don't have any connections in CR. Would love to hear your thoughts, particularly from anybody with REI experience in CR.

Thanks for the advice @Daniel Mohnkern, @Account Closed. The seller resolved the matter with the rent in court, and will be paying the security deposit along with the prorated portion of the August rent via EFT. 

The lesson to be learned from this experience is to be as explicit as possible about all aspects of an ongoing rental arrangement when acquiring a property to minimize unexpected surprises. I sought the counsel of my attorney, and his response was that I should consider myself fortunate the seller chose to pursue the rent in court instead of taking it out of the security deposit.

Thanks for insight @Lisa S., I guess this episode will occupy a place in the chapter on assuming tenants in my book of learning about the rental real estate business.

I definitely agree with you @James Gaither regarding the SD, and have not yet responded to the seller regarding a course of action.

@Account Closed. The tenants appeared to be stable on paper and paid the first 3 months on time without issue. Notification was sent out to the tenant, but the complication as I see it, is the lack of clear language in the sales contract to address this particular situation, so it all hinges on the lease which states that the SD is not to be used to pay rent until after the end of the lease term. Regardless of the outcome, I expect this will be a learning experience.

I just closed on my first Baltimore investment rental this past Friday (8/19/2016). It was an all cash purchase with a tenant already in place, and after I signed and submitted payment, the seller informed me that the tenant has not yet paid the rent for August and is not responding to his texts and phone messages.

The lease was signed in May, 2016, and according to all paperwork, the tenant has a stable job. The rent is typically due by the 9th which they have paid on time for May, June, and July. 

The tenant was provided with the right of first refusal, so they are aware of the imminent sale of the property. 

The seller/prior landlord said he submitted a Failure to Pay Rent complaint with the District Court, and has proposed to prorate his portion of the August rent from the security deposit and provide me with the remaining balance as payment of the security deposit and my share of the rent for August. 

I don't agree with the idea of prorating the rent and taking it out of the security deposit, and am frankly at an impasse on how best to proceed with this matter. Has anyone ever encountered this issue? If so, what did you do to resolve it? Please help!

@Catherine German Many thanks for the insightful suggestions.

@David Faulkner I looked in the mirror and almost fainted! In all seriousness though, the ROI on some out of state opportunities is just too hard to ignore.

@Phil Earley I definitely like the idea of just showing up unannounced at their office.

To all who contributed, thank you for your wisdom and insights. I look forward to revisiting this discussion thread for more great commentary from the community!

There are numerous discussions on this subject on BP, and I have to agree with @Ricardo R. "If you truly can not manage it yourself consider instead paying that 10% to a trusted and vetted general contractor."

I'm about to purchase several rental properties located 50 miles from where I live, and am confronted with the same challenge. Should I hire a PM, or work with a trusted & vetted contractor/handyman. I like the idea of paying a local contractor a monthly, per door fee for the privilege of making themselves available to handle anything that comes up. For the monthly fee they will handle small fixes (leaking pipes, unblock a drain, broken window, etc.), and find me good deals on larger repairs (HVAC, roof, major electrical or plumbing, etc.).  

From personal experience, I think finding tenants and collecting rent to be the most engaging and contentious aspects of the business. Most other issues are easily resolved with a simple web search and a phone call (a number of sites offer trade services and their ratings like the one named after Angie...). The keys to succeeding as a landlord are a solid lease, effective management, and keeping your overhead to a minimum.