All Forum Posts by: Sarah Brown

I am in an experienced property manager in a landlord friendly state and I am nervous about tenants intentionally not paying.  It is definitely a concern.  I have an email into my attorney to discuss other options for this.  That being said, it's not stopping me from looking for more investments at this time.  I would make sure you screen your tenants well and do as much due diligence as possible into the type of tenant you will be renting to.  

I agree with @Allan Smith also.  I actually hate QB online.  I use the desktop version, but I wouldn't use it for 3 units.  I would build a nice spreadsheet.  I also keep all my finances for rentals/remodels on a single card so it's easy to pull transactions and build reports from a bank download.

How quickly are you looking to get your second deal?  How much of it are you financing vs how much cash do you want to put down?  Hard money is EXPENSIVE.  Good option if a great deal comes up you need to jump on, but for buy and a hold, there are cheaper options. 

November/December is a tough time to get things rented.   I would say it depends on your cashflow situation, but I would much rather try to rent in Jan/Feb than Nov/Dec. 

I agree with Elise.  I have never had a lender tell me that they won't finance the because the roof has less than 3 years.  I also never share the inspection with the lender.  That is just asking for problems.  I would see what you can work out with the seller to get it repaired.  Sometimes they are willing to pay for it.  I have also negotiated splits or increased pricing to cover upfront cost and reimburse at close (basically wraps it into the loan).  

I would toss out that 401k thought.  I NEVER draw from my 401k.  I forget it exists except to add to it every year.  I also don’t think it makes sense to pay interest to yourself on your money, but that’s another topic.  

If you do 5-10% down, and things keep appreciating, you can petition to have your PMI removed after a year. This would help you keep your cash, but you would be out that PMI for the year, which can be quite pricy.

If you put the 20% down, you can avoid the PMI, and then pull a HELOC to be able to have access to that 20% you just put down. Then you only pay interest if you actually need to use it, and stll maintain your liquidity.

I would get a roommate lease, but not necessarily because of the different move-in dates.  It's more because of the relationship of the tenants.  They don't know one another, and they will be renting by the room.  This will make it significantly easier for you later, and a lot less headache. 

I would reach out to an attorney to discuss leasing, etc.  I developed my lease by taking bits and pieces from others that I liked and then had my attorney review (cheaper than having him write one).  There were items that he made stronger in the lease, and items that were completely removed for legal reasons.  

For the right price, absolutely!   I would recommend getting a professional in there to see if any of the home is salvageable or if it needs taken down to the foundation.  Then you can determine the price you are willing to pay for it. 

It's a reserve account for insurance, taxes, and PMI. The amount of reserve is determined by each mortgage company. Generally it is six months, but I have seen some that require a years reserves. You need to look at what is happening with those expenses as to why there is a shortage. The account is always reactive. So if you property taxes went up last year, then you won't see the increase until this year. I'm not sure where you are at, but here we are seeing tax bills increase significantly due to appreciation in properties causes some escrow accounts to be hundreds short.