All Forum Posts by: Sarah Miller

@Curtis Rumel

 Where can I get a conventional loan with only 5% down??? I always thought it was AT LEAST 20% down.  If there is somewhere I can only put down 5% then I am back in business!! 

I'm going through something similar right now where my appraisal came in within only $1000 of my tax assessment value.  They also used foreclosures in the comps (which I really don't think you can do) and did not adjust for worse (much worse) neighborhoods of the comps.  I am trying to ask for a second appraisal because I don't think it is the correct representation of the market value for the property but I don't know how it's going to go.  Don't think this helps you but I know what you're going through.  I will follow this post in case anyone has any insight.

The only thing with the first one is the mom, I would definitely deny.  But the son makes plenty to live there by himself, without the mom.  Its just that he has only been in his job for a month.

The daughter wasn't involved any further than just calling to inquire about the unit and schedule the appointment.  She didn't even come to the showing.  I met with the couple and their son at the showing.

And they aren't really slow in getting me the background checks, I just requested them yesterday.  The debt it looks like it was a car loan.

Ok, I have 2 applicants right now for one of my properties.  Neither is ideal but I haven't straight up decided to deny either one yet.  Rent is $650/mo.  Here they are:

1. 40-something year old mom and 18 year old son.  Mom works at McDonalds making $1000/mo (verified already).  Son works at a truck trailer plant as a mounter making $2000/mo (not verified yet) but has only been there for a month.  I've requested background/criminal/eviction checks on both but I am still waiting on the son's.  The mom's came back with just a speeding ticket and apparently $8000 in consumer debt that is in collections. 

2. 60-something year old couple and their 30-something year old son (this one's the doozy).  The daughter actually called me to set up the showing.  She said she was helping out her parents find a place to live and they weren't too tech savvy (she found the ad on craigslist).  The daughter didn't come but the parents and their son did.  The couple both have health issues and are both on disability.  The son works at a restaurant.  They didn't put on their application how much they get yet so I still have to verify that.  They told me during the showing that they were getting kicked out of the place they are now because the real estate company is selling the place.  Come to find out they are actually getting evicted!  Looking over the court docs and scanning through Facebook to get a feel for things, I have a feeling the daughter got them into the eviction mess.  They all live together right now and the daughter was the primary applicant on their current place.  She apparently has trouble handling money and is in a lot of debt. (Reminder-the daughter is not applying to live in MY place, only the parents and the son). 

My Thoughts on these:

1. The mom and son make plenty of money to satisfy 3x rent.  I am a little worried though because of the mom's collections and also the son has only been at his breadwinning job for 1 month.

2. Obviously the eviction scares me, but I almost want to call them and get their side of the story.  I'm not sure why they would let an eviction go through if they could have helped.  Of course, the rent was $900 where they are so maybe they simply couldn't help.  I like the idea of guaranteed income from the disability but I don't know what to do about this one.

What do you think? Thanks!

@Bradley Bogdan

 Thank you for the detailed response!  I did talk to the prospective tenant and she is going to apply.  She said she didn't really know the specific details of what CPS was offering but that her case worker told her to ask us if we would be willing to work with them if she was approved.  I told her to get as much info as she can about the arrangement and include the description on her application and to also provide me with her case worker's phone number and department information.  She said a lot has happened in the past few months and she is 'technically displaced' with her 2 kids.  I plan on checking everything like I would normally do (income, background, criminal, eviction, etc).  We'll see what happens.

Right that's why I am asking.  It just caught us off guard during the showing and we had no idea what to even ask.  She said she will be applying so I was planning on gathering more info and then calling her.

Hello!  We showed one of our properties to a women yesterday and her 2 kids.  She really liked the place and asked if we would be willing to work with child protective services.  She said that she is displaced right now and CPS is going to pay for her to get a place.  Anyone have experience with this?  Is this section 8? Do we have to get inspections? Do they typically have a rent amount limit they will pay for their women/children?  Any specific advice to protect myself/need any specific paperwork for taxes?  Thanks.

 Hey Dell do you go to all of the breakfasts every week for the SCREIA?  I have not joined yet (full time job gets in the way a lot) but I really ant to try to make it one of these weeks.  Are they usually pretty large groups that go? Thanks!

When I was researching what to do, I decided, for just starting, an LLC or an S-corp didn't provide much of a difference. However, when you start getting into larger commercial properties I think you want to have an S-corp formed (but I could be wrong!). We went with an LLC. Although, we haven't been able to really do anything with it yet because it is not showing any income yet and is less than a year old. No banks will consider lending to the LLC yet. On my next property I hope to use a private lender that will get our LLC up and running with profits. Right now both of our properties are in our personal names and I operate under the LLC with my tenants, payments, maintenance, etc.