All Forum Posts by: Scott Mac

Hi Jason,

Without A/C in Texas you will not have very many prospective renters. Vacancy rates will rise quickly.

Maybe you could try an Iron A/C cage on the outside and a separate security deposit (maybe around $300 or so) to cover the A/C.

The cages are ugly, but in many window A/C communities the residents understand that their neighbors (and their neighbors visitors) may be, shall we say sometimes "theft prone", and the bars can be explained as break in deterrents to keep their belongings safe.

They also blend in better in a light color vs. black.

If a prospect balks at the $300 and you want them, you could always offer to wrap it into the first 10 month of payments. You know, finance the deposit at zero interest.

Just make it very VERY clear to them (verbally) that they are not buying the A/C and that if it's missing or damaged they lose the deposit.

$300 to a Texas window A/C type tenant is a LOT of hard earned (or borrowed from a family member) money.

Good Luck.

HI Kaden,

1. Do not build as long as is there is something you can buy, (building takes time, buying starts you in business as soon as you close).

2. #2 is probably your best choice to start. (you and your family get to have privacy and the resident of Unit 2 will probably be more stable cash flow than the summer doldrums of college students).

3. Put as little down as you can, and keep as much cash money in your bank as you can because you will need a "Cash Cushion" to be a landlord. (There are always turnover costs when someone moves out and unexpected things YOU are responsible for, like a tenants furnace going out in February).

Just my thoughts on this.

Good Luck!

Hi Bryce,

If you want to be a Real Estate Broker you will probably need to pay a college to get a degree.

In that case look at the Broker Requirements in your state and see if the classes at the college match those required. Then only pay for a school that offers those classes.

Then you can be a salesman/boss of salespeople.

If you want to be a CPA you will have to take Accounting classes, and probably to a masters degree level, then take the CPA exam after paying for an outside study course to prepare for the exam (because the college degree does not prepare you for this).

Then you will probably have to work for a couple of years for a CPA firm to get enough hours to get certified. Then you can do taxes for small business people and real estate investors and charge CPA fees. (but you will then probably have to learn Quick books and some form of tax preparation software, because none of the things you have paid for so far will have taught you that.

If you want to be a truck driver. The median annual wage for a trucker that works for a private fleet, such as a truck driver employed by Walmart, is $73,000, although most make around $40,000 a year.

If you want to be a real estate investor/owner you don't need any college, just investment cash and time to work at it, plus a knowledge of how it works, and a good debt to income ratio to borrow. Plus there is no guarantee you will ever get rich doing this--it's all up to you. 

Which one is the best for you? I don't know. Everyone's situation is different and the ALL involve work and risk. There is no golden carpet of easy money in any of them. You will have to make this decision (possibly with the help of your parents).

If you need some clarity on this decision read Tony Robbins book "Awaken the Giant Within" and write out the life plan things the book recommends. (That little step (hard work) has helped a lot of people gain clarity for their future.)

If you read the book, you will need to do things like design your perfect day, and write down if you could have anything you want, what you have. Things like that.

Good Luck!

Yeah,

They get to live indoors instead of having to sleep in a cardboard box on the sidewalk.

They get the use of a furnace or other heating appliance rather than having to freeze to death, and many times an air conditioner so they don't have to be uncomfortable in the humidity and heat.

They get to cook their meals on a stove vs a campfire.

They get to not have to deal with rising property taxes, or maintenance on the home they live in.

That and a lot more.

All in return for a simple monthly payment smaller than many home owners pay to live in the same neighborhood.

And many of the so-called "Poor" have this paid for them by the rest of the Americans who work and pay withholding taxes taken from their take home paychecks.

Everyone needs a place to live, and in America this is how it's done, there are no 3rd world slums here.

The so-called "Poor"  are not exploited by landlords.

Hi Mindy,

That staging seems to be "Cutting Edge", where things seem to be going in staging.

I recognize it, and it's not to my taste but I have seen the colors used before.

If I were living there I would not want those colors, but did the client see another staged house by this designer and say make it like that one, or just say stage the house?

If someone went to get a new suit made in the 1960's and just picked a tailor and said make me a suit, with no specifications, one tailor might make it in Purple with Bell Bottom pants, and even though that's not what the customer wanted, that is what he "Asked For".....

Supposedly people all wanted Grey-beige (Greeje) and now so many commercial buildings are painted outside some tone of grey, (who thinks this up?) and interior consultants recommended paint a contrasting wall deep Grey. Before that paint the contrasting wall deep Red or deep Blue...and like Lemmings off a cliff that's where things went...

Take a look at some new construction staging in HOT areas, you will probably see a lot of the same elements and colors.

Though it's not to my taste either, it is a beautiful house.

Good Luck!

Hi Emily,

Rather than Haggle over this (because it might be the tip of the iceberg with this company so to speak), maybe find a new management company that doesn't do things like this.

Watch your cancellation date though, because sometimes according to the contract you have with them, you will have to pay a large amount to cancel.

Good Luck!

Hi Nadir,

Nope. Stock speculators come and go over the years, but people will always need a place to live.

Scott...

Hi Michael,

I see gentrification, in some areas, and some areas I would not go into day or night.

I doubt D-Town will come back to level of Chicago or Austin in our lifetimes because I do not see the high paying large scale multi-multi employer base in the area.

There seems to be money to be made there in the non-life threatening areas though, and with the local "Rah Rah" for the area that will probably continue as the dangerous element is driven out by higher costs (where they are going is important too, because dangerous areas seem to be on the move now).

In addition to real estate, I see money to made there in (good affordable) startup restaurants, and franchises in super safe walkable areas such as McDonald's or Starbucks (because these franchises seem to work everywhere).

Detroit still suffers from city government issues and it's reputation as the Murder Capital.

Though I'm not a commercial building investor, I think 4 story or lower (the lower the better) commercial buildings (store/restaurant) that can be bought cheap and refurbished to current standards (providing you can get commercial contractors to go there and work), then held and rented seems like a decent prospect. Though you better know where the Gentrification is heading quickly, or you will be stuck with a Diamond in a Coal Mine for a long time, and that time may never come in your lifetime.

Detroit = more risk and more "possible" rewards (plus the "Cool Factor" of the gentrification area, the Mono-rail, and the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings).

Grand Rapids = more solid investable area and less risk.

Those are my thoughts.

Scott...

Hi Brad,

Does the applicant have the type of verified income source that supports an additional $800; because it seems very strange to offer such a large amount.

Especially for people with school age children.  An extra $800 a month to spend, and just to get into a public school?

And $800 a month for a pet WHAT?

Have you called their previous landlord and asked about them?

Good Luck with your decision.

Interesting responses from OP to Joe Villeneuve's helpful comments.

Having Joe on your deal team would be a Huge Bonus to anyone.

It seems clear where some of OP's problems may be coming from but I'm not inclined to "Lead a Horse to Water" so to speak.

Peace...