All Forum Posts by: Sean Lambert

Deals don't fall in your lap or brought to you on a silver platter by your realtor, especially when you're starting out.  

You have to hunt the deals out.

It sounds like you live in a hot market, so your realtor is probably working with others that are putting in offers, since that's going to pay his/her bills.  They don't get paid by just showing properties.

As suggested above, I'd recommend driving around to look at the listings and running numbers before calling on your realtor to show you properties.  A lot of properties can be weeded out without having to have your realtor show you the inside of the property.  

You can also likely go online and look at comp sales within your area on your county website.  I wouldn't rely on your realtor to do this analysis for you, since your realtor isn't making the purchase.  It's in your best interest to do that background research to cover your butt.  The more research you do, the more you learn about the market.

Good luck in your search!

If it wasn't working, I'd replace it in a second.

In this case, I would let her know you'll start pricing out replacement stoves and see what you find.  Let her live with the stove for a couple of months while you monitor if she's a good tenant or not (pays the rent on time, no other complaints).  

How is she a "solid" tenant?  How long has she been renting from you?

Focus on paying down debt first and starting small.  Maybe rent a room out of your primary for a little extra cash while you reduce current debt and gain experience renting to someone.  Real estate isn't a lottery and takes time, just continue reading and making steps forward. 

I'd leave the dishwashers, especially since they are already there.  If the units have hook-ups, I'd let people bring their own w/d for a $x/month increase in rent.  Or, you can put your w/d in the unit for $y/month increase in rent.

I found this article that's a few years old, but pretty interesting...

http://time.com/money/3925225/cost-laundry-machine-apartment-rental-cities/  

friends and people at work call me a slumlord all of the time.  They also love to make fun of my little old Ford Focus that I use a pickup truck.    

I'm all good with it.  

I don't need any acceptance of the path I'm going on.  

I just tell them horror stories about gross houses I've rehabbed or how many dumpsters I needed to clear out a newly purchased rental.  I wear those stories with a smile and laugh.  I see those clean-up times as dreams and smell of money, while others can't get past them as being a nightmare.  

Make the offer contingent on the unit with the slow/late/tax return paying tenant being vacant at closing.  Why make the seller's problem your problem on day 1?

If you decide to keep him, put him on a month to month agreement and raise rents, but I wouldn't raise them more than about 8% per raise.  Check state/county/city laws for acceptable % you can raise the rents.  Some cities control how much you can raise the rent.

Please don't let a tenant do any repairs.  Their quality of work won't match your expectations and they are likely not insured to do any work.

Looks great!  thanks for posting the details and the pictures.  

I enjoy reading and always learning more about real estate investing, so I'm always anxious to spend some time on BP.   You can always find time to do the things that you really enjoy, especially since you just have to sit in front of the computer or phone to do it.  Late nights I usually watch the podcasts, instead of watching some Netflix borefest.

Throughout the day here and there, I'll check in and read some of the forum posts.

I wouldn't waive the inspection, especially since this is your first purchase.  It might mean you lose the deal, but it might also save you if something terrible lurks.  Good luck.  Keep BP updated on your progress!