All Forum Posts by: Sean Lambert

I think having a 401k behind a firewall (to an extent) is a good thing.  It helps me diversify, while getting a tax benefit today.  Luckily my company matches, so that helps motivate me as well.  I can always take a loan from it if needed.

Pay off the credit card debt first.  Use the few months that you're doing that to research properties and figure out what type of real estate investing you want to focus on.

Good luck.

@Daniel Kramer I also only use MTM leases. I inherited tenants in the duplex we purchased and they were fine on paying. When we did our walk thru before purchasing, we talked to the tenants about themselves and the property. It was like we screening them. One side was a slob and smoked, but when she moved out we rehabbed that unit, bumped up the rent quite a bit and re-rented it out. We expected to put some money into the unit and ramp up the rent.

@Adam Scheetz you’d probably only be able to pull about 70% of the value, which would be about $150k.

You would want to take that loan into account to calculate cash flow. You wouldn’t want to pull so much out that you’re in the red.

This is a good example of why to always get a professional inspection, even if you're buying a property as-is.  You want to know what you're getting yourself into before closing.

I still can't get over the sellers going to that length to hide the problem.

Hopefully you can drop your price quite a bit.  Drop is for the needed roof repair and add an additional Karma charge.  Good luck.  

They sound OK.  Did the PM say what they drove up to the showing in and if the car was a mess?

Is the home big enough to house four people?

I plan on holding forever (until I die or just tire of landlording), then someone else can sell them.  They are cash flowing for me.  They aren't laying golden eggs, but they are providing something.  If I sold, the fees and taxes would be painful.

I raise mine a modest % of the existing rent.  I'm not going to jack up the rent and put the tenants in a bind, so they would need to find a new place.  Even if I'm under market value, I'll ease up the price through the years to catch up, while hopefully not causing a vacancy.

If a tenant moves out, then the asking rent gets moved to market value for the new tenant that we find.

There could be rules in your city or county that dictate a maximum percentage increase per year.  

Is your goal to purchase this as your primary or do you already have a home and this would be an investment rental?

Continue to work on your credit score.  

You could contact a mortgage broker and get pre-approved (if you can) before looking at properties.  

I'd also get your own realtor, instead of relying on the listing agent.  You want your agent to represent you.

Great job.  

It's really interesting about renting the bedrooms and adding another bedroom as another rental income source.  Was there just a lot of existing open space that you could carve out another bedroom?

It sounds like the house is almost like a dorm.