All Forum Posts by: Shawn Q.

My initial thought would be a tamper-proof camera system. Would probably need to be built into the wall and behind glass (with a separate pinhole system that's not as obvious). Check with the city, but you might be able to add a fine for tampering with it. If it's an emergency exit fire door only, tampering with it might be a crime as well if it's well posted - so you can provide the video to the police for enforcement. Light can also be a great disinfectant - a pole-mounted halogen and motion-activated exterior lights might be helpful. You'll spend some money short term replacing all this a few times, but might work in the long run. 

I would also engage the owners of neighboring properties, and concerned tenants/neighbors. They've gotta be having the same issues and if you stay in communication and coordinate efforts (especially around lighting and requesting police patrols) you can make the neighborhood unpalatable. 

@Blake Burnett - I agree with @Andrew Kerr that there isn't a lot of meat left on the bone here. I think his maintenance and capex are likely low as well, even accounting for the condo nature. Just think about turnover - guessing on materials you're probably looking at paint and carpet on turnover which depends on size but could be in the $200-$600 range per turn (though some of this might be included with the management fee). I'm assuming you're investing near base and marketing there, so your turnover might be higher than usual. In addition to turnover costs, there's AC, stove, fridge, water heater, etc on a longer timeframe. Without accounting for those you'll be upside down in no time. 

Also, I would be clear about what you're considering your 'option' money. If that's the escrowed deposit to submit an offer, you'll likely be able to get that back. Ask your realtor to include an appraisal contingency in the offer document - this states that the property needs to appraise for $X in order to proceed with the contract. Offer docs vary, so I'd see if it's there and ask your realtor why it wasn't in there in the first place. In all except the hottest markets it should be standard and your realtor should have a very, very strong justification if it wasn't included. If they can't explain to your satisfaction I would consider a new realtor. 

With the appraisal contingency, you have two options - you can walk from the deal (and get your deposit back) if they appraisal comes in too low, or you can negotiate a lower price in order to get the deal done. The appraisal sticks to the property (as @Russell Brazil said) so that can be a strong motivator for the seller to continue with the deal. 

I would work with your broker to determine the submarket. The MSA data is all well and good, but may not provide the data you'll need for a true special case. Once you have a submarket, call all the vacant properties in the area matching your profile for their rental rates, and have your broker see if they can connect you with owners of those properties. See if you can get from the owners their actual vacancy and rental rates. Then build your profile off the best guess from that data. From there I like @Andrew Kerr's suggestions on building the numbers for initial uptake and a strong reserve. 

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to search the fileplace? I'm looking for a few samples of net worth calculation spreadsheets, but I'm not seeing a way to search spreadsheets by title in the fileplace. Looks like it's just a big list of everything. I tried the general search as well, but there's no way I can find to narrow that search to documents. Any ideas? 

I used to work for a bank - please give them a call. Given how poorly written it is I'm leaning toward scam, and the bank will definitely want to know about it to alert their customers. 

I would call it your good deed for the week in helping someone avoid identity theft. 

I would agree - in future definitely go with a smaller/local bank. They are more able/willing to provide a personal touch and make exceptions. Big banks don't have the ability to step outside their systems, and really don't have any motive to help you (unfortunately). 

I would ask to talk to the underwriters directly. Normally banks resist allowing that access, but if you press you can generally speak to them, or to their supervisor. Just ask to have a call with that groups supervisor and your mortgage officer. Have all your documents ready and ask them what specific documentation you need, then email it to them while they're on the phone to see if it meets their needs. I've done something similar before and it vastly sped up the process. 

Good luck!

I use spreadsheets as well, as I wanted to minimize costs as much as possible when starting out. Maybe down the line it'll be worth investing in something else, but it seems like a good enough system makes it manageable just through excel. 

I added the spreadsheet I mentioned to the fileplace if anyone is interested:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/sfquigle/file/unified-property-record