All Forum Posts by: Shiva Bhaskar

 Thanks Ryan. messaging you now! 

Hello everyone,

I've decided to take the California agent exam, so that I can get access to MLS for deals etc. Have a friend who is a fellow investor as well as a licensed broker (again, mainly to look for deals for himself), who can hook me up with access for a small fee, once I have the license. As it happens, I'm an attorney in California, so I don't have to take the class. I do, however, have to pass the exam.

Picked up a few well-rated books on Amazon, but I wanted to see if anyone had any tips re studying, and also, how long it might take to study, if I could put in around 30 minutes per day (probably a few hours per day on the weekends)? I'd like to knock out the exam before end of year if possible. Any advice is appreciated. 

 Lol, Jay, I would have thought the same thing as you, since I grew up in a nice area and we had garage sales, was a fun even for the community. Talk about a reality check! Recently had a prospective tenant who seemed good in terms of income etc, but lied about being evicted - in fact, she was evicted from the very place she listed as her previous address. On the court records, noted that property owner had her and the boyfriend removed by the sheriff. Real estate is never dull. 

 Hi Ben, I basically have a mentor and friend, who also happens to a realtor and quite a successful landlord himself, handling management for me (single family rentals), and he's been amazing. So I'll share why I feel that way.

What has stood up to me was his responsiveness, not that I bug him, but he keeps me posted on major issues, and he is firm but fair. He speaks to tenants in a cordial manner, and listens to their concerns. Yet, he stands up for my interests (like when the tenants wanted more garage door openers after we provided two, and providing under would have cost a lot with the homeowners association). He also isn't looking to just do the least amount of work for us i.e. he did not just stick the first tenant in there, but rather, found someone who would stay longer term (which is possible for this property and market), and didn't rest until he found such a person. He also will tell me when the thinks I should take a different approach or am wrong, and I listen.

So, the things I'd draw from this are, setting clear expectations with the landlords you work with, and maintaining a good rapport with tenants (that does reduce vacancy rates and people moving out, in my view), and being willing to go the extra mile (within reason). Having strong tenant screening practices in place helps - my manager charges $40 per credit check and doesn't make much off it, but checks court records, criminal records, credit, and so on. He contacts former landlords, and looks into tenants via Facebook, LinkedIn etc. That really stood out to me. There is such a need for better management companies in most markets in the country. If you can offer this service in a reasonable, cost effective way , (which I think today's technology allows you to do), I think there's a lot of potential to grow, just by virtue of the fact that landlords know other landlords, and your name will be out there. Good luck to you! 

 I'd keep an eye and see what she does - maybe get in touch with the eviction lawyer and learn the process before, so that way, if she moves out on time, you've lost nothing (you learned the process, and can handle it in the future, and have someone good to help you with it). If she doesn't leave, you can hit the ground running and handle it more easily. Good luck Alyse! 

 Does your lease speak to this issue, i.e. providing access to contractors etc? I would tell the tenant that you want to accomodate them, but you need reasonable access, and that this whole situation will be over soon (i.e. I assume once these folks have finished their work, you won't be having further visits to the property). 

If she does not work with you, and denies access, then you will need to look into initiating eviction proceedings, for breach of the lease. I would really talk with a landlord attorney who specializes in evictions, as to the best course of action. Before you do all this, see if you can work with her one more time, but if not, you'll likely have to work on getting her out. 

Hi Ryan. I'm sorry to hear this is happening - this is the ugly part of our business, but one we can't always avoid. I'm an attorney myself, and have a close friend who has been a very successful landlord attorney here in Los Angeles. His advice, and I completely agree with it, is make sure that you know the rules around evicting non-paying tenants, and have a very good landlord attorney on call. Sounds like you've done that here, so let the court process play itself out (not sure where it is at the moment)? I would avoid all communication with the tenant if possible, focus on getting them out of there.  

There are a class of tenants who don't want to pay, and wish to live rent free. They are often backed up by well-meaning but misguided housing attorney advocates, and courts which seem to think every landlord is a deep-pocket Scrooge. Having knowledge of how the court process works, as well as access to an attorney who can help, is the key, and you seem to be doing that. Don't let this throw you off your investing journey - get them out, you'll find a new tenant, and on to the next deal my friend! 

 Hi Jonathan, I agree on this to a certain extent - I think we do much better with D properties if it's local though - for example, I would consider one here in Los Angeles, where I  know the area, housing authority etc, before I would out of state, but I'd happily do a C+ area out of state. But yes, if you could turn around an F neighborhood would be great - just tough in my view, but a huge return for whoever could pull it off. 

I would use the crime maps on Trulia/Zillow, and contact local police, or look up FBI crime stats. But more than that, walk around and see how you feel. 

There are lots of C areas where you have some break in or assault here and there, but many good blocks to be found. But a D to F area, with gangs and real violence, stay far away. 

I know some people use the test of "would I live there", but that will limit you. I live in an A- areas, and I'd never do deals here, but I happily invest in B- and C areas. 

 Usually the contracts aren't forever (at least in my market), so it's not a deal breaker if you bought with them, and wanted to replace after X months or even a year or more. Still, you'll want to find it. Just my 2 cents, look like you are doing this, but really dig into those expenses and see what could be done, OR what you might do to get higher rents (i.e. do you know contractors? Maybe see if stuff in the area that's more updated rents for more than what this building goes for?) 

I admire your willingness to try for a bigger deal (i.e. more than four units) on the first one, but just keep asking questions and exploring every aspect of the deal as much as possible, to make sure it works for you, and that you've got a handle on things. There are no stupid questions here, and if the broker and seller are not able to give answers to your satisfaction, or the deal has issues, walk away. There will be others, and this is a learning opportunity more than anything else. Best of luck to you.