All Forum Posts by: Sierra Crisp

Hello Richard, I got an email saying you were planning on having a Santa Clarita meet up but it was unclear when this was. Is that still a plan? Do you have a projected date?

I was an insurance agent for 6 years. YES! Get an umbrella. You may have to get a business umbrella if you own more then a few properties (this varies from company to company) but its worth it. The coverage cost is minimal and is a necessary protection with rentals.

I have bought a lot of off market properties. The way I’ve bought them (this is going to sound crazy) is t-shirts and team members. If you own other properties have your workers wear shirts that say “want to sell you home?” Or “cash For Condos” get one for yourself and wear it EVERYWHERE! Send mailers to the areas you want to buy, not the specific list of pre-foreclosures. That stupid shirt has started more conversations than I can tell you. You can also get signs made. Hang them HIGH and with a google voice number. Post on Facebook, and LinkedIn. If your friends aren’t tired of hearing you asking, then you haven’t asked enough. Buying off market is about two things. Who you know and who has heard you pitch. So you better pitch to everybody and their brother. You are gunna get a lotta NOs but hen you get the yes it’s worth it. Hope this helps!

Thank you Bill, I appreciate the referral. I can have a fantastic property, but it is only ever as good as the manager that runs it. I will definitely call him. If you don’t mind me asking... did you have all 10 properties brought over at once? I have about 50 properties to bring over and when I give that number to a company they seem somewhat overwhelmed. Did you bring them gradually or just have them take everything at once?

My boyfriend and I own about 48 units here in Las Vegas. It’s a great but competitive market, always interested in meeting new people who are interested in real estate.

Nevada landlords, Who have you had good dealings with for property management? I have tried interviewing companies and they are great if they want your business as a landlord, but they seem to take a week to show a tenant a property, by this time they have found something else... any recommendations for some reputable property management in the Las Vegas area?

Your price is obviously an issue, but i would address a couple other things. How are the pictures of this home? I would make sure you have advertised images that will attract s many clients as possible. When are you showing it? If you have loud neighbors when do they work? If there is garbage on the street show it after trash day and PICK UP THE TRASH. Make sure your marketing is good! That is key! Once this is addressed I would lower price. You will need both of these to being people in the door. 

You are correct, this still doesn't change my underlying issue. To be honest all my properties are outside of rent control. This isn't just about money for me personally. I truly feel that this discriminates against an "investor class." I want to find a solution or an understanding to the other side of this. I think this was something that was created with the idea of helping people, but it has harmed many and that harm is going unnoticed due to the fact that we are the "rich landlords" which really isn't always the case. 

While you are correct, I can always invest elsewhere (and i do) does this change the true underlying issue? The idea of rent control is being flirted with in many cities. If I buy a property in burbank tomorrow, will it be under rent control in 3 years? It very well may. I can ignore this problem and go elsewhere or I can still invest wisely while addressing the true issue at hand. Is it okay to limit or cap a certain industry due to the public perception? Its only a matter of time until these other areas I've invested in are affected. 

If I borrowed your car and you told me you needed it back when our contract was up, you would be shocked when I told you I would only give it back after you payed me 10 thousand dollars. This analogy sounds silly but it’s happening every day with rental properties. Landlords are capped on their income when their expenses and taxes are not. We run the risk of a falling market, yet are hindered from profiting in a thriving one in many cities. How is it this is possible? The government cannot tell McDonalds what it can sell a cheese burger for, yet everyone needs to eat. But I am told what I can rent my home for because everyone needs a place to live. This seems discriminatory to landlords. I have seen a past case brought to the Supreme Court regarding this and it was thrown out. I wish to do something to have this looked at again. Where would you start and what would you suggest? What are your opinions on rent control? (Without slinging mud at each other.) This seems a huge task and I’d like to get some opinions.

This one is a doozy. My boyfriend owns a property in Vegas that when the tenant moved out we decided to renovate. Due to living in California, we didn't want to do this ourselves, so we used a handyman that was recommended to us by our property manager for a different rental. My boyfriend was doing an extensive remodel. Scraping ceilings, new floors, doors, cabinets, countertops, the works. He coordinated this work to be done with the "handyman" and we went up after it was completed to do a quick check of the property. What followed was something STRAIGHT OUT OF A BAD HGTV SHOW. 

We came to find the property had been broken into due to the front door being installed so poorly it was unable to lock.  As I walked into the living room the laminate floor swayed like a see-saw underneath my feet. A sign of the workmanship to come... The kitchen tile was laid with no grout lines at all. It was so uneven that I worried a tenant may cut themselves on the  sharp corners purtruding upwards. The cabinets were haphazardly put together and hung unevenly on the walls. They were installed in such a way that all access to the waterlines was now blocked. After inspecting our uneven flooring, we popped up a floorboard and found that the laminate was actually installed on top of the old carpet!!! Not just that! The carpet had pieces of the scraped popcorn ceiling throughout! Our uneven kitchen and bathroom tile was also installed over the old tile. This made the flooring so high that none of the interior doors could open or close. We stood aghast. Waiting for someone to tell us this was a joke. We brought this up to the "handyman" and they agreed that this was inexcusable and that they would pay us back our $9000 for materials and labor. But of course, when it came time to sign the contract her tune changed. Not only was she not willing to pay our money, but she wants us to pay her the rest of what she would have been owed had this work been done properly, or she will attempt to put a lien on the property. 

Is it worth the $9000 to pursue this? Should we be charging for the lost rent and the fact that all of this has to be redone? We now have to pay double the cost of demo due to two layers of flooring being removed. What would you do next?