All Forum Posts by: Joe L.

I would definitely go with the 9 foot ceilings.  Not only does it make the house appear larger but it also gives you the ability to put solid core 8 foot doors which I think is an ever bigger bang for the buck.  This will give the house much larger scale and stand out against your competition.

I am nearing completion on a 3000sf 4 bedroom 5 bath complete rehab on a home in California in the $700,000 range. It has been awhile since I have paid a company to stage a home, does anyone know how much I should be paying for this service?

Count me in for ONE.

If your credit and income supports your purchases you can easily finance up to four Fannie Mae non owner properties. The next step is to go up to 10 homes which FNMA will do - you just have to find the right mortgage broker with access to these lenders. On a purchase you can go with as little as 20% down payment. If you pay cash to close you can then do an 80% cash out loan as another option, there is no seasoning requirement. Either way will work for you because it sounds like you are the perfect FNMA borrower; good credit, W-2 income and cash reserves.

I would let them know that rents are on the rise and since you are a great landlord you will offer them to opportunity to lock in today's rental rates for 24 months with no current increase and no chance of an increase in 12 months when a 12 month lease would come due.

I pay for the tenant credit reports, this way I have a larger pool of prospective tenants to choose from.

Robert-

I manage the Vegas properties myself, another reason for needing quality long term tenants since I am in California.

One thing you might try that I have had some success with if you are doing your own property management: Use the heading NO APPLICATION FEE in front of your listing. Some people charge up to $100 just to run credit, that is good way for people who are not sure of their credit score to say "screw it I'm not going to waste $100 bucks" Would you pay the price of a credit report to get a good tenant? I certainly would.

These are long term holds with 3.75% FNMA 15 year fully amortized loans. They have positive cash flow even after building in an 8.3% (one month a year) vacancy rate - so if I can keep the long term vacancy to 2-3% over time that will boost my cash flow even more and they will have no debt service in 13 more years providing some extra sweet free cash flow down the road.

I had a few leases come up for renewal this month and have noticed a change in renter mentality. Of the 3 expiring leases all three said they wanted to remain tenants and were willing to sign 2 year leases. The rental market for good quality homes seems to be firming up. I also just closed a 3 bedroom home in Henderson and within 1 day of posting to MLS and Craigslist had 3 applications all wanting multi year leases. This is good news for landlords who thought the hedge funds were going to ruin the rental market in Las Vegas. If you have a new property to rent or leases coming up for renewal ask them to sign multi year contracts, you will save on repairs and the expense of getting your pad ready for the next renter. No hike in rent will ever boost your returns more than a 2 year lease renewal.