All Forum Posts by: Thomas O.

@Alexander Quan read the mortgage docs, more than likely you have to occupy for 1 year as a primary residence. If you don’t, it’s called fraud. I have heard through the grapevine they’re cracking down on it.

@Anna Buffkin I don’t take CC directly, but I do allow tenants to Venmo me. To fund Venmo using a CC is an option. It’s super easy and has worked great for the past couple of years with my tenants. Pretty much all of them under 45 have heard of Venmo...

@Ryan Wamsat I would need to see more but it doesn’t sound like he has calculated your schedule e yet. Do you have any other recurring debt other than your properties?

How long have you been renting out your current rentals?

I won a home off of auction.com a few days ago. I selected the title company that they recommended because I figured in this situation it may be easier.

I have purchased several homes and typically the settlement fee from the title company is $500 +\- $100, I was expecting a similar cost. This title company’s settlement fee is $1200. I spoke with them and told them that I was going to use a different title company, at that point they said their fee would still be $800 if I don’t use them or an additional $400 if I close through them. Does this seem crazy or is this common?

Thanks for the feedback!

Vinh-  Cash flow is important to me strictly based off of the home, area, note and game plan for that property. -$300/month is not something I would be interested in unless the tax savings is fantastic on it, making up the difference.  

I have a property right now that rent vs expense is about even, however, I receive some tax benefit because of it and it will be paid off in 8 years. (originally a 15 year note).  The house and neighborhood are nice and I have minimal concerns about a drastic decline.

I'm a conservative investor, the 30 year note appeals to me in 1 way.  You have more buffer in a down turn.   If/When the market corrects, how is that going to adjust rent?  If rent decreases, how much more negative will the property be?  No one knows, but can you afford it?  Are you in an industry that could be affected by a down turn?  If you don't have big cash reserves and could not afford any more negative cash flow, you may want to consider parting ways with the property...

@John Thedford thanks for the feedback. I think I can get $5k off the price, but does the price really matter if the cash flow makes sense? For my RE investments, I have always bought and held.

Hey guys- first original post to the community, there’s a ton of great information on here and I thank all of you for your input and knowledge sharing!

I’m looking at a property built in 2016, current tenant is paying 1950/month. I can purchase for $230k, put 25% down for a mortgage of approximately $1250 for 30 years. It’s a 4/3 2000 sq ft in an up and coming area. The original owners purchased it for $180k in 2016.

The deal seems like a no brainer to me, I’m just a little concerned about talks of a correction and that it’s increased over 25% in 2 years. What do you think? Thanks for the input!!

@Cecile Poyet our market is steady here, I think we are going to slow down but not go into a recession. Interest rates are up and housing prices are up, people will not be buying/selling as often as before because their equity will not increase as dramatically as the last few years but I don’t see some major correction. With the Job market strong and conservative mortgage lending practices, I don’t see how the housing market could possibly drop as much as it did in 2007/2008. Buy smart, don’t over extend yourself and have cash on hand just in case...

IMO buying and renting for appreciation is nuts, buy for cash flow. If there’s a recession at least you can net out and not have to subsidize someone else’s rental payment because you’re losing money to rent them a home.

@Dan Gustavson I have only ever listed through Zillow/postlets and usually secure a tenant very quickly. I allow non aggressive dogs and no cats. I have a cat in one now but will need to do new carpets on that property anyways, the lady said she was going to stay for 3 years. I keep the units clean, updated and charge a high rent relative to the area.

You have a deposit, if the animals messes it up, you request the repair or keep the deposit. No biggie. Don’t be attached to your property, it’s a business. It will get messed up at some point one way or another. If you have carpet in the property change to tile or wood when it’s time for new carpet that way the dog situation is easier to manage and you don’t cut out 50% of your potential tenants.

@Samantha Miller Maybe you could allow them to stay in the room for free, but maybe they are required to pay for the electrical bill/cable/internet/groceries/etc.. That doesn't sound like you're renting out the property to me, just being generous to your friends and they're reciprocating with contributing to other necessary bills...