All Forum Posts by: Tom R.

I had the house I'm purchasing inspected and some of the things he found concern me. Aside from a few minor problems that I can fix easily for less than $100 there were a few problems that I consider to be major issues. 

1 The TPR discharge pipe on water heater is PVC and drains directly into the drip pan.

2 The electric panel is missing the deadfront cover and one breaker in the electric panel has more than one wire connected.

3 A horizontal sliding window has been installed as a vertical single hung window in the bathroom.

What do you think I should do?

The multi-family residences I run the numbers on do cash flow any more than single family residences. With a higher purchase price and more work involved to manage multiple tenants it doesn't make any sense to invest in those properties. I will continue to run numbers on multi family but I need to almost double my cash flow vs a single family that's cost a little less before I will invest in one.

I'm just starting out myself, my first house is in escrow now. I would not buy a house with little or no escrow. For one thing just starting out the costs associated with buying an investment property and getting it to market are likely a good amount higher than you think they will be. I am paying about $3000 more in closing costs than I expected Insurance is about $20 more per month than expects then if you want to be protected from a lawsuit you should have a lawyer draw up you leases and other legal forms which will probably be $150 an hour or more. An investment property will not build up very much equity at first with a 30 year loan. It will be several years before a home equity loan will net you a substantial amount and what if the bubble pops before then? If you have look else ware to get good cash flow I would suggest you do it.

I don't mind that we've got off topic I'm learning a lot. I've got a whole list of things that would disqualify a renter but I also want to a little flexible I understand that people make mistakes and they may or may not learn from them. I wouldn't have rented a house to myself 5 years ago

I'm just getting started as a real estate investor and I'm trying to get an understanding of as many different scenarios as possible. What would I do in this situation?

I'm pretty handy, I did my mom's kitchen remodel by myself for example. Say my tenant broke something that I could easily fix myself like patch a large hole in the drywall or replace a few broken tiles. What do I charge the tenant for labor?

 I agree that's probably the intent of the question but not how it will look to the disabled. Just as a smoker won't see questions about their smoking habits to be anything but a sign that smokers probably aren't allowed. I've worked with the disabled for more than 5 years for many of them the slightest appearance of possible discrimination is enough for a lawsuit.

I'm considering using turbo tenant for my application and billing process. I was reviewing their application when I was this question.

Do you have any special requests or needs we should be aware of?

For me this raises a red flag. The disabled are a protected class I'm not sure its legal to ask the question. By asking the question it seems like a disabled applicant could accuse me of discrimination if I reject him or her for another equally qualified tenant.

What do you think?

My first property is in escrow and I'm trying to get ready to evaluate applicants. I want to have a full set of standards before I start evaluating applicants that way I can prove I used the same qualifications for everyone. Whats you're credit score drop off for applicants? I realize that the higher the rent the higher the drop off should be. The property in question will rent for $1000 which is a little less than the local average.

My first property is in escrow and I'm trying to get ready to evaluate applicants. I want to have a full set of standards before I start evaluating applicants that way I can prove I used the same qualifications for everyone. Whats you're credit score drop off for applicants? I realize that the higher the rent the higher the drop off should be. The property in question will rent for $1000 which is a little less than the local average.

@Bettina F. Thanks that was helpful. 

My sister lives in Post Falls. Its a wonderful community. I am considering investing there when I decide to invest long distance.