All Forum Posts by: Tim Hoffman

Glad to have another N. Illinois investor on board. Welcome.

I would probably do based on your numbers. I am a bit skeptical that you can get a house for $23k in an A neighborhood and that an A neighborhood only rents for $750/mo.

I consider a neighborhood and A neighborhood where Upper level managers, business owners and those living way beyond their means like to live. In most towns and cities that is more than $750/mo.

Good luck

@Patrick Connell , I suppose you are right, technically, until the passage of time. Maybe 7 days for a visitor and 8th day is the lease violation. I just do not like people being sneaky and trying to hide things, like extra tenants. In my experience, they are hiding them for a reason. If they were "alter boys" there would be no reason to not put them on the original application or lease. Just saying.....

@Curt Davis , I take exception with your comments that all properties under $50k are in bad areas and people will be praying for someone like you to take them off their hands. I will agree, however, that in that price range you are in older, established areas that have the potential to be going down or maybe just holding their own / inflation increases. I live in Rockford, IL and have been a SFH LL for 15+ years. The last 2 deals I did (2nd half of 2013) were 3BR 1Ba 2 car garage purchased for $33k from estate, put $5k into it and am renting for $895/mo with a lease option at $79,500, in a C+ neighborhood. Deal 2 was a 3BR 1.5Ba 2 car garage purchased for $38k, $7k invested and am renting for $925/mo in a C+/B- neighborhood. Both were purchased from the MLS

I am not an attorney, do not have a lot of probate experience and I live in IL, a very backwards State: so with that said here goes. I think you need to get his estate in order. That may mean going thru probate with an attorney who can get you the proper documents to deal with your situation. If you were already on the mortgage and you have the death certificate then try a local community bank and they may work with you (and they may require other docs as well). If the will gives you specific control then I would file a quit claim deed to get directly into your name alone and then talk with the bank or mtg company and find out what they need to put the mtg directly into your name. Sorry for your loss and good luck in dealing with this extra hassle.

I am a bit confused. If the tenants does not yet have keys, then how are they moving in? If you are not strong at the beginning, they will walk all over you throughout their tenancy. Like the others above, everything should be referenced in the lease: Visitors, who is allowed to live there, way to contact them via phone, email, etc. If they have broken a lease term already they will in the future so I would suggest giving them the appropriate notice for a lease violation (10 day notice in IL). Good luck.

Bill, I am the VP of my local Apartment Association and we meet monthly and bring "experts" in to speak to our members. I agree that the local involvement is the best way to stay up to date on local issues and trends. I just like to "get away" once in a while and still have my mind expanded and status quo challenged.

Aaron and Brian, thank you for the list of presenters and topics. I will take some time and review them and see which ones peak my interest, fit my schedule and look like a nice place to visit (no crime in making a mini-vacation out of an educational trip is there?).

I like knowing that other investors and landlords have gotten a lot out of a particular topic / presenter / course. Thanx

I am a seasoned landlord / investor in Rockford, IL, (65 SF Homes and close to 15 yrs experience) but new to BP (about a month).

I try to keep up to date and like to attend a seminar every so often and am looking for suggestions from this group. I attended a Mr. Landlord cruise in Feb of this year, a John Burley 3 day seminar in Phoenix a few years ago, and Jay DeCima class about 5 years ago.

I find getting away helps with the learning and spending a few dollars makes you more committed. I just dont want to waste money.

thanx for the input.

Tim

I read your post to mean the military "client" is the owner of the home and he wants you to manage it for him. With that in mind, here goes.

A month-to-month lease means that you can give a 30-day notice an the tenants are supposed to move. The 30-days actually start on the first of the next month (for example, a notice given on the 10th of March means the tenant has until the end of April to get out). If they do not move then you have the time and expense of an eviction. If your military client has the ability to give you that much notice they are coming back and want to re-occupy their home, great. If not they would have to stay with family or friends or check into an extended stay hotel for a time until the home was ready for them. Not the end of the world but something to keep in mind.

As for finding short term tenants, Jon K is right that most people do not want to move that often and there are the turnover expenses but if you are managing, those expenses are passed on to the owner (military person in this case). I would still charge my normal fees for finding a tenant (1/2 month rent in my area) even if the tenant is only there 3-4 months. You are helping the owner cover their mortgage while they are deployed.

There is a good source of short term tenants to go after, however, depending on the size, condition and location of the rental. You have Corporate (local companies that fly in execs from other locations or countries for short term projects etc), Vacation (there are whole websites dedicated to vacation rentals and all of them are short term and usually at a higher daily or weekly rate than if you rented by the year), Insurance claims (a family needs a place to stay while their home is being repaired due to storm damage or some other disaster). In most of these cases you would have to provide a fully furnished (and in some cases include all utilities) unit including dishes, towels, TV and so on.

Where there is a will, there is a way. Good luck and hope this helps.

From where i sit, you have a couple options. 1) Move on. This seller is not motivated or realistic. You are probably wasting your time if you are hoping to flip / wholesale. 2) If you are interested in renting, then get real creative. What if you offered him his asking price on an owner financing with 100% of the payment going toward principle? You give him $500/mo, get a $500/mo payment toward balance and then you pay taxes, insurance, etc and then rent. This will only work if he owns or has a very small mortgage balance.

Just trying to think outside the box.