All Forum Posts by: Tom Tijerina

My crystal ball is broken. If it was working I would probably use it to win at blackjack or the Powerball.

Since it doesn't work my best option is to move forward with my risk tolerance in mind. If I don't over leverage myself but I do take advantage of the offers I am able to take advantage of I position myself to do several things simultaneously.

The most important thing in any endeavor in life is knowledge and that knowledge is best game through experience. Currently I am being paid somewhere between -400 to 300 a month to learn how to landlord. It has not been an easy process but growth never is.

There is no secret to anything in life and landlording is no different , so for that reason I am very hesitant to purchase a chorus that's promising to provide me with this information. I would much rather dive in make a few mistakes they're going to cost me some money but end up with a much better education. The advantages the cost of the education is really going to come down to how dense I am. If I am particularly smart it's going to be relatively low in cost if I do things particularly dumb it's going to be relatively high in cost. No matter what I still get the education and I get one that's better than anywhere else.

I've only been a landlord for a few months, so there is a lot that I don't know. I do know that I want to surround myself with the team who is better smarter and faster than me and that is what I am focusing on.

I am not focusing on that there might be a crash I just put things together in such a way that if there is it will have little meaning in my life. If there was a crash and it took the rental market with it it would cause me some problems but historically it would be short-lived and as long as I can survive the valley I will eventually end up on top of a mountain.

I am slowly building up cash reserves for my next building and for if something were to happen. Unfortunately this is not a fast process and it is exceptionally boring and so day-to-day I don't actually pay attention to all the people talking about how bad of an idea this is. I also don't want to be exposed to that type of information constantly. I would like to be aware of what the biggest criticism complaints and concerns are so that I can evaluate them but I do not want to be surrounded by that and allow my brain to think that's normal.

there are always reasons to not do something and there are always reasons to do something. If you want to do this you're going to need to do it and understand that there are some risks involved. If those risks are too much if a potential crash is too scary this may not be something for you right now.

The people that I see that have been successful were scared when they started because of the newness of it and because of all the things that could go wrong. From what I've read things will go wrong but it wasn't the things that they thought would go wrong and they didn't go nearly as wrong as they had envisioned.

In my case my first tenant died within a month of renting and it wasn't discovered until days later. I had to hire a special company to decontaminate.... That was quite a hit to the budget and my psychology.

I was worried that the market might go down and I might only get half of the rents I was expecting from renting these rooms out then instead something completely different happened. It was traumatic it was terrible but I got through it and I am continuing to learn.

If you want to go forward I suggest you just go forward and then deal with the consequences. Nothing about my property or how I purchased it is what people would consider to be ideal. I purchased it quickly because I would rather get in and deal with the consequences knowing that over time I'll be okay. The only thing that changes is how much I pay for the education. I would rather pay a bit more for my education and have it done sooner than wait and try to get lucky with a home run on the first deal.

@Maurice D. She is a GSD. Got a boy to keep her company too but she generally ignores him unless he takes her ball. Haha

I plan on buying 3 houses in 3 years, so I believe we are on similar tracks. I purchased my first home a 3/1 and have started to rent out the extra rooms. It... hasn't been an easy thing... The process will pay for itself.

When I purchased this home, I was assuming I could get maybe $600 in rent per room, so $1,200 gross rental income with a $1,350 FHA mortgage payment. I knew that inflation was coming and I wanted debt. So the 237k home price was basically free money at this interest rate, provided I can keep the property for 30 years.

I didn't care about the home itself, its location or anything like that. I cared that I could afford it myself without stretching myself financially. I cared that I got started. I did the single most difficult thing I had ever accomplished in over a decade. While feeling completely unprepared I bought a house with the intention of living with people. It has not gone well. My first roommate passed away. It took a long time to find a second, and its very likely I could be charging $800 for the smaller room and $900 for the larger one. I think those prices are crazy, but I'm not having trouble finding people for $700/$800 a month. 

Now instead of kicking myself for not getting started as soon as possible I'm looking at how to prepare for a second one. I have a minimum of 10 months to save and prepare before I'm allowed to move. I can't save enough in that time frame without at least one roommate. 

So lets recap...

By ignoring all the common investor numbers/math, I bought a loser and it "turned into" a winner, because the markets are crazy and I just made sure I can personally afford it. If I was paying rent like a normal person that would have accounted for a bulk of my new living expenses. 

By starting I was able to participate in the rising tide effect, but I'm also financially prepared for a low tide event. You don't have to be a genius to raise your boat when the tide is rising.... just don't sink it. :)

I would focus on 2 things. 1, What risks do you think you need to prepare for? For me, it is a falling home price. It would have a negligible impact on me -- and I don't think it is likely. Falling rent prices would be the next one. Again, not something that is likely to impact me much on this first property.  -- What can you do to minimize the risks?

2. How can you get started sooner, rather then later? The worst thing that can happen to you is that you stay out of the market because it doesn't meet CoC numbers. This is the first property. Don't go in hoping to get lucky, but also don't wait until you hit the winning lottery numbers either.

So long as you can weather the storms and any short term down trends getting in the market is going to be your best bet. Then, find out what you did great, and what you can improve upon for your next property. If you focus on getting started and improving as you move on you will be in a much better position no matter what happens. 

I don't have anything new to add, but I'll tell you why selling it and moving on is very likely to be a great way to live another day. There is something called "target fixation". It is very easy to get so focused on achieving a goal that your mind will literally ignore anything counter to that. 

Lets say your goal is to sell lemonade for a profit. Lets say you recognize that while people will pay 50 cents for a cup, you recognize you need to move more product. If you get stuck in "target fixation" mode, you might ignore labor costs. You might not count how much you spent to buy the lemons. You might drop the "for a profit" and claim it is better to make 5 cents on a cup of lemonade instead of nothing, because this way you are moving products. None of these shifts will happen quickly but they will add up fast. Next thing you know to your mind got locked onto "moving product" not "making a profit". In order do that you lower your prices and sell at a loss, while advertising more. 

This might sound silly, and that is because it is.... but us human beings do it all the time. 

Could the situation be salvaged? Maybe. Do you have the experience necessary to keep yourself on track while your emotions are running high because this entire situation is new to you? I don't know, but if you are honest with yourself I bet you can answer that one. 

In the long run it may be better to take a known loss. It sounds like you are about to double down/go double or nothing. Are you attempting to win at all costs or do you want to setup policies and procedures in your life that will yield success over the long run, even if there are some early failures. Failures which, if we are being honest will yield you far more knowledge then you could obtain at that price from anywhere.... 

I wanted to thank everybody who has reached out to help me. While this isn't completely over at a time when I just had too much to think rationally so many of you stepped up to help an internet stranger. At the time I was simply unable to think rationally. Problem solving has been my main source of W2, yet I couldn't even really ask question in a rational way.

@Dallas Hayden, I ended up hiring a company to clean it up. That got it 90% of the way there. An through scrubbing/cleaning and ozone treatment got it the rest. So far, so good.

I.... cant even imagine having to deal with that bathroom. I often hear the smellier the better when it comes to real estate -- I hope you got a fantastic discount!

@Theresa Harris and @Nathan G. I took what you and @Joe Splitrock wrote and ran with it. I sent the estate a certified letter yesterday addressed to the persons estate, at his last known address. This is also where his sister said to send it via text. I was prepared to send two if they didn't match just to be sure. 

I again can't thank you all enough for helping me through this tough time. I expected to have to deal with a pissed off person for a few months during an eviction process as my worst case. I was very much unprepared for this. I've seen people mentally shut down after being pushed emotionally but I've never been so far into the weeds that I couldn't just immediately turn around. 

Thank you again! 

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season filled with quiet tenants and full stockings. :)

PS: future reader. If you are going through this, don't be afraid to reach out to everybody you know! So many will help you, even if you think you are "a loner" like me.

So I've been house-hacking for about 3 weeks when this happened last weekend. I'm still going through the trauma but I would very much like to get the legal requirements of this situation over with as soon as possible.

My roommate passed away and wasn't discovered until days later. I've told the sister who claims to be handling the estate and has collected his belongings that the cleaning service costs well in excess of the $500 deposit. There are some holes in the wall that haven't been repaired. Even after paying a company nearly $1,400 to decontaminate and remove the smell they quoted me another $400 to ozone treat it. I instead went on amazon and spent $110 for my own ozone machines. 

I understand I need to mail a certified letter, but to where and to who? Do I mail it to his name's estate at his drivers license address? He had only been my roommate for 3 weeks before this happened.

I have no intention of going after the family for that but the sister doesn't seem to understand that they are not going to be getting any money back from me. That the costs of this situation are so far in excess of the security deposit and last months rent it is just crazy.

I'm assuming if I do manage to get it cleaned up and rented out in time before the last month expires that I need to return the money to them. Is there a way I can use that to make up for the lacking security deposit? I have no plans on going after the estate, but I also don't want to say something that obligates me to give them a large chunk of money if I otherwise wouldn't have to. 

@Spencer Lasday well hopefully coffee is still a thing in three years from now! I'm not saying I wouldn't survive without it, only that I'm not willing to risk it. 😁

Hi @Spencer Lasday

It's nice to meet you. I am just getting started as well. How far along are you on your legal career and what areas are you planning to focus on?

I've just recently started my journey in Sarasota. Will you be returning? If so, let's have coffee sometime!

Hey BP

It took me quite a while to be in a position where I can do this but I plan to be househacking a 3/1 in Sarasota Florida when I close at the end of this month. Still a lot of things to do but I am looking forward to this journey!

I found that life is dramatically easier when I surround myself with people that are smarter than me and have a great deal of experience in whatever subject matter I need help with. In this particular case I know I'm going to need a lawyer. I plan on renting out two bedrooms and living in the third if not renting out all three and just sleeping on the couch.

I'm looking for a lawyer that can help me draft the lease agreement , handle evictions, help advise me in general, as well as work with me in the future when I buy my second, third and fourth property.

Circumstance have led me to starting in Sarasota Florida so I would prefer a lawyer around here. I can do what I did when I was looking for a mortgage and call everyone I can find and see who I like and would want to work with but I would like to shortlist that and ask the community who you recommend. Short of any specific recommendations a good way to build a comprehensive list if I can't cheat and shortlist it with the help of y'all's awesomeness.

I'm still trying to learn how to use all of the features of bigger pockets but my search didn't seem to yield a lawyer in Sarasota as much as posts about lawyers or evictions in general. Kind of scary reading right now...

Thank you for any help or suggestions!

@Dmitriy Fomichenko thanks for the welcome!