All Forum Posts by: Walter Key

@Account Closed It sounds like what you're referring to bird dogging. Essentially, finding a buyer and putting them in touch with a seller then having the buyer pay you a fee for bringing them the deal. There are tons on blogs, forums post and podcast on this subject for FREE right here on BP. Education is step number one. Best of luck!

@Becca Summers Have you ran the numbers on refinancing the 20 year mortgage into a 30 year and seeing if that negative cash flow doesn't turn positive? Just food for thought.

What was your home refinanced into? What type of loan I mean. 

@Roy Mitle I think you've gotten some pretty good feedback so far. I'll add that while some will charge a non-refundable pet fee, others will charge a monthly pet rent and some will charge both, this is largely based on the area your rental is in and what the norm in that area is. A local property manager could give you a better overview of what works well in the area so you're not overcharging for a pet.

Regardless of what you charge, make sure you do a pet Addendum to the lease which specifically states the pet breed, size, etc that you are approving. Last thing you want is to approve little 20 pound Fido then find out 6-12 months later that they adopted a 65 pound playmate for Fido because you "approved pets" when they moved in. You want to cover yourself here by making the pet policy very clear and having all parties involved sign the dotted line to affirm they understand the do's and dont's. 

@Account Closed There are always good deals to be had if you're proactive and patient. Be proactive in searching out potential deals but be patient as many of them aren't going to be the right now for you. If you're interested in multifamily, take a look at www.loopnet.com

You might find more potential deals for multi in that site vice your standard MLS sites like Realtor, etc.

Best of luck to you!

@Kimberly Baptiste Welcome! Take full advantage of the "Education" tab above and use the search function heavily. Tons of great knowledge here on BP.

As for your question about your Real Estate license, the short answer is no, you don't need it to buy and sell. However, there are many advantages to having it if you get serious in the business and are closing multiple deals. Limiting Realtors fees and having direct access to MLS are a couple. Do a search on "Real Estate License" here on BP and you'll be able to read lots of opinions, pros and cons, etc. Best of luck to you in 2016!

Mortgages (assuming that's PITI) and rent amounts don't seem to work out for you. After you include vacancy rate, maintenance expense, CAPEX, etc I think you're probably in a negative cash flow situation which of course the bank is not going to be keen on. Another question they will ask is do you have at least two months of cash reserves for each property you intend to have as a rental?

Based on the numbers and your past experience, what is it that's making you consider holding it instead of flipping it like the rest? Are you looking to change up your overall investment strategy? Have your goals changed? 

Welcome aboard! Best of luck to you in 2016.

Glad it went relatively well. The experience you gained is well worth the issues you faced I'm sure. If you don't mind my asking, would you care to post some specs on the property (purchase price, size and bed/bath, rehab costs, etc).