All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I agree he is stating an opinion. Is it harder as a little guy trying to enter the market - yes, of course. Do you have as much purchasing power as the bigger companies - no, of course you don't. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. Always listen to advice but form your own opinions. Learn as much as you can and go in with your eyes as wide open as possible.

I wanted to be a buy and hold investor but I needed capital to start with my first purchase. I bought a condo that I lived in and fixed it up while living there. After three years I sold it for a nice profit by people who liked what I had done with it. This is what I like to call "slow flipping" but it worked for me. I was able to buy my first rental properties and have tenants in it as of the begining of this month.

Good luck.

I think you're having the right approach - you've done your math and you've decided how much you can pay.

Go and have a look and if it checks out on the inside, and you do all the due diligence (check their rent roll and ask for rent receipts, check on maintenance records, is there any major deferred maintenance, etc.), then make your offer.

The other person can say no or they can make a counter offer. Its true you may offend them greatly with a low ball offer but since its not your best friend or your mother, that's ok. Also, they may not be willing to consider your offer now but if its a property you want you can always check in with them a few months down the road.

@Markus March 

You don't say if the tenant is asking you to replace their possessions or not. I definitely would not unless they filed a proper police report and there is record of the break-in. If they didn't file a police report, I would be suspicious about the "break in". Its very curious that the same place got broken into twice in such a short space of time and the house has an alarm on it. If you provided the alarm and the tenant did not arm it, then you can argue that the tenant has some liability here. I would be suspicious that the tenant was just asking you to replace their old appliances...

That being said, your lease agreement should answer your question. For future, you may consider putting a requirement for rental insurance in your standard lease.  

@Jeff Plair 

If you can possibly compete with any of the crazy stories on this post, feel free to share.

Here is a great blog I found that sums up most of the steps and things to look for:

http://www.jmbgrouppm.com/blog/item/22-how-to-screen-tenants.html

This was from a post by Jason Bartley here on BP.

Hunt around on BP for information on tenant screening. A lot of the buy and hold people on the site have clear written policies, its key to have clear criteria and procedures for screening tenants and then to apply these fairly and consistently.

I would run this by a certified financial planner.

Get facts on exactly what the tax hit would be.

Unless your TSP does very poorly, its unlikely that a CD would earn you a greater return. Make a decision based on numbers - a CFP would be able to run that for you if you are uncertain about doing it yourself

Just some thoughts. I am not a personal finance guru.

Screen your tenants thoroughly.

Do appropriate maintenance. Do inexpensive, not cheap.

@Tyler Haskell 

I always use the SFH_Rental_Analysis in the "fileplace" under resources. Makes sure you don't forget any of the numbers.

At a glance, at $700pm with a property cost of $75,000, it barely hits the "1% rule". Others can correct me, but in a class C neighborhood you want to do better than that.

That being said, I'm always nervous about taking over someone else's tenant. Maybe the tenant is great but make sure you do full due diligence and get rental receipts to see they pay on time.

@Christian Carson That's awesome. And who thought real estate law wasn't fun.