All Forum Posts by: Zac Boelkow

I am closing on my second duplex on Monday. The current owner says to me today "I forgot to mention that I was paying for garbage". I immediately, blurted, "I am not paying for that". I am thinking about the reasons to include waste services and reasons not too. I think I personally feel that a duplex is pretty similar to a single family residence. I would'nt cover waste services for a sfr. I think it makes more sense on a triplex and up...

Just curious & looking for some feedback.

I am buying a duplex that has three tenants on one side. There is a husband and wife that take one bedroom and another person (seller of the property) who rents the other bedroom out. They split the rent up like this: Husband/wife pays $400 and the single man pays $250 for a total of $650 for their side. The single man was the owner of the property and just uses the bedroom for a place to crash while in town. The husband/wife have lived here for over 8 years and this is their primary residence. They are on social security and can not afford $650 on their own. The gentleman that is sharing the property with them is just basically helping them out. Through my conversations with him I believe he will stay in the property for another 1-3 years. 

My question is how would I write the lease so in the event when either party leaves that the people who stay are on the hook for the entire months rent of $650... I can see this being an issue for the husband/wife. I can already here them saying "our rent is only $400/month"...

I am closing on a duplex next month. The currently owner splits one side of the duplex with family/friends. He is an out of state investor. He is going to keep staying in the duplex for a while. He has 7 other properties he is selling off so he wants a place to stay while in town. Without his help the "family/friends" can not afford the rent. I am drawing up leases for this property, currently. The current owner will be on a month by month lease. My question is how the lease should be phrased? I have a feeling when he does decide to move out that his "family/friends" will think that they are not on the hook for the entire rent...

Or am I just "overthinking" it? 

Thanks guys! Makes sense. Tim, I would have done the "pre-show" prior to the tenant leaving but we have interior work to do. Moving forward that will definitely be in my plan....

I have a duplex that I am losing a tenant in. I am thinking of doing an open house on the weekend from say 11-4 (or something like that). Is this a good way or bad way to show your property to tenants? 

I am looking to consolidate the amount of showings to hopefully just one day. I would gather all qualified applicants prior and then just let them know I will be at the property on Saturday from 11-4...

I heard, on the podcast, a investor do this with his contractors when getting estimates. To me it sounds like it would save time

Thanks!!

@Ola Dantis I love this reply and approach. I see too many rush in with borrowed money on bad deals. What ever happened to working hard and saving. There is a place for debt and investing and I believe that place is best suited for seasoned investors that know the impact taking on debt has...

@Tyler Hardy happy wife = happy life. If you guys aren’t on board together you’ll never gain her willing cooperation. It seems like you’re biting off way too much. She also seems to know it. Going in debt to invest is gambling. A great approach would be to recoup actual cash that you can use. At worst I would only use a very small portion of your home equity. Especially at first. Also if say you used 50K on a deal I’d want to pay back that 50k in no more than 24 months with ultimately 6 months as a realistic goal. Possibly use your heloc to invest in smaller widgets to build up actual cash first. This is exactly how I got started. I sold headphones, go pros, iMacs, cars, boats, and anything I could hustle up on Craigslist and eBay until I had the cash to buy my first property. The rest as they say is history...

@Mike Rutallie read the book “ focal point” if you can only free yourself up 45 minutes a day look for a partner. I work full duty full time. I also been real estate investing, successfully, for the last ten years. I can double dip at my job. Ie search mls, text agents, make offers, cut loose to look at properties or meet with people, etc.. Work with and train a realtor for exactly what you’re looking for. Are your weekends free? A lot of properties are listed on Saturday. Personally I made sure that 100% my 9-5 is completely covered. That I am first the impactful employee that my company would feel the pain of loosing for years to come. Once you’re in that position it’s easy for you to say you need to cut loose for an hour or two.

@Mike S. I just went through you’re exact scenario on multi family property. Last month rates were lower. This month best I can find is 5.175% I think a law was passed that changed the dp from 20% to 25%... on a side note I just negotiated and got a signed contract with owner financing at 3% on a 30 yr note with a 10 yr balloon. The better question for you and most of us is “how can I?” We’re in high markets, interest rates are up (however still relatively low). Competition is fierce. Properties are selling in days... How can I get a better rate? How can I get a better price? Deals are still out there. How can I get these deals at the prices/rates that make sense....

@Matthew Otto at such a young age to start investing in the market will have a huge wealth building impact on your life! First I would ask if you're debt free? Car loans, school loans, credit cards, etc. imo I would not invest until I'm 100% debt free. Assuming you are debt free then contribute up to the match. You're getting a 100% return on your money plus interest from the investment. I would look into vanguard, low cost mutual funds, and index funds. I would read as much as you can over this last quarter so you could get set up by the new year. Look into a Roth IRA set up with vanguard, fidelity, or Charles schwab. That grows 100% tax free. Develop the mindset that whatever you put in the market can never be taken back out until retirement. Run Roth IRA/401K calculators on the internet. Your money in the market will double every ten years if you're earning 7%. At 10% your money doubles every 7 years! Low cost, long haul, index funds will get you there. Research, research, research "why". Research if you can direct your 401k into the funds of your choice. Great discussion to have at your age!!