All Forum Posts by: Steve Vaughan

I have been in the process of scrubbing my full list of absentees recently.  I am finding about 30% of my older than 6 years names have sold the property already, another 10% have address changes.  Digging deeper I find the sold prices are more than I would have paid.  Once I get through my 600+ names, I plan on doing a periodic campaign as recommended by the experienced here on BP.  I have always just hit once unless I happen to see them come up again with a new for rent ad or moving sale.  I definitely attempt to locate a good address on my returned mailings!

What you are proposing is referred to as house hacking and it can be a great way to go. Honestly, managing 2 or 3 units vs 1 isn't much more work at all.  Once you have your tenant screening process in place, your lease docs, etc you may as well do more than one.  The bad news is, you're broke.  I would get some reserves built up, save a down payment, stuff like that.  Right idea, wrong time.  There's nothing on on fire here and you don't need to be a motivated buyer.  I'd hate to see a tenant to not pay and your hvac go out under you leaky roof, turning you into a motivated seller! 

Hi @Andrea Jones , I like the way you think! I have been a LL for a long time and none of my tenants know I own anything. It's great driving a beater and having tenants feel bad for you when you have to fix something for them on a weekend. I've even receive tips! What I did was establish a mgt co I use only for my own properties in the form of an S-corp (you shouldn't need an RE license to manage property you are vested in) and I hold title to my multi-families in an LLC. As president of my mgt co, I authorized myself to act as the Regional Mgr when dealing with tenants. That what my business card says. You can grow as big or stay as small as you like. I chose a random name for my mgt co people think they kinda mighta heard of. I enjoy remaining the anonymous 'over-worked' employee that can say, "they wanted to raise your rent $50/mo. I went to bat for ya and got it down to $25!" Why other LLs and management people put their name on everything is beyond me!

I don't know why I keep chiming in with tax-type stuff, but I am not a tax expert. I have an LLC and an S-corp. The way they are taxed at the federal level are very similar (they pass-through to your personal return with a k-1) but the forms for filing are different. An LLC uses a form 1065, partnership return. An S-corp uses a corporate tax form, 1120S. Hopefully you did that right. It's ok to have no material income or expenses to report, just make sure you file on time. Your k-1 can have no income or losses, just make sure you file! Ditto for your state. File your quarterly's if necessary. Thankfully my 'income level' and the fact real estate rentals don't charge sales tax earned me an active non-reporter status after the 1st year. Those quarterly b&o returns were a pain.

I would get a bid to fix it.  If I can do it, I will, and give the tenant a discount from the professional bid.  How much of a discount is up to you, but be fair to yourself, too!

So this isn't a singles ad?  Single, 20s, good income...   Seriously, the good news is you have a lot going for you!  Having a good income, money to invest, good credit and low out-go spells options!  Listen to those that know more than I.  If I was an investor near Tustin I would be nervous!

Ok cool.  From what I've seen, kitchen appliances are normal sized (without dishwashers in the older models).  Kitchen sinks are shallow basin and can't be replaced with a deeper basin unless you change the level where the drain meets the wall.  Not worth it.  The water heaters are different, receiving water at the bottom (+ needing to be strapped) and the dryers have a special power cord because the receptacle is different.  When I change water heaters in mobiles, I add an extension from the supply line at the floor to bring it up so I can use a normal one.  

@Matt Spicer thanks for the clarification.  Knowing what you know and who you know about rehabs and construction will serve you well.  Great side-hobby and diversification for you!  I forgot about the light fixtures at H4H like @Gail K. mentioned.  I also get a lot of old off-market plumbing supplies there for repairs and also window and door screens.

@Natalie Kolodij , are these buy and hold landlord rehabs or fix and flips?  Also, are these old singlewides in a park, or nicer modular homes on land?  For the in park mobiles fix and flip I would do laminate in the living room/dining room.  Landlording may get laminate in the living room, but carpet in the bedrooms.  I've never installed the carpet squares, but have some in apts I purchased.  Virtually indestructible except when it meets burns from cigs or irons.  Either way, sheet vinyl in the kitchen and baths and all that dark paneling gets primed and painted.  Like @Rachel H. says, that particle board sub-floor in wet areas is like a sponge.  Check around toilets, tubs, water heaters and washing machines when inspecting!  I used to buy for cash and carry paper on these in-park mobiles without fixing anything.  Just a little clean-up.  Maybe I should consider that again...)

I use Quicken rental property manager like @Les Jean-Pierre . I have multiple buildings, multiple owners (LLC, S-corp, personal, etc) and a few dozen tenants. It is super easy and it converts my info into my tax software (turbotax or whatever) at tax time easily as well. Even if it didn't, the categories and amounts are right there to view. I bought Quickbooks and found I needed to take a 6-month course in quickbook-ese to use it for real estate like @Wade Sikkink  says.    Go with a simple property management software that is easy to add properties, tenants and owners so it can grow with you!