All Forum Posts by: Aaron Linden

@Braighton Coey I do not know the area but I can tell you that a $10000 MLS listed house (even in South Bend) is not going to be in an area I am interested in. An off market deal, maybe. I would walk the property and be sure of my $20k repair budget as it seems low, unless you are doing the work yourself. Overall, my advice would be to check your numbers carefully and check the crime in that area. If it pencils out, buy it. I would rather see you leave a potential deal on the table than buy a place where you are in over your head when it comes to tenants! Just stick to your criteria and you will be fine!

Hell Jack Hartman and welcome to BP! I am in the South Bend area as well. Let me know if I can help you out in some way.

Felix Rodriguez it is very block by block but in general the near northwest is either D class or war zone type. The south side of downtown is the same way. Once you get further south it gets better though. Let me know when you are in town and we can meet up and discuss further.

Felix Rodriguez South Bend is great IF you know the area. Even on the east side things can be very block by block. As with any other place come visit before you buy and spend a couple of days scouting things out so you know what parts you may want to stay out of.

Jay Statzer Welcome to BP! I am down in South Bend let me know if you want to grab coffee sometime and talk shop! I think you will find BP a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.

Matthew Terui I just got back from my honeymoon in Kapa'a right up the road from you! What's more is I live in South Bend. I would be more than happy to drive by these properties for you and check them out. What agent are you working with in the area? I would start with a standard inspection from a reputable company in the area. From there they will recommend any further inspections based on what they see. Let me know if you are interested via PM.

Diane Valencia I have been very happy with Country Mutual, their service, claims, and pricing. The downside is that you need to be an Indiana Farm Bureau member but that is only $25/year.

Thank you very much for your input! I was able to contact another landlord in town who allowed me to use his maintenance man while I am away.

Hey BP,

I am going on vacation here in a couple of weeks and I do the maintenance on my rentals. My concern is that some emergency will happen or a maintenance request will be submitted that needs attention before I will return and I will not be able to handle it.

As a result, I have called numerous South Bend handyman services but none seem to offer 24h service or answer calls.

My question is, how did some of you smaller landlords handle this issue? Maybe some people who manage their own rentals out of state would be willing to chime in on finding a handyman or how you structured handling of your emergency maintenance calls.

Thank you all in advance!

Aaron

Dan Johnson If it cash flows enough you could consider a personal loan from the bank to get that down payment. I used a personal loan to buy my first property!