All Forum Posts by: Adam Azam

@Jeff Castro

I hate hearing about trashed propertieswe are the ones supplying good housing at an affordable price then you get the trashed unit. I agree with the comments

just do a clean and polish job to get it rent ready and get it filled

this time make sure you screen your tenants very good and have stipulations for inspections of the property maybe add a stipulation that they will pay for damages you can do this by getting a credit card number to hold on file- make sure you don't use it unless you contact your attorney and have all the pictures and paperwork.

You may want to think about putting in the listing that they are available upon request (for a fee of course). I've found a surprising number of tenants already have their own. Nothing worse than paying to put them in and then having to store them because a tenant has their own.

I have found that at different times, different insurance companies have a better rate. I have one property with Safeco and one property with Foremost. You should check around each time you need a new policy I think.

To be honest I rather use a spreadsheet than Cozy. I like Cozy for collecting rent, but at least for now, I don't call it a property management software.

I've have some colleagues who bought property from out of state (and even out of country) and only see the place after closing. However, what you seem to be looking at is a package solution: You buy something already in a property management company's portfolio. The question you need answered is if it's a great deal, why is the current owner getting rid of it?

You've already seen that the guys with out of the box "solutions" have limited inventory. That's like going to a buffet and only having a piece of white bread. There are agents that will help you select a properties from their entire local MLS inventory and do everything possible to help you buy sight unseen, including referring you to reputable management companies. You do have to pick the metro first.

Good luck.

@Brian Stinson congratulations on your first SFR!

For insurance we do a basic fire policy at replacement cost, no personal property included (only personal property would be appliances). We do a $1000 deductible because we are never going to claim anything small. We are thinking of changing to $25000 deductible. Looking at the cost savings with higher deductible, over time we will come out way ahead. Early in my investing career I was dropped from an insurance policy, so I avoid claims unless it is really serious. I really have insurance mostly for catastrophic events like a fire or tornado.

We also have several million dollars of general liability insurance. It is one policy that covers all rentals and even kicks in on our personal or auto.

The insurance industry is very profitable and that is because of a low probability of payout. Like in gambling, the house always wins over time. When landlords have enough properties, they usually switch to self-insured at some point.

@Adam Orlebeck Pull the plug, fire them. Property management companies prey on out of state investors because they are cash cows.... the local investors are just base hits for PM companies but out of state investors are the home runs for property management companies...

I think the UPS can give you a physical address. It's something like this:
123 Main St.
PMB #123

Outside of that, I would recommend a "virtual office" as these services offer business addresses that you can rent. Regus is what comes to mind, although I'm sure there are plenty of others.

To get more information I would speak to a local company that replaces or relines sewer laterals from the house to the sewer and they should be able to tell you from their experience which municipality does what.

When ROI drops below what can be earned in a basic income fund (10%) it is no longer a worth while investment. This type of individual that ignores or sit on dead equity is no longer a investor, they are cash hoarders. Their money is no longer working efficiently for them and they are simply ignoring their investments, preparing to sell to retire or waiting to die.