All Forum Posts by: Adam York

Hey all!

I'm a first time landlord and my first tenant moves in in 2 weeks. It's a single family home in Overland Park, KS. Can I use my current homeowner policy and just increase the limits? Anything in particular I need to make sure I have covered? What should I expect to spend?

Thanks for your input!

Adam

Hey everyone,

I manage 12 lofts in a downtown area in KC and we've been having some security issues lately, including muggings and attempted theft. The layout of our site is unfortunately very attractive to criminals. The back side of our building has a parking lot that is blocked on 2 of the 4 sides with overgrowth, with the 3rd side being the entry to the lot. Across the street from that entrance is a green field. Basically it's a completely private spot for our tenants to be attacked and we're very concerned with their safety right now. We have lights and motion sensor cameras and we're going to put up some more signage to make it abundantly clear that "you are on camera." But we're out of ideas to increase the security that aren't prohibitively expensive, i.e. fence/gate. Do you all have any creative suggestions for keeping criminals away from your properties and your tenants safe?

Thanks all for the continued replies!! Lots of great discussion going on!

 Thanks Cliff, I'll definitely check out that episode.

@Heather Kiddoo Thanks for the tip I'll check it out!

Thank you all for the replies! One of the reasons I ask this question is we are a single income family with two kids under 4. In other words, saving is very very difficult right now. I already have two side gigs to bring in extra money. That being said, I think that'd make it more motivating if I had an idea of a target amount of savings and a goal to try and reach. What would you all say is a realistic minimum amount of savings to have before taking a chance on that first deal?
Thanks again!

Hi everyone!
I've about 6 months into my real estate journey and have been trying to soak in as much information as I can. However, one roadblock I can't seem to get past is how to fund my first deal. We have very little cash, which is barely enough for emergencies so dipping into our savings isn't an option. Here are some of the options I've considered...

- Conventional loan for property purchase and use a HELOC for the down payment (about 60k equity in current home). From running the numbers on this option, it seems like the property would have to be an insanely good deal to get it to positively cash flow after making mortgage and HELOC payments.

- Hard money lending for purchase and renovation. I have a hard time believing a HM lender would take a risk on a first time investor with no cash. 

- Sub-to/seller financing: This seems like the most realistic option, but is very intimidating and seems to require some sophisticated knowledge of real estate.

- Partnership/private money: This could be an option. I know some people who could potentially partner with us to provide the cash, but it would probably have to be multiple people and structuring the deal in a way that is profitable for all parties seems complicated and I'm a little lost on how to do that.

Which of these options would you choose in this situation? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you everyone for the very helpful tips! I talked to the owner and he ok'd lowering the rents. Well see how that helps and I'll update the thread with what happens!
Cheers!

Wow! That's a major typo! It should be $55! The deposit is $500.

Thank you everyone for the feedback! This has been very helpful!!