All Forum Posts by: Steven Horvath

Being a first time landlord i was curious as to what more experienced landlords would do in this case.
i have a tenant who has been in for last 6 months and atleast always gets rent to me before the late day.
the first problem i have had was 2 weeks ago the dishwasher wasnt working and i had my friend down the street go over there to fix it- it just needed a reset. i did not charge anything. however my tenant just called me saying the faucet on the tub is leaking, i know i can go over there and fix it in 30 minutes but is this something i can charge him for, my time basically, or is this something that just falls under my responsibility. I had a realtor rent my house being it was my first time and i had no clue what i was doing, but i am lucky in that i have the texas realtors association lease agreement which states they are to pay the first 65 for visits/problems. everything is new in the house. so do i charge them or just fix it? if i can tell it was damaged becuase of neglagence i am assuming i would def. charge them.
Also this is the first time i will step foot in the house since i rented it to them, is it ok if i check the A/C filter to see if they are changing it? if there is anything else i should check out the first time i go in i would love to know, i am reading/doing everything i can to get my knowledge base up just a lot of stuff to learn.
Thanks!
steven

thank you for your thoughts. I originally renovated the house and attempted to sell it in july of last year with a agent for 118,000. I was not able to sell and after a month lowered it to 115,00 then 112,000 and started getting a lot of calls by then, even in the horrible market at the time. However i was absolutely broke and could not pay the note anymore (i had no idea what i was doing or about keeping a reserve). so i decided to rent the property and found a great tenant that moved in sept.1 so i did not even give the sale attempt 90 days as i was broke and using my own money to pay the note. But yes i am confident i could sell the property for 108 and walk away with some green, and i beleive that this is my dellema.
Do i sell when my tenants lease is up on sept 1st and make maybe 15-20k and try to get more SFR or keep it and work torwards another one like Bill Gulley suggested. i beleive me and my fiance can realistically save 10-15k by 2011 without the income from the rental. My primary concern is getting another sfr in the spring of 2011. any thoughts on getting it in my fiance's name for credit sake?

I really like this site and have learned a lot from it already. Long story short
bought a hud home in Houston for 82k 1600sqft 4/2/2 30yr old
avrg house goes for 100-108k in the neighborhood
currently owe 79k at 6.25% fixed 30 yr
confident i could realistically sell it for 108k
owe 7k on my credit card that i used for capitol to fix it up. which is my credit limit and crushing my score- which eliminates the possibility of a refinance. However the house is completely renovated.
i pay 790/month for mrtg,ins,tax
200 year HOA dues
i rent it out for 1150/month
Pls keep in mind that i bought this house with among other things, a partner who bailed and left me with few options. Also i had NO real estate knowledge at the time. I am pretty sure it dosent meet up to the 50 % or 2% rule, and I am curious what the members of BP think about my current situation, and all advice/criticism is appriciated.

does anyone know of any offline property management software?

Originally posted by Tim B:

Aaron, I like your idea about verifying income before showing the property - can you share what other items you ask for - on your quick application?

I am new to all of this, but i do have 1 rental house under my belt, and so far my tenants have worked out amazingly! one thing you can do to help increase your chances of getting some good people in there
1. call their refrences 2 times, they can easily have their buddy cover as a old landlord or boss, but after you call once they let their guard down. Call again later in the afternoon and make sure its the same person. people will do anything to get a place to live.

Excellent advice on how to get comps, just what i was looking for!

I am in the montrose area, but my rental is in cypress. i am currently devoring the website. Thanks a lot for all your welcomings!

Thanks a lot jones, i will definetly start there. ive been looking around for a while before i found something i didnt feel was a scam, so far this website is a breath of fresh air. i hope it continues!

Hi Everyone,
My name is Steven i am 26 and i am writing in from Houston, TX. I originally bought my 1st house with a friend a couple years ago with the goal of flipping it, however my friend ran out of money and i ended up with the house myself. It was a rehab, so rather then lose all my money already invested, i fixed the house up myself and tried to sell it-failed. So i have ended up becoming a landlord and currently rent out my renovated house. I am here to learn how to manage property, and secure a 2nd rental house. My goal is to gain more knowladge about real estate and how to manage my property then go out and do it all again! i hope to learn a lot here!
Steven