All Forum Posts by: Angela Smith

Are you saying that you told them the unit has AC when shown them the unit? Your post is as non-comittal as your showing was apparently. One thing is clear, your tenants believe they were promised, and are paying for, AC. By all appearances, you may have misled them, intentional or not. Give them window units, reduce the rent and apologize. You screwed up.

There are both B and C properties, as well as D. Not much In the way of A however. You need to be more specific about the areas you are looking at as there is significant variability within a zip code. Overall, this area is outside of I-465, is in a township school district which is better than Indianapolis Public Schools, but has increasing crime, especially drug use.

I know very little about you or your goals. However, what I can comment on is the perspective of a young wife and mother. The number one need a woman has is that of financial stability. A roof over the head and food on the table. Spreading that income too thin and being stressed about servicing too much debt will tax your marriage. I commend you for having goals. You should have enough savings for a solid down payment and enough income to pay the bills independent of any rent you take in. That way, the rent can be used to shore up your savings account and consequently your wife's peace of mind. I wish you well. Dont get in too much of a hurry.

We are prepping a SFH for a long term hold rental. It's a 1940s bungalow in a blue collar neighborhood. Walls are painted a very light gray. Trim is bright white. The floors are currently painted dark brown. They are peeling badly. They were not prepped and painted properly by the previous owner and they look awful. We have begun stripping the current paint which is a very easy process, thank goodness. But, we want to repaint correctly. We need advice on prepping the bare surface so the paint will adhere and not just peel away like we are seeing with the current finish. Also, what color will work with the light gray walls and white trim?

Well, there are backyard sheds that have more value than this property. I expect there would be significant problems at that price point. Is it a tear down? Maybe there is value in the lot?

I can't speak for Maryland.  But, local (Indianapolis) agents are very very busy.  A little over a year ago, we had a similar problem finding the right agent to list and sell our personal home.  I called three, got return calls from two and a meet up at the home with just one of the original three.  My thoughts were that the home was not at a high enough price point to make it worth the time of the 2 that blew us off.  However, the third agent got it listed and sold at a price higher than we were asking over the course of a single weekend.  So, it was certainly worth her time.  And I appreciated it very much.

Fast forward to this year. We just purchased our first investment property...locally. But, we found our buyer's agent by visiting an open house. A face-to-face first meeting and conversation were invaluable in developing this relationship. The agent understood who we are, what our goals are, what our budget it and experience is and the type of property we are comfortable with. He sent us weekly MLS listings. I would puruse those and if there were at least 3 we were interested in seeing, we scheduled a time to view them. I was careful to be courteous of his time by doing my homework. I drove around the properties on my own, thus eliminating much unnecessary legwork on his part. We did not tour a property unless we were serious about it.

Each time we met to tour houses, we made an offer on one of the three.  By our third meeting, we got an accepted offer.  

I would recommend providing some specifics that will let the agents know you are serious.  Say things like, "we will be purchasing investment property by mm/dd/yy."  "We will be in town the week of mm/dd/yy."  "We have $$ to put down with $$ pre-approved financing."  Then go on to give the specifics about the property you are looking for, neighborhoods, #units, how much rehab you are willing to take on, etc.  Finally, ask for exactly what it is you need from them.  "What are your terms for working with us?"  etc.

I think that in this manner, you will stand out from the many other lookers and gawkers who are just testing the waters.  

I don't think you can just "give" him his $275K back.  He would have to pay income taxes on that money.  I think the maximum "gift" is $10K, although this may have changed in recent years.

I  could be wrong about this.  But, it smells fishy to me.

Generally, the estate transfers to the next of kin (the son) if not otherwise designated.  Then, when the son passed, his estate would then transfer to his next of kin (spouse and then descendants) if not otherwise designated.  The courts generally do not reassign the property away from the son's estate after it has gone through probate.

So, I would expect it would go to either the son's spouse (first) or his children (if there is no spouse).

There could be extenuating circumstances, like a will involved.  Or the estate could be contested by others.

All I can say is a three-year lease is a long contract.  I would caution against rocking the boat and upsetting your tenants.  Give them the opportunity to pay on time.  Be reasonable and hopefully the remaining tenant will take good care of the unit, pay on time and it will be a good business venture for you.

I could go badly if you are on the outs with your tenant from the very first month.

That $79k is for tax purposes.