All Forum Posts by: Anna Watkins

I'm revising my lease for signing with the first tenant in house #2, so this is a small-timer's question.  

Does the security system alarm call your tenant's phone or yours?

I've had a basic security system installed, and the first 12-months monitoring is included in rent (this drops on renewal or for the next person -- a built-in $25/month rent increase for me :-).  For house #1, I've always had the tenants put their phone on the contract, but am wondering if I shouldn't also know what's going on with the system, especially since I'm paying at first.  If so, I would have the call # be some sort of forwarding number that will relay the call to both me and the tenant.

Are there any related liability issues in being included on the alert list?

Do you have a service to recommend (not connected to a particular cell provider) that will forward an incoming call to multiple numbers?  I already have one Google voice forwarding to my cell phone, and can't set up another.

Thanks!

I have just told a prospective applicant that a prior eviction is "probably a deal breaker."  She politely said thank you and hung up, but I'm feeling very waffly on this rule.  I know it's standard screening to protect myself, but I also know a lot of good people have had hard times and are trying to come back from them.

I had to evict a tenant about 10 years ago and it was a huge hassle.  I had screened her as best I could, but found out later (from docs left in the filing cabinet left in the house) that she had an eviction history that she hid (it wasn't on her credit report).  On the other side, the most recent tenants in the same house were upfront about a student-loan default, but I accepted them anyway and they were awesome for 3.5 years.

Have you ever had a prospect be upfront with an eviction history, accepted an application anyway and if everything else checked out clean, offer that person a lease?  Is honesty on the applicant's part worth considering as a plus?

I'm with Joel on this.   In Atlanta I see, not the opposite, but a different trend, more like 'hubification' rather than urbanification.  The rural areas are what's losing out.  Folks are moving intown.  'Intown' is pushing outward from trendy Atlanta neighborhoods out to the southeast (IP Decatur neighborhoods like Belvedere & Midway) and southwest (West End/Adair Park) in what used to be city suburbs, with 1950s-1980s SFHs.  At the same time, the satellite areas are alive and growing solidly -- there are a number of  Dekalb County areas wanting to incorporate their own little cities, and further out, metro suburban like Peachtree City and Dunwoody are thriving, related to but also somewhat independent of Atlanta proper.  I think that's the medium-trend here. In 15 years? Anybody with more ATL experience 

I second SmartMove -- it's run by one of the credit reporting companies (Experian?), and your applicant doesn't have to share an SSN directly with you, only with SmartMove.  I used it for my most recent application, and it works smoothly and returns a LOT of information!

One thing to know is that the portal through which you set up your SmartMove account is how you will need to login in the future (there's a partnership situation with the different sites, with some referral fees etc). So if you go through https://biggerpockets.mysmartmove.com/  (a great choice!) but then later go directly to SmartMove.com or another SmartMove login link (at Zillow or Trulia or wherever), your account info won't work.  And then you feel dumb when you complain to customer service that you're locked out of your brand new account.  How do I know this??  Well . . .  

Sorry to have missed the meetup.  Maybe next time?  And @Cal C. -- I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that can't always get 'mention' to work :-)

@Tee Cruse  - Thanks. I'll have to look one up. Anybody have recommendations for an RE CPA near City of Decatur?

@Tee Cruse  - I think I get what you're saying.  My goal is not to save on taxes, but to avoid increasing my own personal income.  I'm a single wage-earner and have kids going to college soon - we get by ok on what I make now and don't want to screw up any financial aid possibilities we might have.  How can I keep all business income poured back into the business and not show any profits at the end of the year?

I've got the same overall plan as you (and I'm also in metro Atlanta), but I plan to have my LLC taxed as a corporation rather than pass through. Reason is that I don't need or want extra income right now (my holdings are for retirement income) and I want to keep it away from my personal tax return. Also, I plan to build reserves and want to keep that apart from personal savings. Any extra would either go toward more properties or principal. No profit or income for me for 10+ years at least. Anybody here set up their LLC for corporate taxation? Tips on keeping all money inside the LLC so it doesn't hit my personal tax rate?

I'm going to file the paperwork in January 2015 (don't want to deal with a 2014 tax return right away!).  @Ryan Harthan -- do you know whether Georgia allows series LLCs?  Any Georgia investors know?  I talked to a CPA who works with small business, but she didn't know for 100% sure.

@Curt Davis  -- Thanks for the ebook tip -- I will go have a look asap.  I should have looked harder through the forums before posting a previous question!

@Daniel Francis  and other experienced dealfinders -- I have a similar question, only I have my eye on a property I want for myself (not for a rental or a deal).  Any tips on approaching an owner, especially on things to say?  I know who the owner is (absentee, the property is vacant and falling to pieces through neglect) and have some background information, and have sent a letter with of course no response.  No phone number (yet) and I hear that the owner herself is decidedly odd AND now that she's ill.  Do I back off?  Try to track down other family members (possible heirs?) and inquire of them?  I've just lost another lot I wanted because I wasn't aggressive enough :-(