All Forum Posts by: Anthony Chara

Over the past few years as I travel the country, I hear more and more people saying that their municipalities are now requiring Landlords to let the city into their rental properties. On top of that, the Landlord has to pay for this Forced Inspection. Well, it's about time people have started to fight back.

A few years ago, 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, (https://OhioConstitution.org), is the first law firm I heard about that took up the mantle to fight the government on behalf of property owners over what really is nothing more than a new tax on Landlords under the guise of "We're doing it to protect Renters from Slum Lords". BS!!! 1851 successfully argued in Ohio, that these inspections are unconstitutional and violated the Renters' rights as the 'government' basically was 'searching' the Renters' abode without a warrant or their permission to enter the premises.

Now, Landlords and Renters in Seattle are fighting back too. Again, under the government guise of "We're here to help", Seattle is now requiring Renters to allow them to inspect their rental unit just by showing up at the door. If the Renter refuses, the government can charge the Landlord up to $500 per day. This, in essence, tries to force Landlords into coercing their Renters into opening up their doors so the government inspectors can check the unit without a warrant. It's time we all started fighting back. Read this article to learn more.

https://rentalhousingjournal.com/landlords-and-tenants-sue-seattle-over-mandatory-rental-inspections/?utm_source=Master+Vendors&utm_campaign=4c874c307b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_12_05_02_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4780df7d33-4c874c307b-113929429 

The law firm in this article says they have brought legal action against municipalities across the country. If you're in an area where your city/county/state is forcing you to have your rental properties inspected, you might want to reach out to this firm to help you fight your local government's unconstitutional inspections and money grab!!!

Hi @Bryan Johnson, Pittsburgh is a good market right now, but you do need to know that area. There are some rough spots that look like they have fantastic deals until you check out the crime rate in the area. Then you'll know exactly why it's looked like a great deal. The Seller made a mistake and just wants out NOW!!

I also suggest you look up ACRE. It's one of the local RE Investor Clubs. I presented there earlier this year and there were around 200 people in attendance. They also had a Haves and Wants portion at the beginning so you could get in line to ask for people's opinions on the market and where to invest. 

A good coach/mentor/guru and take years off of the learning curve. Sure, you can find a lot of what you need here on BP. You can find a lot of good info in books too. However, if you have limited experience, how do you even know what questions to ask to have someone here on BP answer them? If you do ask a good question, you get multiple replies. Most good, some not so good. However, that then leads to another question and another question and another question. How long will it take you to piece together the information you need to be successful? Certainly you can do it on your own, but time is money and the longer it takes you to learn it by 'just doing it' will cost you lots of time and perhaps thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in mistakes. Ask me how I know!!! lol

Yes, I am biased as some people do consider me a guru. Not sure I agree with that title, especially after all the 'gurus' seem to get bashed on BP just because they provide a service/education to people for money. Next time you go to school, make sure you tell your HS teacher or college professor that you can learn everything they can teach you from a book and that what they're teaching is not worth the price of the class. Pick up an algebra or quantum physics book if you know nothing about algebra or quantum physics and let me know how long it takes you to figure out algebra or quatum physics on your own. That's exactly why you need a good teacher/educator/mentor/guru, whatever title you want to give them. Their years of experience will save you time, trouble and money in the long run. And yes, they get paid to shave years off your learning curve. Granted, this assumes they are good. Some have given us a bad name by charging outrageous fees, making outrageous claims and then providing didily squat information. Just check around like you are here on BP to find the good ones.

Hi Sklar, if this is the property I think it is, it's going to cost far more than $20K per door. As you stated, there's vandalism, water damage from broken pipes and freezing water. Almost all of the copper pipes, wiring, cabinets, fixtures, door knobs, everything is missing. And yes, even the kitchen sink. You'll need 24x7 live security AND cameras on the property until all of your repair work is completed.  This could be a huge money maker for someone, but most likely only a very well qualified general contractor/builder will be successful as it is a huge project. It might actually make more sense to demolish the whole thing and start over.

Contact Gaurdian Water in Columbus.  We had them install blue tooth meters on a 76 unit complex. With the parts, labor and data collection computer, it cost us about $350 per door. Recouped the cost in 16 months by giving the charges to the residents.

I think he's awesome!!!! Really knows his stuff!!! lol

Hi @Darien Terrell, as previously stated, you should look into joining a RE Investment Group in your area. Besides Pittsburgh REIA, there is also ACRE. I'll be presenting at ACRE in May on Apartment Investing. I'd love to see you there. Make sure you introduce yourself if you're able to make it.

Not in my opinion. You'll still need to register your Nevada LLC in the state where the property is located as a Foreign Entity and once you do that you may lose your anonymity anyway. Plus, now you may have an extra tax return to complete. One for the state your property is located in and one for Nevada. I'm saying this not knowing if you'll have to complete a return in Nevada or not. I think they don't have state income tax, but I don't know if you still have to complete a tax return.

Your lender will usually require that your 40 Unit Complex be put in its own LLC to protect them.

Here's what I do; besides putting each complex in it's own LLC, I have an attorney as my Registered Agent in each state for the LLC. Since the attorney is my Registered Agent, I remain anonymous. No one knows I own the complex unless I tell them.

Hi @Gavin Tam, besides the good insights that @Michael Le shared, there are several other types of syndications. With some of them, you don't have to be Accredited or Sophisticated. These requirements are outlined by the Sponsor and written into the Offering Memorandum and/or Operating Agreement. Make sure you read everything thoroughly.

If you have questions about the documents the Sponsor provides, I suggest you contact your attorney and/or CPA to review the docs and give you their opinion. You could certainly ask the sponsor for their opinion or clarification, but, to use a cliche, they have a dog in the hunt, and therefore, some will tell you what you want to hear, not what you need to hear. Make sure you get several references from the sponsor too. At least 5. If they are local to you, ask to meet with them face to face. Anyone can be anything online or over a phone. Meeting with them face to face allows you to look them in the eye when they answer your questions.

Good luck Gavin!!! You can reach out to @Jillian Sidoti as well. She's a very good SEC attorney.

One extra step to add to all of the good comments above @Doug Webb, make sure you have 1 additional person in your LLC. If it's just you that owns the LLC, it's considered a Disregarded Entity which means you virtually have no Asset Protection and it's just like you own the property in your own name. Find someone else you can add to the ownership structure and give them a small piece of your deal. Maybe trade with another fellow investor and have them give you a small piece of one of their deals?