All Forum Posts by: Patrick Connell

Christopher Reynolds this is hard for anyone not living in the state your property is. Two strategies I see are, 1.) Screw being nice and mutual, provide notice, you meet repair persons, and make entry, 2) Check with City Health to see what happens if you refuse to make the repairs. For example, if they say they'll "condemn" the unit then that may be great because the tenants will lose the place to stay pet the City's order. Then make repairs and get the clear from the City. Of course, if there are LARGE fines involved, may have to take that into account. But it's a thought, check with them.

@Holly N., before you do anything involving the PM, you need to go back to when you bought the properties and re-evaluate them. Did you pay what they were worth, what were the rents like then, what was the condition of the property, what were you closing costs and mortgage details. All of this, in my opinion, will likely reveal why you're not cash flowing.

So far, I haven't heard anything that indicates the PM is being nefarious; just opinions without any evidence. So, before you ruin a relationship or get yourself fired by the PM, make darn sure that your other bases are covered. I understand and agree with "trust but verify," but that's different from trust and then accuse.

A few items that do stick out to me as issues are 1.) You may have jumped into buy and hold without enough education on the front end, 2.) At least yearly property visits aren't occurring (remember this can be a write-off so use it as a mini-vacation), and 3.) You're not running this like a business. You've acknowledged these which is great, but none of them are the PM's fault.

What about this has to do with fair housing?

Based on your last post, it doesn't sound like the PM is the one you have/had issues with. Sounds like you paid to much and aren't getting what you thought you would out of them. Also, keep in mind that buy and hold is a long-term wealth building strategy.

Did you pay to much for the properties to begin with?

@GL L., let me add a few points and reiterate some.

In Texas, there are 23 ways in which a buyer can "get out" of the Texas Real Estate Commission contract and still KEEP their Earnest Money. However, ALL of them, but ONE, are contingent on some other event occurring or not occurring (and most of them are related to financing). The "Option Period" is the only UNRESTRICTED/Non-contingent way for you to get out of the contract and still keep your EM (and you pay the seller for that right, once you pay it that will never come back to you). It could be because of the inspection, the color of the house, the last name of the seller, the neighbors, the race/ethnicity of the seller, the schools, or for whatever the hell you feel like (and you don't even have to tell the seller what the reason is). We DO NOT have an "out" for the contract based on findings during the inspection, so that is why most people do their inspection during this period.

Can you submit an offer without having an option period, YES you can, but you would be stupid to do that since you then lose any bargaining power for inspection repair items or unexpected findings during the repair you don't want to address. I have paid $100 option fees before and I have paid $500-1000 option fees before; it will all depend on the market you're in, the property itself, and who else you're competing with. As a listing agent, I would TOTALLY accept, or advise acceptance, on an offer with no option fee/period, because you have ZERO power to negotiate anything after we go under contract and if you walk, we keep your EM.

Your original agent was lucky to get rid of you. If you're going to hire a professional, then when they tell you this is how it is, open your ears, close your mouth, and learn. Sounds like you were getting solid advice and decided you didn't like it so moved on. The ONE thing that bugs me most about investors, myself included, is how they always think they know best about everything. The MOST successful investors build a great team and then let that team advise them. Good luck, you're going to need it.

Yea.....borrowed money for any type of traditional funding DP won't fly. You MIGHT find a HML willing to do it, but it better be a damn good deal with HUGE margins.

If you're two days from closing, chances are the UW has already reviewed the file and no issues were found. You should be good to go.

Mortgage insurance stays with an FHA loan for the entire life of the loan, the only way to get rid of it is to refinance out of the loan or pay if off in its entirety.

As a matter of policy, all landlords should file their Notice to Vacate as soon as legally allowed by their jurisdiction.

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean you have to follow through with it, but if you don't file early on, you will, 1.) Be behind the 8-ball if you do need to, and 2.) Reinforce the behavior. If rent is late, the very next day we file the notice to vacate within 24 hours, and then eviction notice the following day.

Tenants don't know we'll stop the process until they call and pay rent, then we terminate the process. But, if they don't call or don't pay, we are already working towards the inevitable.