All Forum Posts by: Beth L.

Hello @James Sparks !

I am in Hagerstown and my focus is buy and hold properties in Washington County, preferably duplexes or Multi-family.

Thanks for introducing yourself. It's great to see a local! Wish you the best in building your business. See you around!

@Hank Parater 

Hi Hank! Thanks for introducing yourself. It's nice to see another newbie from our local area. Hope to see you around!

I agree with @Scott Sutherland . I use VacationRentals.com from HomeAway. My listing with them includes my property being listed on all of HomeAway's sister sites and I love their new Owner Dashboard. It is so easy to use and keep track of all guest communications, attachments, online payments, etc. It has really automated many aspects of the rental for me.

I looked into AirBNB recently and I didn't like that they kept the guests' money until they checked in. In the vacation world, especially at peak seasons, it is normal to collect the total balance 6 weeks out (non-refundable). It didn't look like that was possible to customize with AirBNB.

@Matthew Newcomer 

We have multiple properties in Maryland, each held in its own LLC, with my husband and I as joint members. We also have an umbrella policy. And we keep bank accounts and security deposit accounts completely separate for each one. We feel that this is the best protection.

And, yes, everyone seems to have an opinion regarding this. Each situation is different I suppose, so best course of action is to talk to a real estate attorney (not the accountant, unless you know for a fact that he is also a successful RE Investor). The attorney can tell you the pros and cons and help you write up the Operating Agreement as well as file the documents for you.

@Brian Johnson 

I do think that these reality flipping shows are choreographed. However, they do say that in their area, the auction list only comes out the morning of the auction and they usually don't have time to go see them. I guess if that is true, then that is a risk that they are willing to take.

I like to watch these shows to give me ideas for renovations that I may not have thought of. Of course, they need to add in the drama factor for the audience.

@Johann Jells 

Yes, I agree that black works nicely as well. Maybe depending on the décor.

The stainless appliances I got were on sale, had coupons, etc. and got them for really not much more than black or white, and I've noticed that people really comment on the hardwood floors and the stainless appliances. I think it really dresses up the place nicely.

We are renting our half duplex for $1100 in a market where an outdated, cheaply done unit in a less desirable neighborhood would rent for ~$750-$900. $1100-$1200 is the highest I have seen for our market.

@Account Closed , We like to attract higher end renters and keep our units nicer, so we go with basic, lower end stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. I always check the reviews and choose something that is highly rated and is proven to be a reliable appliance.

I also note the serial and model numbers by taking a picture of the tag from the unit and keeping that with the files for that unit. This way if something fails and we need to contact the manufacturer, we have it at our fingertips.

If the unit is a lower grade, just go with a reliable white appliance.

@Andrew S. 

We had tenants move out and left behind a bad infestation. We wanted them GONE, so we went with the heat treatment, since that is supposed to be more effective. For half a duplex, it was $1800. And they were still there after! They had to come out and spray a number of different treatments before they were gone, and the place was vacant so it should have been easier to treat. They said that this is rare, and that heat treatments normally are effective.

I would love to have the canine come out to inspect at each turnover, but the closest canine team would have to come 1.5 hours drive, and they charge by the job and hour, so pretty pricy.

@Tanya F. 

 If a check is written out to a business name, it cannot be cashed and can only be deposited into an account with the name. I wonder how this was fraudulently cashed or deposited?

I know if a debit card is stolen and used, the bank usually refunds the account right away. Hopefully their bank will refund them so they can write you another check.

@Mike Landry 

 When we closed on a property with tenants, the attorney doing the closing asked for the leases so that he could obtain the security deposit amount and monthly rental rate. The security deposit and the prorated rent was allocated from the seller to me on the closing documents. The seller had no say in this. Even if he had not collected the rent from the tenants for that month, the prorated rent was to be given to me.

Not sure how a title company will handle this, but that's what our attorney does.