All Forum Posts by: Bill Ward

When I moved and rented out my first home, the new lender said I needed to qualify to cover both mortgages myself, or if there was already a signed rental agreement I needed to provide the entire agreement along with my loan application to show that mortgage was being covered. 

Why not refinance to a 30 year loan, it will keep the cash flow coming in and get your cash out money for your next investment? 

I would be shocked if that added any value to a rental. Boats are like motorcycles, they're all different. A sport bike one person may love, but he wants a cruiser your sport bike is worthless to him. You might find one guy that wants that specific boat, but I think the vast majority (if they even want a boat) would have their own or want to choose their own. Why are you trying to add the boat, do you have one you're trying to get rid of? 

If someone wants to rent as is for the same price you'd get after doing the work, then it sounds like the remodeling would only be for your personal preference. Why waste money upgrading when there's no benefit to you? And any time spent unoccupied while getting repairs done is rent money not received. I'd either remodel and up rent slightly, or let the next tenant take it as is.

I'm still a newbie, but if I had enough cash to buy a house outright, I'd probably use it as downpayments to by a few houses with mortgages. Let the renters pay the mortgage and have multiple rentals coming in. Interest rates are low right now. 

Each time I list my rental, I get significant internet interests. It's so easy for someone to click the "I'm interested" button, but they are doing that to every property they are remotely interested in. I'd start off with 100 interested people, of that only half would reply, and of that only a couple would actually show up for viewings or move forward, and even most of them didn't qualify as good applications. I think most sites allow them to submit applications as many times as they want for one price. So it can easily look like you have a lot more interest than you actually do, keep that in mind.

Bill

If you're asking if you can negotiate the price or the work, the answer is depends on the seller. The home I live in now I bought as is, as a short sale. I offered more than asking and asked for some repairs, but it was a flat out no-negotiations, As Is sale. It was a good deal so I took it. 

Flip side, what if your landlord is terrible and you have a fallout half way through your lease. If he violates the lease and yall want to part ways and leave, you'd have to work on getting your money back...

I'm pretty sure emotional support animals aren't considered service animals, and that's the distinction as far as rights granted to the animal. The ADA only covers service animals. You should still be able to charge for the emotional service animal...but wait for someone smarter than me to verify that.

Does your renter's insurance cover temporary living while the work is being done?