All Forum Posts by: John A.

@Jay Y. ,

My target acquisitions are in the same general range as yours. How much do you set aside for repairs?

John

Be sure to ask what the insurance covers. For instance, the insurance on my rental properties covers loss of income. The length of your leases may also affect insurance costs. I believe leases less then one year will raise insurance costs.

I'm not an insurance agent. This is just what I have experienced.

Nice ad!

I always show the floor plan of my rentals as one of the pictures. It helps tenants to visualize the layout of the home. Prospective tenants always mention how much they liked to see the floor plan in the ad.

@John Rooster , Call his unit and ask to speak to the First Sergeant. Not only will you get the truth about the Soldier's pay, the First Sergeant will provide that Soldier a little face to face mentorship about Army values.

I didn't have a need for one. But I don't know all the particulars of your situation. There will be a HUD 1 form to explain all the closing costs. Your title agent should tell you if the title is clear. I'm not sure what an attorney could do for you.

I used a local realtor when I bought a Hubzu house last year. My closing was at the title company I chose. The title company dealt with the closing agent for signatures and closing documents. You should contact your title company to verify. Hope this helps.

You can use this site to check public court records in AZ: http://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/

I use signs in addition to internet (Craigslist, Zillow, etc). The signs generate a lot of calls. So, lots of pre-screening is required. But the advantages to me are:

1. Neighbors see the sign and tell friends and people they want living next to them about the house.

2. Potential tenants have seen the house and neighborhood/location before they call.

3. People who work in the area see a rental available close to their job. Great for people new to the area.

That's true. The tenant rules list what can and cannot be burned in the fireplace. The chimney cleaning only prevents the build up of combustibles in the chimney and also gives me a report on the condition of the fireplace and chimney. It gives me some piece of mind that if the tenant is misusing the fireplace, the chimney sweep will tell me on the report.

I have another property that had a gas fireplace. It was a house fire waiting to happen and I took it out completely.

Nothing will stop a stupid tenant from doing stupid things to your property. I'm probably more concerned about a tenant who likes to fix cars or motorcycles in the garage. That's a good opportunity to burn the house down.

I guess it comes down to how much do you trust the tenant's judgement and how much I trust my own judgement to approve a tenant for a property with a fireplace.

Pools are another story. No way. No how. :)

I have a wood burning fireplace in one of my rentals. The lease states that I will send out a chimney sweep each fall and charge the cost ($60~) to the tenant. I also provide fire extinguishers.