All Forum Posts by: Brendan Spaar

I understand the dilemma but also know that there are people out there who would make good tenants because they have a less than perfect background.They realize they have fewer options but need an approved address to continue if they're still on supervision (probation or parole). Your best insurance is a good relationship with their supervising officer. If they screw up, they can face going back to incarceration. Another way is to work with a recognized reentry program to help their screened clients find housing. People from a program like that have been screened by the organization first.

There is always a risk in renting, with or without a background. But one of the biggest factors in keeping people from returning to incarceration is having a job & a safe place to live. Marcia has a really good attitude & sounds like she'd be a great landlord.

I agree with the advice you've been given. If the occupant is in jail it could be argued that he had no way of removing the possessions & might not have received notice of you taking possession of the property. Any chance of finding out if he has a lawyer that might be in contact with him? You should be able to find out where he's incarcerated & how to send him a notice. The lawyer you consult can help with that. Be careful. You don't want to end up on the wrong side of Judge Judy down the road!

Before I got a "real" job, I worked at a radio station in Louisiana as a Program Director. I had been a DJ in college & people tell me I still have a "radio" voice. Now I am an IT professional specializing in business solutions. I'm hoping to use my skills to help me become the real estate "tycoon" so I can be more involved in investing.

Hi Jimmy,

I'm also an IT consultant but located in Georgia. I was wondering if there is a specific IT need in real estate investing where I can merge my real estate interests with IT to make life easier. Have you explored doing that? I'm not an IT developer, more of a sever/systems guy but I use technology to keep me straight with my investing.

I sort of hope the home prices in my area rise or stay solid so one of my investments will regain some of the value lost in past slowdowns. Right now I'm not actively buying so I am on the other side of the investing fence at the moment. Been investing in a business venture that I hope takes off. Then i can start thinking of the housing market more.

Good advice. I formed my LLC in Georgia because that's where I live & do business. It was a fairly easy & inexpensive process. Adam gave good advice about checking the different states & fees.

Georgia is a great place to live & invest in. I am just outside of Atlanta & see tremendous growth to the north. My advice is come for a visit & explore the different areas. Try to meet up with some fellow investors & get their insight. You might need to get used to the Southern way of life but it's a lot of fun. Never hesitate to ask for advice & then do your homework. Good luck in your journey!

I was going to suggest checking with someplace like Habitat Restore for replacement cabinets. Mine often has great condition ones for a good price plus it helps the charity. I have painted cabinets before & had mixed results. Sometimes going with "new" ones is a better use of time & money.

Glad to see Forsyth County, Ga is moving in a positive direction . I can vouch for the increase in population. Traffic is crazy & new homes are popping up everywhere. I'm keeping watch on my investment there.

We had a problem once where the electric company couldn't read the meter so they estimated the bill. It was way out of line so they came out & manually read it. Corrected bill was more in line. A lot of energy companies will do an energy audit. Might be worth having them do one since you're all electric. In TX the main draw is usually the a/c. When our electric hot water heater was going out it just took longer to heat the water but didn't raise the electric bill that much.