All Forum Posts by: Brett Malen

Commute has been getting noticeably worse since I moved here in 2013 to the eastside. Thank goodness work from home is becoming more of a thing. In MV I've only seen appreciation in my rental and primary residence in fact I tracking a +$25k jump in primary. Looking to sell the rental this summer while its hot.

Hello BP! As I'm moving into Wholesaling, at some point, I would expect to land a deal. Can you point me to a purchase and sale agreement + assignment contracts that works well for you, bonus points if Washington state specific. I have  a title company in mind, but am looking for referrals for title, escrow and a lawyer. I'm working my own list, but thought it would be good to collaborate. 

I looked in the File/Forms section of this site and didnt find what I was looking for. Maybe this is a premium membership thing?

Thanks!

Hello @Jonathan C. was wondering how much it costs you to pull these leads and which list service you are using (and why that one, :))? How are you finding people to cold call, do they come from the list as well? Thanks!

Hi BP community, wanted to collect your thoughts and idea's to help me brainstorm hacking some finances. Was thinking about taking a 2nd mortgage on an existing rental property to cover the costs of acquiring an additional property. Looking mostly for lessons learned or "wish I knew that beforehand" kind of advice.  Also, if you know of any lenders who give favorable (or better than standard) terms to investors under this scenario. Would be happy to hear some options. 

1st mortgage is covered and there is wiggle room for additional debt comfortably. 

Thanks Nancy!

Hi John. deposit = 1 months rent. First/Last/Deposit all due up front. The lease is pretty tight so he is obligated for 12 months. I believe the K has that as a clause, but I will double check, good point. Thanks!

So I have 1 rental with only 2 renters, where the first lasted 11 mos. the second 2 mos. Both so far have been high quality, but effectively use my well maintained rental in an A neighborhood as a staging area to look for a permanent home. Rent rate is always in line with market. For the second tenant I had a lawyer draft an Early Termination Fee clause as the then prospective tenant casually mentioned he may not stay the entire 12 month term. Now the tenant doesn't want to exercise the ETF by giving me 30 days notice, rely on landlord exercising "reasonable effort" to rerent before the next 1st of the month and basically seamlessly walk away w/out having to pay fee or additional rent before the next tenant moves in. I have explained the 2 options for the tenant on multiple occasions 1. You can pay to leave early or 2. You pay until a new tenant is placed. Both of these are signed and in the lease agreement. I am fine with not receiving the ETF, but I will hold him to point # 2 per the contract. 

My questions to the community:

1. How would you manage this going forward to ensure or increase your chances of having the tenant stay the full 12 months?

2. What reasons can you think of for the tenant to find it in their best interest to pay the ETF and move on other than not having to pay for the duration of the contact?

Thanks!!!

Hi Gloria,

I served with a few shipmates who intentionally bought SFR/MFR at every PCS location. Actually, a first class retired out at 20 years with owning 4-5 houses. She hired PM's to manage each location after leaving and was smart about using her VA loan to buy everywhere she was stationed. She got into a rhythm of saving $$$ on deployments then using that as a down payment with no PMI on a VA loan, though had to put 25% down after COE funding was tapped.

Honestly, its rather difficult for most people to fathom RE investing as a source of income. There is no correlation to this type of financial planning the military offers to service members, so be prepared to have the same conversations everywhere you go or just avoid the topic all together for your sanity. As long as you are comfortable with the speed at which you acquire and manage your property then let your bank statement be the judge.

All the best!

Brett