All Forum Posts by: Brian Adzadi

@Kayla Marek

Your tenant need at least a way to escape in case of fire, floods etc.

If you can't place a door, at least an egress. 

The last thing you want to hear on the news is that your tenant was trapped in a basement and died while the house was on fire.

You want your tenant to have various points of exit in case of fire.

Protect your tenants.  

@Justin Stephens

You can just have them show you the 1st month's or 2nd month's bill showing that their name is now on the bill.

@Paul C.

It appears when it comes to real estate investing, the new tax bill does not affect it that much. So LLCs used for real estate is still safe and more than suggested to conduct business and to reduce tax burden. Look up this gentleman named Graham Stephan on YouTube, he is a young real estate investor who does Vlogs on what's going on in real estate. He did a good piece about how the new tax bill affect investors.

@Steven Gesis

I live in Allentown, PA and a couple of miles from us there is an Amazon Warehouse. I can't say overall if it has contributed to the local economy. I am pretty sure they do most of their hiring during the holiday seasons. After they that they quickly let the staff go. I heard it was overwhelming working there because of the quotas people had to meet. As @James Maradits also posted, once robots become more utilized the local economy will definitely not benefit from it.  

@Shanna Warren

I don't live in your area but to me it doesn't matter to me if you live NYC, LA, or ATL buy a rental first. I wish I had known about BP and the benefits of owning a rental property when I was younger. Then I wouldn't have strived to get my primary residence first and NOW try to build my portfolio at this point. 

Buy yourself a duplex and house-hack. Rinse and repeat until you feel like you have a decent portfolio and are ready to settle down in your own home. 

Don't do a fool-hearty mistake like me and couple of newbies on BP did. Start investing now. California is only going to get more expensive where you may not even have enough to get a good skin in the game. 

@Otho Keller

I am not a legal expert by any means but I know most landlord insurance don't cover the tenant's property. It is upon the tenant to acquire renter's insurance or in the case of this tenant, a business insurance that protects his goods when its damaged. 

Check the original lease clause. If the lease stated for the tenant to acquire renters insurance and the landlord is not responsible for any damages, then you are in the clear. 

However, remember I am not a legal expert and only speaking from experience. I strongly encourage you to speak to an attorney about this so you can be prepared for anything this tenant throws at you. 

@Jonathan Pallen

A paid off house is a mortgage company's wet dream. That means the HELOC is the first position loan. Meaning its likely to be paid off first. That is what a bank would like to see than the HELOC being the second position loan.

I am not an expert but I can tell you for sure. You are in a good spot right now buddy. Go for it.

If they give you a hard time still. Then go for a Cash Out Refinance.  

@Eric Telese

So there are pros and cons to whatever decision you make, it all depends which con are you willing to deal with more than the other. 

1. If you buy in your area, automatically you have lost any potential to invest again anytime soon because your money will be tied up in that one property. However, you will be living in that property and any hiccups that occur, you will quickly be able to handle and keep your tenants happy. Do your research on how much the average rent goes for in that area of Long Island and the potential expenses you will be covering (Water, Heat, etc.) if the cash flow is decent in your eyes then maybe being close to home is better. 

2. If you buy in another market like NJ, CT or PA. You will be further away from your property and not readily available to your tenants when anything pops up. That is what a property manager is for, they will be the ones your tenants will be calling in the middle of the night and handling the hiccups. You just write checks to them to cover the cost and another 10% of rental payment per month for maintenance. However, you will be cash flowing so well with these properties it may not even phase you. 

There are very decent Realtors and Property Managers in these other states that can help you acquire and maintain your property well. You just have to do your due diligence on them, BP has tons of advice in the blogs on what questions to ask Property Managers when vetting them. 

I may seem like I am leaning towards one side but reality is, its still on you and what you are MOST comfortable with. If you are risk adverse, house-hacking in LI is your best bet. If you are willing to go out and take a little risk but cash-flow awesomely, then out of state investing is your game. 

Happy Investing

@Don Konipol

Keep them coming Don. Keep them coming. 

@Matt Shields

Absolutely, protect your tenants. Besides its a necessary expense that you can write off.