All Forum Posts by: Charles Burgess

Hello everyone!  Currently doing reporting on my portfolio, and I see we've spent $1800 on pest control YTD over 5 different doors.  My question to the community is, should I continue to offer complimentary pest control services to tenants?  Our thinking is it will help to maintain the property, while attracting a higher quality tenant.  But, I'm also wondering if it's worth the cost.  All opinions are welcomed.  Thanks everyone. 

Hi Ciro, tough question to answer as we can't see you credit report.  But, generally if you credit is strong, and employment is stable, you have a good chance of being approved.  The credit union option seems very solid by the way.  Good luck mowing forward. 

Hi Faiz, thanks for posting.  One quick and easy option is to get a credit card with a credit union as these typically offer low interest rate on cash advances.  Typically cash advances on national credit cards offer interest rates at ~30%.  But with credit union credit cards, these rates have the option to be much lower.  Seeing that you're in Chicago, First Northern Credit Union is advertising a Visa Platinum card with cash advance interest rates as low as 8.99%. 

If you're not familair, a cash advance is when you can pull actual cash off your credit card, at a pre determined interest rate.  I actually used mine to purchase my first property.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Hi John, if you sell the property, are you making enough in capital gains to purchase two homes? Or, could you simply just buy a new home, keep your rental as-is, and leverage both properties in the future (HELOC, Cash-Out Refi) to have more capital to grow your portfolio? It all depends on the numbers. But 1 key thought I have is you may want to keep your current home. You're paying down equity faster because of the lower interest rate, which helps your net worth grow faster, and makes it easier to leverage in the future.

Hi Lucas, thanks for sharing your current situation.  My question is: have you ran numbers for acquiring future investments in your target area?  Your current rental is doing really well, but with $210K, you could leverage those funds for multiple properties and accelerate your wealth.  But that depends on a number of moving parts: market rents, interest rates, home purchase price, your credit + income, etc.  I can deep dive more if you shoot me a DM.  I would compare your current scenario vs. an analysis of your future scenario(s) to paint a solid picture of where to go. 

I agree with @Theresa Harris. Cashflow is good, and will increase over time as long as rents grow. You only want to cash out if there is a better vehicle for investment, i.e., something that will give you a better rate of return. Personally, I would try to pull out a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) on your property to have available for future purchases/emergencies. Good luck moving forward!

Hello,

Is this a reoccurring event? I would love to attend. 

One piece of advice I would give is that, expect for the property inspection to miss an item or two.  Plus, with all rehab budgets, I like to add 10-15% to account for the unexpected. 

Hello Bigger Pockets Family,

I hope every is doing well and making money!

I currently do reporting for my portfolio of 8 doors. Currentlyb my data is primarily the basics: revenue, expenses, CapEX. Each month I produce numbers for our cashflow, and segment out our expense categories as well. For example, we know how much we spend for plumbing, electrical, general rehab, etc. To all the investors out there, is there any specific data points you're looking at outside of cashflow & CCR that helps you analyze the health of your portfolio? All responses are appreciated!

Hey Ryan, thanks for the feedback.  I'll do some research on my end to better understand the process as stated.