All Forum Posts by: Chris Lucero

I have been renting SFHs for about 18 years, I have 3 and I help my aunt with hers.  I am comfortable with managing the rentals, collecting, evicting, repairs, etc...  my 3 units are paid off and and I have a mortgage on the house I live in.  I have no debt except for my mortgage and 3 kids (LOL).  I live in a small ruralish area about 50k people.  I make a little on my rentals and have a career type gig in IT that pays decent.  I really like my job but am not always fulfilled but my time off is amazing and health insurance is nice.  I just started the process to get loan on a new house and my current primary will become another rental.  I am toying with the idea of trying to get into a real estate office as a realtor in order to increase my knowledge of how things work so I can pursue my goal of having 40 units.   Is there something I could be overlooking as far as "jobs" or careers that would lend to increasing my knowledge in this field while I  work to earn cash and learn while preparing to launch off on my own?

Any questions or comments are welcome and appreciated.  

So I have made it this far and life has thrown a curve ball.  I figured my wife could carry our families health insurance while we venture off into real estate.  Well life happened and now it is just me and the kids, If I leave my 40 hrs a week I will need to somehow still provide insurance for me and the kids.  At first glance this looks extremely costly, what are you doing to provide health insurance if you are in a similar situation...

Here in NM once the tenant is past due you can serve a 3 day (takes about 3 weeks) notice to evict.  Term of lease is void once they break the contract.  There are also other stipulations you can use to remove tenant prior to the contract length expiring.  I keep my rent a little lower than market and have several tenants that have stayed multiple years.  18 years renting and I have had a 8 year and 5 year tenant.

For rentals I like cheap, If I am replacing something or fixing something for a tenant who has been with me over a year I will get something a little better than the cheapest.

I spray twice a year anything more than that and I kindly let them know that it is on them.  I spray because infestations are difficult to get rid of and me spraying helps keep that cost down.  I also use that as a plug to say hey I am a nice guy please pay on time.   I really like what @Wesley W.  has in his contract and might implement, thanks!

@Jordan Rajchel I hear what you are saying about Dave's advice, I just became debt free including my rentals with the exception of MY HOME.  After listening and reading I feel like I am shifting towards some type of loan, not sure which direction but I feel a change in my course coming.  Great job on your previous investments, good luck moving forward.  Listen to the latest podcast #289, I feel it is going to have a huge impact on my next move.

Could the answer be, for your area is the VALUE there?  If not, do it yourself, find another PM, re-evaluate contract, whatever just as long as both parties feel like it is fair. We are all in it for the same reason,  to make a profit.  Some feel it more important to make every cent possible, good luck if you feel your time is more valuable than what ever your forecast is for chasing dollars.  I know it is not "hard" but it can be time consuming AND yes sometimes it is "easy" and requires almost no time but again what or where is the VALUE line drawn.  We all have our own answer.  Take some notes and put your numbers together, it is different for all of us.  I dont think it can be etched in stone.  It might be time for me to evaluate this for myself, best wishes.

Thank you!  New here to BP, doing a lot of learning and getting a little interaction.  Great info, I can wait to put it into action

 Good looking out David, I am trying to figure out how to find one of these groups or meetings to get involved in here in Roswell, at this time virtual local groups seem hard to find, I will be looking for something "live".  Funny how that never crossed my mind but now I know and will take your advice.  I truly believe in the saying "birds of a feather flock together".  Gotta get there.  Thanks, them simple words probably just changed my course.