All Forum Posts by: Prashant P.

I think you have to do some more research into section 8 and the rules that govern it. Your tenant may have not qualified for several reasons. In most states, the tenant is given a voucher which states how much aid they will recieve and how many bedroom house they need. If you have a 2 bedroom and the voucher is for a 3 bedroom the Section 8 office might deny them.

Section 8 tenants must also maintain the property. If they do not maintain it and you report them to the Section 8 office, they can get kicked out of the program.

I have had section 8 tenants and normal tenants. Normal tenants are just as likely to destroy your home.

Microsoft Visio works well.

Lynn is right. Homepath offers 10% down for investors. The only problem is that you have to buy one of theirs and weed through the houses to find a good one.

This is what I did one I first started

I had a house where I needed a new bathroom, updating the kitchen and painting. I called this guy up who was highly recommended and setup a appointment. A couple of days before he was supposed to come over I sent him a scope and the terms I was looking for.

He shows up at my place and it looks like this guy just walked out of the bar. Beat up car, hat turned sideways and pants ripped up.

He comes in says "I don't work to no stupid scope. Its my terms and I cannot get this job done for three weeks cause I am so busy. What you want will cost $25,000"

I told him I would think about it. I finished my project for $11,000

Eric, seems like you are heading in the right direction. I cannot suggest a lawyer for you but setting up a legal entity is pretty simple.

If you know what entity type you want, you can simply go to your states website and set it up. It will save you a couple dollars.

2 Bedroom/ 1 Bath Rowhome in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.

This house was just renovated with the following:

New Roof
Updated kitchen
New Bathroom
New Furnace
New PVC plumbing
Refinished hardwood floor
Fresh paint

Property is currently on the market for rent for $700.

The current owner just bought this place and fixed it up. He is looking to sell so he can start a new project.

Asking $35,000.

I agree with the other posters, don't paint the floors. I recently bought a house with painted floors and it looked horrible and cheap. I paid to have them refinished and stained.

If stained correctly you will add durability to the floor. Paint will come off.

I would do the roof first. The contractors might throw old shingles and debris down into a dumpster. A piece might fall the wrong way and damage something.

Windows would come next. Windows have to trimed in the weatherseals go under the siding.

Siding last

Ryan, I think you have to take in to consideration more factors than the ones you proposed.

For example,

- How long after renting a house for yourself are you going to want to move again?

- what size rental property are you going to buy and how much rent will it generate?

Have you considered turning your condo into a rental?

As mentioned above, pest control is very important and something that gets over looked. People can be very nice but sometimes can be very dirty and attract unwanted guests. Then you will get calls that there are bugs in the house.

Joel has it right. If you have the time you should do your own pest control. Most of the service companies will just spray that outside edges of the house and large open spaces. If you do it yourself you get into tighter spaces where bugs and rodents tend to hide.

An added benefit is that this give you an oppurtunity to inpsect your property every few months. You can see if the tenant is maintaining the property and causing damage.