All Forum Posts by: Courtney King

@Rebecca Palermo That's a large question. There's a ton of advice out there but what specifically are you curious about? What challenges are you having now?

@Uneeq Khan A variance is county/city approval to use the property in another way that's outside of the current zoning. As with dealing with any government entity, I'm sure it may be a slow process. It usually involves posting a notice and then having a hearing to decide if it will be approved. It sounds like you should contact the planning and zoning office of that city or county to see what the regulations are. The residential inspectors are usually pretty helpful in answering those questions. You'll also want to consider the other properties in the area, because if the property doesn't "conform" you may have issues later in terms of comps on the resale, refi, etc. I hope this helps!

@Wale Lawal I agree with everyone. I was in a similar situation last year with a rental I own in Pearland. I requested a double deposit ( $3700) they paid it and are still there! That's what I would recommend in your case...an additional deposit. I hope this helps!

@Joey Isidore Here's my take. Assuming you're buying it as a turnkey investment property to hold for awhile...

Pros:

1. Instant cash-flow
2. Eliminates immediate expense of finding a new tenant

Cons (w/ ways to overcome):

1. May have lots of deferred maintenance (be sure to get copies of invoices for big repairs already completed and a list of any open maintenance requests)
2. May be below market rent rate (check the current lease and see when/if you can bump the rents up and put that in your calculations

A lot of my clients like the turnkey route. However, in my experience the most distressed the property, the greater the yields over time; it just depends on your long and short-term goals as well as how much cash you have access to. 

I hope this helps!

@Bennie Leija I'm so glad you posted this! A TON of wholesale deals come across my desk daily and I agree that in most cases their rehab projections miss the mark. My family and I own a GC company but in a lot of cases investors just don't know what costs are realistic. I think many investor (especially those just now getting in) want a property so bad that they may not take the time they need to to really get an accurate picture of a property. 

As part of my services, I help my investors that I manage for, by having our company bid the rehab before going under contract. 

Is there any other tool that you can recommend investors use to properly estimate rehab?

@Bishoy Takla What housing voucher do they have? The programs vary slightly. See comments below in bold.

- Can I charge him a deposit to hold until all the paperwork is transferred successfully? What is the max amount I can charge? Yes, but this also depends on the program that they are in. You will want to check with the program. I would us the Texas Association of Realtors form that is specifically for that.

- What else do I need to let him move-in while HUD is finalizing the paperwork and the lease? I usually don't move a Section 8 Tenant in until the program approves the property and inspects it.

- any other insight I need to know about the porting process? The process is quite easy but you really will want to stay on top of Section 8. I usually get an email address for the case worker. They are usually easier to get a hold of that way rather than the phone. Of all of the programs/offices Grand Prairie Housing is by far the easiest to work with!

@Dave Chapa Thank you for sharing! On our SFH's and duplex (this is all we manage) we are at 100% collection. I was actually curious to know what's happening in the mutli-family sector given that there are so many new apartments going up. Congrats on your portfolio! Hang in there!

Hi @Alec Khlebopros I've dealt with this a lot as an investor and PM. There are two ways you can approach it and I think a lot of it depends on the market in your area. 

I would say yes, let her break the lease provided that...

1. She can find a new tenant that applies as a new applicant and then draft a new lease with the new tenant.

OR 

2. She allows you to market the property and agrees to pay some sort of early termination fee. This fee would cover your expenses of finding a new tenant. Of course she would still be responsible for the rent up until the new tenant moves in. 

I hope this is helpful. Often times I put myself in the tenants shoes and communicate in a way to achieve a win win. As a landlord, I've seen that approach prove fruitful every time. 

Hi @Christopher Boutte Great question! My clients and I have both purchased various homes with foundation issues. Personally, I've only purchased those for flips, however I did have a rental property for a few years that had previous foundation work and I never had any issues after the initial repair.  If you are buying an occupied property I believe it's a good idea to do the foundation repairs once vacant especially if there are interior piers. I had a client do foundation repair with interior period with the tenant living in the property and it was a mess! Of course she did that against my advice but hey. In my experience it's too much liability doing it with a tenant there (e.g., dust in the air, possible damage to tenant's belongings, tenants hovering over repair guys...). 

If your'e considering purchasing a home with foundation issues, I'd get an estimate for repair, anticipate plumbing repairs (post foundation repair) and take a look at the degree of the repairs; for example if you're adjusting the home an inch or so throughout it may be something I would consider, however, if you're dealing with a cracked slab and/or adjusting the home over 3" then you may want to rethink. I hope this helps!

@Alec Frasier I think it would be best to keep half of it occupied. Hopefully that tenant is month-to-month so the end buyer has some options; either keep them for some cash flow or replace them. Odds or you may get someone that wants to house hack or rent the vacant half for top dollar then give the other tenant a notice to move and then renovate the other half. Sounds like you're in a great position! Good luck!