All Forum Posts by: Corina Eufinger

Well, the attorney is harder to find.  I would get an agent first though. What's the point in having the attorney to draft deeds if you won't have deeds that need drafting? 

Under most conventional mortgages, no.  But check the "small print" of your mortgage.   You would want to inform your property insurance though that you are renting it out. 

Good traits of a p.m.:

-they weight property decisions based more on what is good for the property than their own pocketbooks (within reason)

-transparency. With many software companies specializing in web based with log ins for owners there is no reason you should have access to your own cash flow reports when you want

-units:staff ratio.  You don't want a p.m. that is too bogged down because they are running a large operation with two people (1 admin and 1 maintenance).  A good ratio is for every 130 units 2 administrators and 2 maintenance staff (even if some are part time)

-tech savy and up on industry info. With so many advancements in the past 20 years that have changed the p.m. industry its important for your p.m. to up to date on the new trends and tools available that make your property (and themselves) relevant.

Bad traits:

-Lack of procedures.  Every p.m. should have a clear cut procedure for every action that normally occurs managing a property.

-Negative attitude towards tenants.  If the p.m. has a negative attitude towards tenants the relationship is sunk before it began.

-Lack of loyalty to the owner

I don't see the need for so many  business accounts.  You could get by with 1 checking (monthly property expenses), 1 savings (escrow, deposits, etc), and one credit card (purchase you want/need to finance). It seems like it comes down to a concern about bookkeeping, and honestly the more accounts you add the more complicated bookkeeping becomes. Invest in Quickbooks, Appfolio (if you are doing buy and hold), etc for bookkeeping and simplify the number of bank accounts you have.  Use the software programs to track your expenses through general ledger accounts.  

I say the above from experience.  I once had numerous accounts for my real estate ventures: 1 checking for management, 1 checking for payroll, 2 management savings, 1 properties owned checking, 2 properties owned savings.  I am now down to management checking, payroll, checking, property checking, and property savings. I have actually spent less time on bookkeeping since making it simplified like that. 

Whether its worth it probably depends on the amount of damages you are seeking.  Given that attorney costs would probably add up to around 2K (unless he gets them to settle outside of court) you would have to consider that.  How much lost revenue, increased repair costs are you out?

Most attorneys will do a consultation for free or a flat fee of around $350.  You could get recommendations in the of the rehab for a contract attorney (possibly real estate) and get the expert opinion.  Your case would be heard in Missouri state court since that is the location the services may/may not have been performed.  If the damages exceeds $75,000 and you sue an out of state party it would end up in the federal circuit court of the disctrict.  

I manage a group of properties that are REO at the minute. It is hard to sell REO that is tenant occupied. REO or tax auctions you don't get an opportunity to look through the property under most circumstances.

If you are interested in REO, you can consider traditional sales. It isn't uncommon for REOs to do traditional sales. I am negotiating one right now. With REO sales, they tend to not be flexible on the price because of certain regulations and audits they have to go through. But they are more willing to compromise on other areas like a repair/rehab check at closing, covering all closing costs, etc.

First, welcome! 

The VA loans are wonderful asset for you to have in this journey.

SFH (single family home) is a difficult type of property to cash flow on in various parts of the country. It works in some areas, in other it doesn't. Your mortgage, taxes and insurance payment may be 900, but you can only get $825 in your area for the type of property. Blue collar towns do not have the income to support homes rented out, typically.

I do not recommend a condo purchase for a rental.  Condo's come with their own bag of headaches because you do not have complete control over the property. To begin with as well, you would have to be sure the condo allows for renting out units. 

You could us conventional financing for a multifamily.  But the down payment would likely have to be between 10-20% for less than 4 units.   If you buy 5 or more, you are looking at a commercial loan which usually requires 20-25% down. If you are able to network and get some deal analysis under your belt, you could go for PML (private money lender). Terms can be more flexible, down payment may be less, etc. 

I applaud you wanting to scale up your game.  Maybe your best strategy is to pick one area of the country you like (maybe you've lived there) and focus all your investing there.  That you can enlist one property manager (or company) to look after your portfolio and you are always dealing with the same demographics.     

I have Buildium. Very similar to Appfolio, bare bones, etc. What I don't like about Buildium is that it struggles in accounting area.  Reports are not customizable and limited in number.  Also, Buildium is built by a company whom I believe did not hire an accountant to structure the program.  Its accounting is not up to par for creating balance sheets and higher level accounting reports.  While I like Buildium over all, its accounting leaves a lot of to be desired if you are concerned with more than income and expenses. 

Here is mine for water.

12. Water: Tenant is responsible for all water bills and water usage beginning the 1st day of occupancy. The landlord will not pay balances to avoid shut off of service. Tenant must maintain an internal unit temperature of 55.  Any repairs, damages, and complications that arise from a frozen pipe will be billed to the tenant including: repairs to pipes, water removal, amenities replacement, and municipality cost to turn off or restore water service. 

Now, I don't believe in court your wish to collect the fee for broken valve would hold up. While yes you only have to replace it because the heat was left off, the tenant probably cannot be held responsible for an old valve giving way in the eyes of the court. You can try to collect, but I am uncertain it would pay off.  

The only thing I can think of is whitepages.com but I don't know how reliable the phone numbers would be.