All Forum Posts by: Craig Curelop

@Brandon Hall - When your net income from AirBnb, do you play self-employment tax on that? Or does it get added to your W2 income and you pay the same tax rate as the W2? 

@Soleiman Bolour - I use Cozy for my rental. Personally, I really like it. The screening process is great and allows them to run a credit and background report for ~$40 (the cost of your application fee). 

Also it allows you to set up automatic, recurring payments. Your tenants can just set it and forget it, no excuses. 

The down side is that it takes 5 days for it to hit your account. For that reason, my lease states that tenants are to pay on the 25th of every month and they initiate the transaction on the 20th. That gives me more than enough time to get my ducks in a row to be sure the mortgage is paid. 

@Karen W. - I'm no lawyer, but if he is not upholding on his promises, you should not have to hold up on yours. I would definitely try to take it out of the deposit and let him know why. He may understand and not resist at all... 

@Karen W. - You are too nice :). Did you sign something saying that you would refund his security deposit in full? 

If not, you could say, "I thought you were going to leave the house in rentable condition. Because I need to clean the place and do all of these things, I will have to deduct the cost from your security deposit." 

Hope this helps!

@Joe Kim - It sounds like you know what the right thing to do is. If you can't buy the car cash, you are simply not ready to purchase it. 

You have the devil and angel on your shoulder. The devil saying, "BUY IT, YOU DESERVE IT." The angel saying, "you're not ready yet. Wait until you have cash and maybe there will be an even better model out." 

It's your choice who you listen to. Don't let your emotions take over your rational decision making. 

@Account Closed- If you want to get into real estate investing jobs, I would recommend finding real estate investors in your area. Go to www.biggerpockets.com/meet and do a search for your area and message at least 10 people each week to meet for coffee/tea. Try to meet with at least 5 every week over the next few months. You will be surprised at how fast your network grows.

Another thing you can do is go to www.biggerpockets.com/events and see if there are any real estate events happening near you? Check out your local www.meetup.com, search your area for real estate events and attend! You will meet people who are looking for help in all of these places. 

Being an assistant to an agent is a good place to start. My suggestion would be to go to Zillow and call on the top agents in your area and ask them if they need any help. 

@Matthew Moore - @James Carlson summed up what I do pretty concisely. 

If you're looking to rent out the bedrooms in your place, you really have 2 options. One is to rent them out long term or short term (i.e. AirBnb or VRBO). 

With a long term rental - Obviously, it is less day to day work and a steady stream of income. You just better be sure to like who you pick. @Tyler Giering rents his place out by the room and might be able to give you some pointers. 

With the AirBnB, it is more profitable, but a little bit more work. Though, I hire a cleaning lady to turn the place over so it's not that much work. All of your guests are short term so that's also a good thing. 

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to reach out. I'm aways happy to help! 

@Jared Baker - As an investment property, this looks pretty good. I would be sure to do an inspection and have that as a contingency if you do decide to make an offer. 

If you are looking to go conventional, you'll need 20% down so that's $33k at close? It does not sound like you have that. 

If you are unable to get it from friends/family members you'll have to do the 3.5% down FHA loan. In this scenario, you would have to live in one unit and rent out the others (you can also rent out the additional bedroom in your unit).

If neither of these options seem to work for you, maybe you can ask the owner if he would be willing to do some sort of seller financing? If the seller owns this property free & clear (no mortgage) then they might be able to do something for you. 

@Lalit K. - In my opinion, speculating on the market is a gamble. Really you're no better off than throwing your money at a random company in the stock market or putting it all on "red." 

Buy a good deal that cash flows immediately. That way, you will be in a good position whatever the market does. If it declines, you can hold through the downturn. If it increases, great! If it stays the same, you can force appreciation yourself through improvements, etc. 

@Noah Scott - If you want to find real estate investors in your area, I suggest going to www.biggerpockets.com/meet. Do a search for your area and message at least 10 people each week to meet for coffee/tea. Try to meet with at least 5 every week over the next few months. You will be surprised at how fast your network grows. 

Another thing you can do is go to www.biggerpockets.com/events and see if there are any real estate events happening near you? Check out your local REIA. Go to www.meetup.com, search your area for real estate events and attend! You will meet people who are looking for help in all of these places.

While being an assistant to an agent probably should not be atop your list, it might be a good thing to consider until you find something better. My suggestion would be to go to Zillow and call on the top agents in your area and ask them if they need any help.