All Forum Posts by: Creighton Bertrand

Hi guys I did a search and didn't see anything about assuming a lease so thought I'd post it here.

If there is an existing thread please let me know and I'll delete this one.

Anyways, I just bought a duplex and both units have tenants with 1 year leases.

My question is what do I need to do to take over as the new landlord? Do I need to write up a lease addendum? 

My main issue is with having them sign agreement to pay rent on time and penalties for late payments as well as new instructions for payments, as the payments will be to me now rather than the old landlord.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as well as any steps you took when you bought a place with existing tenants. Thanks in advance for your input!!!

-What steps did you first take to make the jump?

Books,books, all the bp podcasts and reviewing spreadsheets and deals.

I have to say I bought a sfh and did the brrr strategy, minus rent. I bought cheap, did a ton of rehab then refinanced house and pulled out cash to buy another investment property.

-What type of property was it?

Original house was a 3dbr/1.5bath rambler that was last updated in the 70's.

2nd house and first real investment property was a 2bd/1bath duplex.

-Did you flip it? wholesale? buy and hold?

Bought with the intention of flipping and renting but loved the area so much and remodeling it's now our primary residence. 

-Were you able to do it using someone else's money, or did you have to save for years to jump into that first property?

I was fortunate enough to save up for the minimum downpayment.

-Were you feeling discouraged at all during the process? If so, how did you overcome it?

I definitely had analysis paralysis not only with my first house but my 2nd duplex. Everyone says trust the numbers so after reviewing the numbers and realizing how great the interest rates were/are I pulled the trigger. I'm an engineer so I'm very analytical and need to see it to believe it. Luckily hearing the same thing over and over on the podcast help assure me I was making the right decision. 

-In the end, how did the first one turn out, and where did you go from there?

I guess I kind of already answered that. Refinanced the 1st house and used the cash to buy a duplex. 

Thanks to everyone on BP for all the help and encouragement through the years. Couldn't have done it without everyones' help and eagerness to pay it forward!  

Thanks Mary for the detailed response. None of those seem to be an issue minus the notary. Is there a place or any recommendations you have to find one? I've heard banks may have one...? 

Hi guys I finally pulled the trigger and bought my first duplex!! I'll go more into the details in a different post so everyone can tell me how bad of a deal I made 😜

However, due to terrible communication with my mortgage company I'll now have to sign all the papers while I'm on vacation out of state. 

Has anyone ever closed a property while out of state? What do I need to do or find to do this? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks! 

Hi I just finished up the book on managing rental properties and too can't get into the landloardingbook bonuses that it kept referring to in the audio book I purchased from audible.

Any help would be appreciated and huge shout out to @Brandon Turner. That book was awesome and so helpful. I have bought my first place thanks to your books ( yeah I got all 3). If you ever need a structural engineer to be added to mastermind group, give me a pm! lol! 

Thanks again everyone and big thanks to John Leavelle for the full breakdown. @JohnLeavelle could you tell me what kind of  you are finding and/or comfortable with accepting. 

Thanks again!! 

I love BP 

Awesome! Thanks for the input guys. 

Steve, I couldn't agree more and I assume the location has something to do with it sitting so long. 

Christopher, I am planning on financing it so won't be out 130k only 25% ~39k. The roof and windows are new so I don't for see any major cap ex. But I really appreciate your perspective and take on the deal. I like to see it from other peoples mindsets. 

Thanks again and keep the comments coming. 

Thanks Daniel. 

I have ran the numbers on both the BP calculator and my own spreadsheet and am getting +12% return. I also included property management for the reason you specified and have heard /read. Everything pencils out just trying to understand what I could be missing outside of the numbers? 

Thanks! 

Hi guys, 

I've been stressing out about this current deal so figured why not go to boards and ask the real professionals. This will be new first investment property so I want to make sure I'm not missing anything here. 

Basics : duplex - 2bdrm/1bath 

Purchase price : 130,000

Assumed value of house : 137,000

Current rent: 750/unit.

Utilities separately metered. 

Taxes: $1,200

Insurance : $1,100/yr

Maintenance : $1,600/yr

Cap ex: $1,600/yr

I'm coming up with great numbers on roi for this place so I'm not sure why it's been sitting for a few weeks now. It seems too good to be true. What would prevent other investors from rushing to this? The typical cap rate in this area is 7-8%. Granted, the neighborhood isn't amazing, probably class C tenants. Could that be the reason why no one wants to touch it? It has  a new roof and vinyl windows too. I've walked it and looks in decent condition. No remodeling necessary. I talked to current tenants and they said rent is on par with market. I also looked up market rent and it was accurate. 

Please let me know your thoughts or what I'm missing. 

Thank you for your time and help! 

Hi Joe. I live in Edmonds and absolutely love the area!! I Jane a really good friend and agent if you're interested. 

His name is JP Gerling. He's been in the business a while and knows this crazy Seattle market place! Let me know if you would like his contact information.