All Forum Posts by: Shawn M.

A simple FOR SALE sign will do just fine. Investors seeking property will notice it because we are always looking. Bigger isn't always better.

The reason for the short fuse is because as I stated, I wanted the offer accepted before every other investor got there. So as it is here is what happened. The house was listed for 120K. I put in my offer at $142 cash, as-is, good for 24hrs. The seller accepted it! I later heard from the sellers agent that right after my offer was signed they received an offer for $182k.

Thats why I wanted a decision right away on the property.

I should of mentioned the property is on MLS. So I have to work with the agent and can't deal directly with the owner. Thats why I have to submit an offer before anyone else gets there.

I am putting in an offer tomorrow on a multi family property that just came on the market and is an Estate sale. It is at a great price and I will be offering a little above asking since the asking price is way low. My question is since it is an estate sale and has to go before probate review is it still acceptable to put an offer in that is only good for 48 hrs? I want the conservator to act on my offer quickly before every other investor submits offers later this week.

Or since it is probate, do all offers have to go to the judge and the judge decides who gets the property, and I shouldn't be in such a rush.

I would opt for the doorbells, without them b/c tenants will just lean on the car horn for EVER until someone comes to the door. Also they just start shouting up to the person bothering all the other tenants. I believe that the more civil conveniences you provide the better your tenants will behave.

You can pick up a good lock box from Home Depot for about $30

I've been told from that water company tech that if you have a copper water main coming into your house you shouldn't need the pipe insurance. It's the older steel pipes that are prone to busting. You just have to go into your basement where the water enters the house and scrape the side of the pipe, if it starts looking like bright copper you should be all set.

If you have old clay pipes that would be a problem too. But if you go to City Hall and see the city/town engineer they have maps that will tell you what kind of sewer pipes you have.

Hi There, I have been using a service called www.WilliamPaid.com. They do direct bank to bank transfers for free. They also take credit cards and cash payments. The cost to the Landlord is always free. This service has revolutionized my rent collections. you can't beat direct deposit to your bank account!

Is this a legal bedroom in the basement? does it have 2 legal means of egress? If not, this is a bigger problem than mold. If it is not a legal bedroom you should get them out of the basement ASAP. If something were to happen (fire, co2, etc) and you were renting out an illegal basement bedroom. You will be paying for a long time.

As for the mold, be a responsible landlord and get it tested and take the appropriate action after the report comes back. If you have toxic mold, it is in your best interest to get that corrected asap.

You know....it's your investment plan. What works for you and your future wouldn't be the same type of investment that works for me and my plan. So as long as the numbers work and you are pretty confident about them go for it. You will never know every factor 100%.

Coincidentally, The first home I bought was a 2 family back in 2005. When I was negotiating with the seller we went back and forth a few times. The listing price was 185K, I offered 170K. They then came back and offered 175K, I countered @ 172K. Then they slept on it and came back to me at 182K and I was pissed off. They were just at 175 and now they want 182. I was told that they were influenced by their parents and were firm at 182k. I was ready to walk away based on principal and the fact that I hate working with people that go back on their word. Thank goodness I had a sensible agent at the time and she encouraged me to look at the big picture and made me realize that the numbers still worked for me at the 182k price. Since then it has been one of my best rental properties!