All Forum Posts by: Lynn Z

You have a great mortgage -- one worth not refinancing I think because you are now at the stage of payoff that you're knocking the principle. Some smart people i know do buy a car with a HELOC and take the interest as a tax deduction.

I think you can buy rental property and come out even in a bad market if you're careful and figure all of the costs involved and buy "low". Get your financing lined up ahead from a banker so you can negotiate well. Don't pay too much and check this out by taking the transfers from the Sunday paper and riding around in your zip code of interest to see what other people are paying for houses or apartments. Then look for a bargin no matter how long it takes.

I worked a full time job and one year bought two triplexes that needed fixing. It almost killed me but I lived through it. Good luck and take your time to think the deal through.

It's OK to contact various lenders and check rates. points etc. but remember to do so in a short period of time because inquiries from as few as 4 lenders on your credit will read "risky" to all lenders. Within 14 days I think all of your shopping would constitute only one inquiry. This protects your FICO score which in turn protects your rate.

has anyone been involved in tenant mold complaints? Can they legally call in a person to examine the rental unit without notifying the owner?
Any experiences would be greatly appreciated.

S.C. they say they can do a "Really good job of managing" for 10%. Some quote less but that's if you've leased up and done most of the work.

Tenants don't seem to understand that they can transfer from one account to their new address or that they might have to put up deposits at the local water, gas and electric companies. We sign up for the "rever to landlord" so that there's no interruption of service when a tenant leaves and cuts off the utlities claiming that they couldn't vacuum because they forgot and turned off the utilities early.

You may have another party moving in and having to clean or have a maid in to clean in one day and wow...no water. So check and see if there is a "revert to landlord" program in your area.

If you ask the lender to loan you 80% of appraised value and you just rehabbed it (bought it as a bargin) the appraiser should do a FMV appraisal not try to bottom out. You can get 5 loans at the same time. Same appraiser-Some come out very fair and others so low you don't recognize the comps he's using. Everything should be above board in stead of "'we're looking for ____here" on a house before it's appraised.
It's a crap shoot.

I've done several 1031 exchanges..I know other people that have done them as well. Make sure the paperwork is prepared by a lawyer that knows what he or she is doing and probably a real estate attorney that has done some. Also, a CPA needs to weigh in as well. These exchanges can drive you up the wall and the in's and outs of them almost make small ones not worth doing. Be careful.

The worse repeater is overstuffing a garbage disposal and you know what's down the toilet. You just have to warn the tenants in the lease as to the problems these things cause and how easy is may be to determine what made the toilet back up? The last visit I made, there was a large rag in the toilet. She was notified she'll be paying for it. She preferred to have it taken out of her deposit.

Laundry equipment. Some leases state that the equipment is provided at the landlord's discretion and if broken will not be replacement necessarily.
They need to be put on notice in writing.

You can pull up IRS Schedule E and see the various categories of deductions you can take.

get the best home inspector you can find. Ask top producing agents who they use as they have to refer clients to them all of the time. Get current information because some were good 5 years ago but not now. Some won't go on your roof, for example.

The one I use was an appraiser. He has two more inspectors and they operate as a team. Your report is emailed to you within a matter of hours with photos of the areas you need. In my town there is a time crunch from contract signing because the good home inspectors are booked. Make the appointmnent the first call you make when you sign a contract so that you have time to go over the report and decide what you're going to ask for.

Good luck.