All Forum Posts by: Dan Smith

I'm right in the Bradford side of Haverhill, what's up:)?

@John Barry - I use an escrow account with Santander Bank.  I use Santander for my personal banking, and when I approached one of their account manager's and explained that I was a landlord, they let me know that they have a landlord specific escrow account.

The account sends monthly statements to you and the tenants, and they keep track of each units interest.  They also automatically cut a check at the end of the year to the tenants for any accrued interest.  I have found their account to work perfectly for the incredibly specific MA security deposit rules that we have to abide by.

With this account, since it's held in escrow, none of the interest counts for your taxes, even though it's a small amount of interest, it is something.  Also, this is incredibly scale-able because the entire process is automated, other than the initial set up.  I have everything through Santander, and they don't charge any fees for these accounts. 

Note: I am not an affiliate of Santander, and I am not being paid to make any of these statements either...I just like the account!

Let me know if you have more questions about it too:)

Welcome to the site @Greg Dowdell!

First, I want to let you know that committing to actually buying a property is the first big step.  There are a lot of people who understand that buying multi's is a great way to build wealth, but for whatever reason never actually buy them.

Second, I'm just a step ahead of you in the process, my wife and I bought a 3 family in Haverhill, MA in December of 2015.  All of our friends thought we were crazy, but we've been able to live a much more comfortable lifestyle already!  That being said, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about the process, or anything else, as well:)  The community on BP is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.  Be sure to leverage the knowledge here as much as possible! 

I know you said you're not too keen on paying PMI to start, but I would say it's the price of entry if you don't have the full 20% for a conventional loan. Just make sure you factor it in as another piece of the deal, so you still find a property that gets you the return you want.

Best of luck in your real estate journey!

@Rich N. - 

Also, the tenant doesn't have to do any work, other than the W-9.  They don't have to see anyone or go anywhere, I have them fill it out with the lease when I explain what's happening with their security deposit.

@Rich N. - 

You have the tenant fill out the W-9, you transfer the money into your Master Escrow, and you submit a Santander specific form along with the W-9 and they set up the rest.  It's been quick/painless and I've been with their escrow program for just over a year, and so far, it's all been handled easily and made my worries about security deposits disappear.

Happy to share more info if you need anything:)

To add to what @Rich N. stated, and mind you I am in Massachusetts as well...

MA security deposit rules are full of specifics, the best decision I made was to create a business account with my bank, I use Santander, and with that account, I hold each of my tenants security deposits in separate interest bearing accounts.

The master account that I have allows sub-accounts to be set up under the tenants names, with their social security numbers.  The tenants can not interact with the accounts, but they get monthly statements about their money, and the bank also sends out their interest once a year (required in MA).  I would check with your local banks to see if they offer any similar accounts that follow your states laws.

This account is entirely free to me, keeps the interest earned away from my taxes (albeit small), keeps the deposits from co-mingling, provides me with monthly and ad-hoc reporting, and keeps me compliant within the realm of my states security deposit laws!

(Santander didn't pay me to say any of this!)

@Matthew Ortins - Look up "Haverhill Landlords' Guild on Facebook.  They meet at the Roma in Bradford.  I've been to one of the meetups myself, there's a lot to be learned there!

@Matthew Ortins

I'm right in Bradford!!  We will have to meet up and discuss investing our our area:)

We're also house hacking a 3-fam right now and plan to buy another 3/4 family in early 2018.

I'll reach out to connect.

@Zico George

I own/live in the Bradford area of Haverhill.  zip code 01835 if you want to google it.  Bradford is one of the nicer neighborhoods.  I have a third floor 950 sq ft 2 bed 1 bath that rents for 1200 and a 2nd floor 2 bed 1 bath, 1200 sq ft that rents for 1400.  I could probably get a little more for them, but I like my tenants and don't have a need to change that.  If you're looking for solid units, Bradford is a great bet.

If you prefer lower end, the aves are all scary places to me.  A lot near downtown is also not my cup of tea.  My plan is to buy all of my properties in the Bradford zip code.

Haverhill itself is a great town and Bradford is about a 5 minute average drive to the downtown Haverhill scene.  There is a good mix of younger and older families and it's a city we plan to live in for a long time.  I'm happy to answer specific questions if you have them.

@Justin Repp, I am an investor currently house hacking in Haverhill, I have been here for just over a year now.  I would be happy to speak with you about Haverhill and what I've learned about this area and surrounding towns.

Feel free to connect with me and shoot me a PM to chat.