All Forum Posts by: Denis F.

Renting without a walk through makes no sense to me. I don't allow potential tenants to fill in a application without a walk-through in person.

You mentioned the unit would be sold before a visit: Units for sale and for rent at the same time are only small fraction. If they are for sale, chances are they are empty and you could visit it the same day. If you were to sign an application on the spot without looking at it, the unit could still be sold as tenant-occupied or the building would be sold with one more tenant if it is a multi-unit which is usually a good thing.

I suspect you were told to apply without a visit because the manager already had too many applicants, didn't like you and used a lame excuse you can't sue for or is too lazy. Try elsewhere and you should find managers/owners with integrity.

Summer is "moving season". If you start again looking now that kids are back in school, it may be easier. Good luck.

Hi, are you trying to rent or buy?

My suggestion is for you to think hard if you can handle a flip. Think how much you know about remodeling so far, whether you have tools, a truck, and how deep you can go (anyone can paint or clean but sheetrock, trims, windows, sewer line... electrical and plumbing often require permit). Anyone can learn but do you really enjoy getting your hands dirty?

Find a mentor if at all possible. Flipping without experience is risky as you can easily overlook tricky issues and end up with large unexpected expenses (asbestos removal, foundation issues, mold...)

That said, if I was to start today, I would look at reasonably priced duplex or SFRs with MIL potential. I would look for location obviously and enough square footage so that you don't have to get into permits to expand. I would look for rough cosmetic fixer with interior walls you can remove to open up the kitchen/living room space (breaking is easier than building). When I walk through a place, I don't see how it looks but what it could look like based on the type of work I am capable of.

I personally like homes from the 50s (good thick hardwood often hidden under a bad carpet) but avoid late 60s and 70s (popcorn ceiling = asbestos) and often cheaper construction grade.

Overall, I found that flipping is a good way to turn your free time into equity/money and a great learning experience but it is hard work and definitely not for everyone.

@Lam Dinh  I am not sure how rentals per room works and I try to stay out of it. In my units rented out to (2) students as "flatmates", I always emphasize that they both together sign a single agreement with me such that if one doesn't pay his/her half, the other is responsible for it.

@Corey R.  I'd be extremely careful about advertising with a preferred candidate profile. If it is a small unit, I might say something like "ideal for 1 person" but I wouldn't specify gender. I would mention a "quiet hours" schedule. (Just my opinion, I am not a lawyer).

Unless you really need it rented ASAP, I would start with spreading the word around people you know before posting an ad. You may be surprised. I've had good luck with my kids' daycare employees for instance. I figured if I can trust them with my kids, I can trust them with my apartment :-)

Regarding lease agreement, I use the RHA-WA templates and I don't recall coming across anything specific to MIL.

@Lam Dinh  As far as I know, cities around Seattle don't allow renting out MIL if you don't live on site. Enforcement is another story though. 

I agree. I will advertise in the "for sale" section when I become a tired landlord. And by the way, I will not sell just because I am tired but I will be executing a carefully planned exit strategy to minimize tax implications based on my situation then.

Otherwise, consider regular letters/postcards so at least you finance the post office :-)

Hi, I always ask my tenants to read, sign and date the HOA rules (they are not just guidelines) in addition to all other required lease documents so they can't say they didn't know. The HOA will most likely consider you responsible for any issue related to your tenant, especially when it comes to fines.

As far as a strict HOA, this is a topic in itself. The HOA has to be strict and enforce the rules, that's their duty to the homeowners. If they don't, they "grandfather" behaviors or actions that overrule the actual rules in court or made the rules impossible to enforce. As a example, we had an owner moving his unit wall and effectively taking over common space (end of hallway). Because the HOA didn't do anything for years, the HOA would lose now if trying to take the issue to court. So strict rules enforcement is a great thing in my opinion.

If the rules themselves are too strict, it is a different problem. When complaining about a crooked mailbox flag, they should indicate which section of the rules mandate that it is not acceptable. The same goes for any complaint of any kind and especially before any fine gets assessed. There is usually a long story behind a lien... since it costs money to everyone.

My recommendation is to obtain and record everything you can in writing or emails if you get targeted by the HOA. There are so many "I said/he said" and angry phone calls or aggressive behaviors reported but very hard to prove if things get worse and you need to involve a lawyer.

If the HOA is unrealistic, you may want to team up with other owners and make sure they don't get re-elected at the next HOA election. You may also want to talk to the property management company. They can act as mediator (at least the good ones do) and should be able to explain what appears unreasonable expectations. I always ask them to explain how it works in the other properties they manage...

Hi Eugene, I found a previous discussion here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/165...

Soundcu shows a limit of 90% LTV on their web site.

Hi, I live and invest in the US but I recently started looking at France for an investment. Here are my 2 cents, I'll let you determine whether some of them apply to Belgium:

- Within the country, there are "appreciation" markets (large cities Paris...) and "cash flow" markets (typically undesirable suburbs with higher risks, smaller towns) and everything in between. 1% rule is easier to find in less desirable markets, in France just like the US.

- Single family homes are not typically what people try to rent in France. They will squeeze in a smaller apartment to save up until they can buy a home for themselves. I saw a similar comment on BP regarding Oslo. So the typical 3 bed house is not the best rental property in my opinion. I look for small multi-family instead and the numbers work better.

- Tax laws for investors in France are more complicated and "unfair" than in the US. Before you buy, you should factor in whether the targeted property and rent level is eligible for tax breaks (up to 85% tax free in some cases) which makes a huge difference on your overall ROI. You may not need the 1% rule if the income is close to tax free.

- Rent control in many cities is another rule keeping rents artificially low. It also keeps multi-family properties purchase price more affordable (less attractive to investors) but it doesn't keep single family homes cost low since you compete with families wanting a place to move into.

- Mortgage rates in France have a far lower interest rate than in the US in my limited experience but the debt to income ratio is tighter. So I believe there is even more competition for cheaper properties and less for expensive ones.

Overall, the French government has many programs from investors tax incentives to tenants subsidies to pay their rent that the RE market is not quite a free market, which makes it hard to analyze and compare to the US experience.

The lack of a central database (MLS in US) is detrimental to getting a good view of the market and market trends so my view is limited to the specific markets I looked at.

I can be more specific if I manage to close on a property in a couple of months ;-) 

Let me know if what I mention above appears very different than Belgium.

Hi, I am on the HOA of an old 28 units condo building in the area. We've used a company for 10+ years (low cost because of long history, performance was inconsistent depending on the manager assigned to us but mostly good) and we switched 6 months ago to a different one for a significantly higher cost. We've researched many local property management companies over the last couple of years and had a hard time picking one.

My perspective is that it is not so much about the company or its owner/executives giving you a great presentation or discount during the evaluation meeting but rather about the manager assigned to your property, how many other property he/she has to manage, how far their office is... I suggest you interview the potential assigned manager without his/her boss around before you sign up with a company.

I could elaborate with the criteria and questions we used during the interview if that's of interest.

PM if you want specific names. Hope it helps.