All Forum Posts by: David Moore

@Calvin Kwan

Panasonic makes a vent fan that has a motion senser on it.  I have it in my four unit.  It was installed by a previous owner.  I don't doubt this will not be a cheap fix, but it should help the problem.  I have set the fans so they speed up when someone is in the bathroom, and to disengage after a brief period when someone exits.  

In our personal home, I don't like the draft from our bath fan, so I rarely use it, and it takes an eternity for any mold to form.  Tell the tenants to use a bathroom cleaner on it once a month..should also take care of it.  Mold on paint is easily washable.  

@Joseph Lee

I know this is going to sound a little more simple than other ideas, but we bought decent cabinets in stock at Home Depot and installed them with new counters in one of my units. I installed them with help from two handyman friends, and they look great.  

Having said that...if you can afford to have someone else do it, go that route.  Kitchens are tricky.  Stud location are affected by pipes, sewer runs, hood vents for stove's, etc.   We had a heck of a time placing an under sink cabinet around the sewer pipe.  Also, consider refacing existing cabinets.  If they are in good shape, fresh handles, or even doors are a heck of a lot less expensive.  We just spray painted cabinets, and the tenants love them.  

@Suzanne Griffiths

Can you clarify what you mean by "we keep coming back to the need for more capital", due to "delay after delay".  

@Jonathan Beemer

Many of the posts here have focused on analyzing your current market, looking for deals now, and anticipating the market.  But I think Zachary C has the point most pertinant.  What is the area you want to go into is key.  Do you have the temperament for buy and hold?  Does the idea of dealing with tenants appeal to you?  How about putting sweat equity into a deal?  There are two main factors you have to contend with in real estate.  One is capital.  You need access to capital to make real estate work.  The other is time.  Time is the #1 challenge I face.  In my real estate investing, I need systems to manage time allocation.

Finding a deal takes a lot of time.  You'll often hear Brandon on BP podcasts say you need to analyze three deals a week to get good at it.  Go look at buildings listed for sale.  Walk through them...then run the numbers.  If you see an opportunity to learn, and to make some cash that fits your goals, and fits your temperament and time, that's a good deal, hot market or cold market.  

I will say, from my experience, getting a good to great deal is of paramount importance.  Rents don't go up nearly as fast as you might guess.  There are many factors.  Your instincts about wanting to wait for a market correction indicate to me you have good instincts in real estate.  Now you need to start learning your area, and start evaluating deals, in my opinion.

@Lindsey Iskierka

I have found Kim Burke never has a product that works for my investment stuff, especially multi's.  She is really nice and easy to talk to, though.  She kind of works with Pine Financial and takes over financing after hard money loans with investors, and she is great at it.

I have a great community lender in the Metro Area that might do it.  What banks did you contact in MN?  Just curious.  

@Craig Miller

I can only tell you how I would approach this.  I would be on the phone with a CPA, and not asking others for advice on this one.  

@Melanie Raine

A couple thoughts:

1) Since the property has been sold at the Sherrif's sale, the foreclosing bank now owns the property.  The person who commented that the bankruptcy does not affect tile is not accurate.  It is immaterial, other than that person destroyed their credit for 7 years.

2) The redemption means your friend can buy the house back, but that can only be done with full payment for the note, plus  fees and any interest.

3) You as a third party could approach the bank and offer to buy the property for cash. It is important that you realize, though, there is no mortgage anymore. When the bank bought it, the mortgage went with it...you cannot offer to catch up the payments. The bank will be under no obligation to you at all to agree to sell the property to you. And, getting a hold of an REO officer assigned for a property not yet through redemption could be work.

Gas companies or utilities may bill minimums for various reasons.  One may be so they collect a base amount to meet operational expenses, and therefore they offer a reduced rate on gas consumption.  Just like we have a way of doing business, so do they, and their systems are hard for them to make exceptions on.  Easy solution is to calculate your costs, and adjust rents accordingly to cover the costs.  Tenants pay for everything...that is the bottom line.  @Brad Clarizio is right...not worth your time.

My first impression of Renters Warehouse was that I didn't need them.  But then I bought my four unit building in the Twin Cities, and partially due to time of year, and partially due to schedule, I called them in after our fall rehab was done, and they have done a great job getting me tenants....and they warranty them for six months.  I use them to find tenants, but manage the property myself.  They are very good at weeding out tire kickers, and their fee, for all the time they put in, is reasonable.  

@Brian Foy

I have another suggestion. Call your local REIA and ask for a referral to a real estate attorney. I had my leases created by an attorney. It was expensive, but it covers things you will never think of. I've had zero problems with tenants using the lease created by the attorney. My lease, which is 14 pages, which I use for all my properties, cost me a bit over $800.00 to get. So glad I did.

One example.  It says in my lease that the tenant must use property in a manner of quiet enjoyment.  I never would have thought to put that in there.  I've explained to tenants it is a golden rule for real estate.  Keeps peace between tenants better.