All Forum Posts by: Carlos Enriquez

My first agent told me that they wouldn't even show a property until it was in contract!  Apparently that's the usual practice around here.

I gleaned as much as I could from the proforma, but you shouldn't take the info on it as accurate.

Depending on the purchase & sale agreement your agent uses, it should ask for those documents for you to be able to inspect.  Don't forget the leases too.  Form 20 Multi-family is the one I used.  Not sure what type of property you are imterested in.

I lived in SF for 4 years...left my heart there!  I was a student at the time and I was impressed by all the rentals available near UCSF, UOP, SF State, USF, et cetera.  There were some lovely duplexes, 4 plexes, apartment buildings, whatever.

If you keep an eye open for such while you're pondering your next move, something like that may open up for sale.  I think you have to be patient and take the time to research.

You'll be making more money using those savings as a DN versus getting anemic returns wherever you have them parked. 

Nat, if your gut tells you to back out of it, even for principle, then do it.  But when you think about backing out, and there's a little voice telling you that it isn't so bad a deal, then go for it and make the best of it, as long as you don't beat yourself up over it.  Make a command decision and don't look back. 

The duplex I bought was on the market for almost a year.  I came along, made an offer, and bought it.  I asked why it had so many DOM and I was told that buyers couldn't come up with a sufficient down payment to justify buying it.  Yes, it was probably a little overpriced, but making sure the numbers click is important.  Mine did.

As for the contingency, they may already have a place in mind and you are the one they could be waiting for if you have the DN.  Make an offer.  If the contingency expires, just move on, and try again later.  One must not fall in love with properties.

I would ask the seller what they are looking for, and try to find it for them.  Hey, is that wholeselling?  Well, anyway, maybe help them get the hell out of there?  They want to, right?

You know, notwithstanding all the great comments and suggestions, the bottom line here is how did you, the owner, feel about it?  Due to the liability and government interest in this type of business, I see that you decided to get them the hell out.  That's your prerogative and right, and I'm glad to see you acting upon that.  I see too many people being influenced by good intentions and then get screwed.  You probably dodged a bullet.  Some may say that you don't know that, but now you can be comfortable in knowing that you won't have to.  Kudos!

How many years ago did you live there?  I usually keep my records for 7 years, then shred them, but real estate stuff I keep for perpetuity.  I want my kids to see all the deals I've been involved in so they can be encouraged to do so themselves.

Some companies record them as public record, you know, in case of loss in fires and such.  You may want to see if there is a recorded copy at city hall.  I was told to do that with some of my papers.  Other than that, those PM's will not be cooperative, so good luck.

Holly, if others complain about the hot water, I have used a hot water circulating pump on a timer that delivers hot water within a few seconds.  However, checking the setting may be the only thing needed.  Not sure if you can charge the pump out to the tenant...may be just a cost of doing business.

If you decide to refi in case you haven't, why not have the lender pay the tax and insurance from an impound account instead of having your PM do it?  Actually, my lender said I enjoyed a slightly lower interest rate because I allowed them to charge me the principal, interest, tax and insurance (PITI).  My PM charges his fee based on rents received, and then the repairs.  Other tasks would be billed additionally.  The lender does it for free.

 I like the idea in one post about a service fee to deter frivolous requests.  You may want to ask your PM to notify you of ALL service requests before authorizing them, since you are detached from the area.  You should be checking your owners report every month, and as soon as a discrepancy occurs, get on it!

If they agree to honor your request, that's great and it means they want to work with you and keep your business.  Don't be surprised if they say it would take too much effort to call you every time there is one.  They may want to charge you extra to do it.  I think that is part of the 8% management fee and shouldn't be additional.  Some people are lazy and don't want to be bothered.  Hopefully that's not the case here.

You're the boss. Don't be shy. If you lose the PM, then they weren't worth keeping anyway. There are plenty out there!  You did it once, you can do it again.

I currently drive a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4, black on black leather.  It looks cool towing my 5x8 utility trailer for stuff I'm always doing.  But then again, I'm now 59 years of age.

But wait!  I wasn't always like this.  I drove a Chevy Biscayne in high school, which I souped up in auto shop.  Then had a Plymouth Cricket that I learned to drive stick in.  A few years in the Army had me driving deuce and a halfs, then a 1971 VW bug for many years.  When I blew that souped up 1600cc engine, I decided on nicer cars.

Had a BMW 314i for three years in Germany.  Anyone drive 150 mph on the autobahn?Then a Porsche 911T for a few years until I got married, which made me trade it for a Suburban.  Missed the high performance, though, so I bought a 1999 Mercedes 560 SEC...now that was a car!  But decided on American muscle after, so got a 1965 Corvette Sting Ray for 7 years.  Raced it all over the place but it was street legal, so raced it all over the place lol.  Sold it for a Harley and a motorhome.  Had an Airstream 454 and after 10 years sold it and now have a Dodge Chinook 20 footer for fun.  I love Jeeps though...had about 3 of them over the years too.

My next car will be the Chevy Volt...can't afford the gas anymore.

Was this too long?

Here's something you should consider when hiring a PM.  Some will tack on an "involvement" percentage of the total service fee, if they have to personally show up to orchestrate the work. Mine said he will do that, but only if necessary.  He said that most of the time, his contractors show up for a job and finish it without his involvement, because the work is usually pretty qwell defined.