All Forum Posts by: Dylan Vargas

@Becca F. I meant "stagger the fence" not cost. Sorry about that. So there would be a good panel (not showing the posts and 2 x 4s) of fence for 8 feet and then the bad panel (showing the posts and 2 x 4s) for 8 feet. I dont know the proper term in the fence world. Ha! Let us know what happens after speaking to the neighbor. Hope all is well.

@Chris Fatur Welcome! Glad your first 2 deals worked out so maybe you have more of a knack for this than you think. At any rate. The most important number is are you losing money or making money and are you ok with that amount? Have you tried the BiggerPockets rental property Calculator? Its a great tool to use for rental properties and they give you the average numbers for a rental calculation. Sacramento is a great area as is much of California its just wheather you want to deal with rent control etc. I do both in state and out of state. Taxes are something to pay attention to especially after buying a home and they adjust in any area. Same with insurance. A new policy will be different than the old policy with previous owner 15 years ago. If you are already finding success in Sacramento then stay the course. Make sense? Good luck and keep us posted.

@Becca F. I would ask the neighbors if they will split the cost or even pay a 3rd. This is common and then debate over who faces the "bad side" of the fence with the horizontal boards showing (hence paying a 3rd). Some people stagger this when splitting the cost. This is very common but depends on your neighbor. I would simply repair and save your money for other repairs/upgrades unless there is a safety issue. Good luck and keep us posted.

@Jessica Yuan Welcome! Thanks for sharing the information. For question # 1 many realtors and such are not on BiggerPockets or were once and simply aren't active so no surprise to me. Obviously simply Google for realtors which I have never had a problem in some of the areas you researched such as Flint, Saginaw, Dothan etc. Question # 2 maybe those cities have already had their run up in rents and growth and have been slowing the past year or longer. I have seen this in some if not many areas. Many of those towns were real cheap but exploded from 2018 or so and then peaked a couple or few years ago. I know this happened in areas as numbers do not pencil any longer like they used to. I see this in other states as well for the past few years.Good luck and keep us posted. 

@Tom R. Welcome! Mine have not doubled but did go up over 25% on investment properties as well as personal home. Check with an independent agent. Good luck and keep us posted.

@Carissa Atendido Hello Carissa! Using a property manager changes (reduces) cash flow so if you are simply in it for equity and not cash flow thats why I would use a property manager. Just my opinion. I use Avail for self managing. I use Avail to list the place and you can pre qualify tenants by running background checks etc on Avail if you wish. Managing showings would be challenging if you dot have a maintenance person or other. If its a newer home you can have a code lock door handle so you can change code after a showing from afar. A property manager will probably have you sign a year agreement or other agreement to make it worth their while. I prefer to save on the releasing fees etc but thats my choice at this time. May be best to hire a property manager for the 1st year then re evaluate especially if you do not have any connections locally. I did it without a PM and was maybe just lucky but a solid PM will be worth it. Finding a solid PM is the key and that doesn't always happen regardless of how you vet the PM. If the numbers make sense using a property manager I would lean toward that option for your first year. You will then see the nickel and dimming they may or may not do or if they simply are a bad PM then you can self manage. I go through a lot to pre screen my tenants and have been very fortunate so far. 

@Joshua Piche Welcome! Boy, this is a tough. First timer makes it even more challenging. I personally would want it delivered vacant. You need to follow the law and rules in your area. Contact a property manager and see what they say. It doesn't hurt to ask people to leave and make it contingent on the sale. Sometimes people will simply leave. If they dig their heels in then look for another property imo. Good luck and keep us posted.

@Susan Kang  Welcome! Congratulations on the 20 plus years. Great job! Hand it over to a PM. You can still have them rent for the amount you want and dont waiver or give in. Relax and enjoy yet you can still oversee. Good luck and keep us posted.

@Carissa Atendido Welcome! Do you have any ties to the Texas area where the home is? This may help. If you are more for equity and not cash flow then go Property Manager. I still like the idea of self managing as this teaches you so much in a very short period of time, then you can hand the reines off to a PM. Thats a lot of money to fly out and see the place but each to her own. Good luck and keep us posted.

@Adele Tegger One more thing......I never tell the prospective tenants I am out of state until they are approved. This weeds out the hustlers in my opinion.