All Forum Posts by: Hannah Williams

I'm late coming into this discussion. What happened? What did you end up doing Brian?

Hi all, 

I was wondering if any of you have switched management companies in the past, and if so, why? What were the reasons? 

In Michigan, we have a Family Dependence Agency which helps people in distress find suitable homes and jobs. They pay for the security deposit and first month's rent. Thereafter, the tenant must pay rent on their own. 

I have concerns about working with one of these types of organizations because I'm not sure what the likelihood of paying rent will be once the renter is on their own. 

Have you ever rented to someone involved in one of these types of programs? Did it result in a good tenant? 

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all. Thanks for the advise.

I ended up going to see the house myself. :) 

I do not live in the city where I invest, so I sometimes have to rely on my realtor to view the home and take pictures for me. I found a great multi-family opportunity, and asked my realtor to see the property as soon as possible, as I am very interested. I asked him on Monday to do this, and he didn't get back to me until Thursday. Now, there is an offer pending with a contingency. It is still possible we could get this house, but the buyer would have to drop their contingency. I am very upset he took so long. Is this a normal time-frame? When you ask your realtor to view a home, how quickly do they get you a showing? 

He also sent me pictures of the wrong house. He mistakenly sent me pictures of the house across the street. This is a home in Detroit where it is not always apparent which house is for sale because "for sale" signs are not typically placed on lawns. I had to correct him and tell him he had the wrong house. 

What do you think about this? Should I start looking for a new realtor? Have you ever had this happen to you?

I am relatively new to the real estate investing world. My husband and I have only been investing since July, but since then we have obtained 12 properties and 5 lots. We have been so busy buying that we have unfortunately skipped over the LLC process, so every property is in our name. We need to establish an LLC as soon as possible, but I have a few questions first.

First of all, we are having a hard time coming up with a name. Is it wise to include your last name in the LLC? I thought legally the idea behind an LLC is to exclude yourself from the company. Including your last name in the business name seems counter-intuitive, but I know many investors do it. What is your thought on this?

Secondly, of the 12 properties we own, 10 are single family homes, 1 is a condo and 1 is a 4-plex. Should we have individual LLC's for each property and one managing LLC for all? Or, should we have an individual LLC for the 4-plex and all the others as one LLC? What are the pros and cons to having multiple LLC's? What are your thoughts on having an individual LLC for each property and one managing LLC for all properties? Does it become incredibly complicated?

I'm looking forward to your responses! Thank you in advance!