All Forum Posts by: Elise Hazzard

Hi Steve,

Sorry I missed happy hour, but will certainly check the webpage.

Cheers!

Hi Conan,

For the past 5+ years, I have used SmartMoves (TransUnion based) for tenant screening.

After creating a detailed property listing on their site for your rental, you can send an 'invitation' to prospective tenants so they can order and share their screening. The site allows for the option to elect tenant or landlord to pay for the screening. I always tee up the conversation with prospective tenant that in accepting the invitation they will need to make payment at the site and consent to the screening which will include a soft credit check. I've not been disappointed in the process and it has been helpful to identify who is really interested and capable of completing a simple task. Costs are nominal and results satisfactory on many levels.  Using this third party that manages the consent and payment elements has been great.

I'll be interested to hear views from others. 

You have a reason to be concerned Arjay.

Do your parents (or you) have a contract with the property manager. Now might be the time to evaluate the contents and the expiration date.

The only time I've used an out of state PM, I've always had the opportunity to make final selection once my screening criteria were applied to all applicants. If you had a felon or registered offender in your property and there was a problem, likely you would be called into question, not just the  PM. 

Good luck with this, I'll follow the thread and hope the contract with PM has an out for you/parents. Your request to learn details re: the tenant @ your property seems very reasonable.

@ Lawrence Swells.. Can we call you Larry?

Welcome to the fam!   

Hello Chris

While I don't have AirBnB experience myself, I've been considering it and have been thinking about the necessary elements like cleaning. While researching, I came across an earlier BP podcast and the the guest suggesting contactingnother hosts in the property area for recommendations. She admitted some responses were not helpful, but some other hosts were willing to share.  Just a thought. Wish I could tell you the episode #, but can only recall that it was someone from TN.

Good luck... IF I can find a good property (in air bnb friendly area), I'd sure like to give it a try. 

@Couryn Beleck, while I can certainly agree, the fees may seem daunting, the custodian record keeping and oversight is something the IRS apparently likes. I currently use 2 custodians; Provident Trust, and Advanta IRA. My SO uses Equity Trust. As per NedCary's comment, yes, they are (all) picky. They all seem to lack in customer experience and online account interaction IMHO.

You may want to consider giving CamaPlan (camaplan.com) a look.  Their fees may be lower than larger custodians. 

Since you are early in your journey to self directing (congrats btw), you might find value in a podcast featuring a CPA whose focus is in self directing retirement funds, Mat Sorensen. He has created a SD IRA custodian platform also. The podcast before this month was 'Refresh Your Wealth', and is now 'Main Street Business', with his partner, another CPA who is also attorney. Content rich and humorous.

Good luck.. hope you can find a good fit.

Hello Andrew,

As a 1099 myself, I have been reviewing the options for borrowing from SD IRA which used to be 50% of balance only, but now are 100%. Might be worth a review. I'm considering only short term use of funds, but until you have more docuemented 1099 income and can qualify for more traditional lending; it might be worth a look. The CARES Act has opened a few more options. Have you ever heard of a podcast "refresh your wealth" which is now 'Main Street Business' , hosted by an attorney and cpa who specializes in SD ira's?

They do host a open call in show every few weeks and the website has a method for anyone to leave a VM question.

You will likely enjoy this new hybrid position much more than the last!  Enjoy :)

Hi Jake,

Glad you have a 'good tenant.' 

I've been using the BP lease (see tools) available to PRO members, in several different states, and it has been great to have such a complete set of documents (including extension for 'great tenants'.)   You may consider using it in the future as it is attorney reviewed and may simplify the process for you. There is excellent language re: deposits considered as rents if a problem should arise.

Re: paint, I have had positive experience from tenants who I had very little history with, and a less positive experience with tenants more known to me... and I'm the signer of the lease addendum permitting the painting!

Hello Aaron,

Fellow Chicagoland investor here; we are all novices in some ways, and expert in other ways.

I hope this doesn't seem like a 'turf' as I defer to the experts with a small explanation in the middle. Brandon has a couple of very good recorded webinars that offer clear explanations of the jargon used in REI (real estate investing,) which are viewing more than once...so content rich, to absorb it all deserve more than one view.

Also, I truly believe all real estate is local, and so the idea of comp needs to be exacted to a local area, which in my view is 1/4 to 1/2 mile from your target area. I have heard another prominent Chicagoland investor remark on the importance of identifying the schools and crime in the area you are farming. This has special impact to the valuation of a property. It affects property comps for an area, as well as individual property ARV. Regardless of how much quartz or how many bedrooms you have, if a property is in a troubled school district or it has a crime problem, the valuation can fall below the value of repairs and the ARV may be in the cellar.

On arrival to Chicago I found the ChicagoREIA.org (organizer Andrew Holmes) who now has a big machine REI machine with focus in individual areas such as Mundelein, Libertyville, Algonqin, Oakbrook, Naperville, Shamburg, downtown, and probably others. Because his is a well oiled machine, and his understanding of this amazingly dense area is great, I think his site deserves a look.

Hope some part of those comments are helpful to you, good luck!

Yes, I have used it and found it to be fairly reliable; but my first go to is the local rentometer and zillow rental map to see not just the zipcode but specific 1/4 mile comps.

Yes, I agree fully, next year the rents will probably escalate.  Full disclosure, usually post rent as mid to upper mid range, but not high, in order to get big pool of applicants and find best for long term situation. Especially if there are few rentals in the area, I do try to push the number.