All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

Well, if you have the cancelled check, the landlord will have a tough time claiming they didn't get the rent.  In any event, there is very good chance you will be able to resolve this - eviction is not an appealing process for the landlord either.

Maybe a previous month rent was not paid and the question is now whether the acceptance of the current month's rent re-sets the clock?

@Melissa Reid 

 At THIS point in time, are ALL outstanding charges (rent for previous months, late fees, possible tenant owed repairs, etc) current?

I'm interested in this topic too because I've almost been caught up in it too.  Sometimes it's not obvious at the outset that you even need to get a W9.  Example, I hired a guy to clean some gutters for me.  Cost 100 bucks, so clearly, did't need to bother with a 1099.  Had hime come back a few more times, and eventually, right before the end of the year exceeded $600, so now I needed the W9. Fortunately, after some prodding, he complied, but I can appreciate how one can get into this sort of jam.

@Steven Hamilton II , do you have any words of wisdom on the original question.  Just file 1099misc anyway and take some heat from IRS (as suggested by Steve B?)?  Leave SS or TIN info blank?

Harpreet, I'm not quite sure what you are trying to do. Are you asking whether you should get a HELOC in addition to the mortgage you have right now? If so, then it depends on how much equity you have in the property. If you financed at 95% of appraised value then no bank will give you additional lines of credit as you have no equity to secure the credit.

If you are asking whether you should REPLACE the mortgage you have with a HELOC, because HELOCs have lower rates, then you need to consider that the reason for those lower rates is that the rate is variable (i.e. it will go up when prime rates move). You could have achieved the same by choosing a variable rate mortgage rather than a fixed rate like you did.

Hi Amy - good to see you on BP!  perhaps @Joshua Dorkin or @Brandon Turner 

 can provide more guidance on options beyond the blog already mentioned by @James Wise 

@Amy Bonis 

Research Triangle, NC  new investors: 

Just wanted to make you aware of a solid and inexpensive Real Estate Investing class at a local community college. I took this class a few years ago and I highly recommend it. It covers the basics of REI but also focuses on the local market.

Andrew

PS: I have no financial affiliation or interest here - just wanted to make folks aware.

WakeTech Community College

" Creative Real Estate Investing Class"
Classes Begin:
February 11th, 2015 (Located at Sanderson High School)
(cost is $95 for the six week course)

Class meets from 6:30 to 9:30 every Wednesday

This is the A to Z real estate training course written and taught by local real estate investment authority Jim Morton. Since 1977 Jim has successfully invested in our local market. During the last 30 years, he has tried system after system to find the best investment plans for our area and perfected them. Now you can learn from his vast experience and insight. Learn: how to find the money needed to start, where to find the best deals, how to profit from foreclosures, is self-management for you, how to choose a professional management company, negotiation secrets, short sales, REO's and much more all taught in a classroom environment. This is the perfect course for the beginning investor or the seasoned manager. Regardless of your experience level, you will bring home some of the most sought after techniques in the industry from this course.

To register for this class on Wake Tech’s site click the link below:

https://webadvisor.waketech.edu/WebAdvisor/WebAdvisor?TYPE=M&PID=CORE-WBMAIN&TOKENIDX=1745425843

then select the green bar “Continuing Education Students” then click the link to “search or register and pay for continuing educations classes” then enter instructor name “morton” in the blank “instructors last name” and click search. You should then be able to select class and register.

 Those prices are crazy high!  Unless you have an exceedingly risky lifestyle or live in the nastiest possible neighborhood.  Insurance is local, I understand that, but adding the first 4 rental properties to my personal umbrella policy (State Farm, don;t know others) added only a very nominal amount (if any) to the premium.  Past 4 rentals, with State Farm, you need a Commercial umbrella, which is a bit more expensive, but still nowhere near your numbers.  So, definitely, shop around - around here, you could get a 2 million dollar policy covering your personal property as well as the first few rentals for well under $1000.  Now, what you do need is you need to meet certain individual liability limits on your car policy and all homeowner policies. 

@J Scott 

Just hailing J Scott on @Karen Margrave Karen's behalf above...  interesting thread and I'm curious as to how it progresses!

Given the info provided here, I would absolutely consider renting to them.  Pay a visit to the employer and the pastor and former landlord, and verify those are legit.  With that in hand, this seems like a smaller risk to me than many of my other tenants.  Yes, in principle, its probably easier to case those if they fail to pay, but in reality, actually collecting is exceedingly difficult regardless of whether you have a SS in hand or not.

I fully agree with @Jon Holdman 

These types of insurance (same as extended warranties for any consumer products in general) exist at the rates that they are offered because the numbers, spread across a large portfolio, work for the insurance company.  Yes, you could be "lucky" and collect more than what you spend on premiums, but again, on average, it's the other way around.

Now this may be slightly different, if you have a house where all your appliances etc are on their last legs and due for replacement.  For THAT case, buying insurance may be attractive since you stand to collect relatively quickly.  However, the insurance companies are usually on to such schemes and will have clauses in there that limit their coverage or payouts for older equipment or only cover a small percentage of the actual cost.  If you can get a policy on "old existing equipment" with no strings attached, then it may be worth your while - however those will be hard to find.