All Forum Posts by: Evan Ventura

Great feedback fellas thank you! I think we will take everyone's advice and opt for the patio/outdoor shower vs granite (unless we find an unbelievably cheap piece of leftover). Adam Scheuermann small world! The town has certainly seen better days, but it still has its better spots. People will always live here however. Andrew Schwartz

Hey everyone, My business partner and I just secured our first rental property and are seeking out everyone's preferred online rent payment service. I stumbled upon this BP article and it was a great starting point: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/pay-rent-online-payment-tools/ We'd love to hear about everyone's experiences with these or other services not listed. Thanks! @andrew_schwartz

Andrew Schwartz

David O Thanks for the feedback. I would say I have at least another five years on the thing. The crawl space is otherwise very clean and has a cement floor. Height is about three feet I'd say, standard for the area. I'm sure this would negate the need for a vapor barrier? I too have a friend who's done a few of these jobs on the side and offered to do the work. Am I looking at just having the walls of the foundation/ceiling hung with insulation?

Hey everyone, I am currently under contract for my first rental property. My inspector suggested I insulate the crawl space of the home as it is where the furnace is located; however, it is an older (but functional) unit that will eventually be moved to the attic once it dies. In the meantime, is it still wise to insulate despite the tenant paying utilities? Is the lack of insulation making the furnace work harder therefor expediting its demise (even though it's never known otherwise)? I am a big fan of preventive measures, but is this something I should really jump on right away? Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the great feedback!

Also, we have been told the range for which we can rent this home is anywhere between $1,500 a month on the very low end up to $1,800. If there is anything we can do to the home within reason that can demand the highest rent, we would like to do it.

Hi everyone, I am very excited to say I have gotten my first rental property under contract! While I wait to close, myself and my business partner are trying to be as proactive as possible and decide how to best fix it up. It is a single family 3/1, just shy of 1,000 sqft, offer accepted at 145k. Very basic rehab was estimated between 10-12k by contractor. I have a couple specific questions: Granite or Formica? Counter space is very small to begin with, would it make a worthwhile difference to go the granite route for durability and aesthetic? Build a basic patio or leave it bare? The yard is quite large but leaves no where to really hang out or barbecue. Is this an important selling point? Build an outdoor shower? This home is at the Jersey Shore where this is a popular feature. A fellow landlord advised me that she always builds one if it's not already there. We are in this for the long haul, and while we strongly desire to cash flow on a monthly basis, we have full time jobs and will not be drawing from our properties for a long time. I know there are many schools of thought here, we appreciate any advice you all can offer!

Ben Stoodley You're absolutely right. I've begun putting our investors capital into perspective, and while "$1M insurance policy" sounds exciting at first, I have to remember I live in New Jersey where that could hardly facilitate two deals at once, if that. Especially if this money gets tied up as long as a year or more on one deal. Hopefully, spending the next few years working solely with private lenders builds us the experience/reputation necessary to approach HMLs with stronger, more educated proposals.

Thank you gentlemen for going into such great detail with your responses, a lot of these obscure points I completely would not have known to think about.

@Ben Stoodley I like your "straight shooter" philosophy. In respect to my first two investors (whom I have long standing relationships with) I am confident these points will be respected. But looking forward, should I take on more lenders (particularly ones who do this professionally) I should have a better idea of what to look for and know who has everyones best interests in mind or not. I particularly like your point on direct lenders, I was unaware some lenders have other backers behind them. That's too many moving parts and will absolute vet those lenders out immediately. I am also big believer in "you get what you pay for." I am not willing to pinch pennies at the expense of extraordinary service and piece of mind.

@MJ S. As stated above, I have no aversions to putting my money into piece of mind. I am actually currently researching some lawyers in my area to work with on just this, contracts and other legal matters I know nothing about! New Jersey does not make anything easy and I want to cover my bases as best I can. Great point as well on the covering every little detail - I will make sure everything is spelled out and broken down to a molecule.

Again, fellas, the feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm going to take this and put it into practice. Should any more questions arise, I know where to ask!