All Forum Posts by: Filipe Pereira

@Todd Ostergaard it all depends on what you're comfortable with. If you are a Dave Ramsey faithful, then no, don't do it. If you're one who believes in "good debt" vs "bad debt" then you will probably be OK to pull the trigger. 

Reverse the question and see how you feel about it. To me it brings clarity to the issue.

"Is it wise to NOT begin investing when retirement is in the next 5ys?"

I think it's foolish to not begin investing asap - unless you have plenty of $ sacked away in other retirement funds and can just live off the money that provides. Realistically the majority of americans do not.  

Frame what you do around solving a problem for someone else @Nicholas Ludwiczak. By doing so, your pitch becomes about how you can help them, rather than how they can help you. I can't think of an exact way on how this can be done in what you do (partly because I don't know what your model is) but I can give you mine. Not that it's amazing and the most wonderful thing since slice bread, but it is an example. 

"Hi, my name is Filipe, I am in the business of saving people their most valuable asset, time. I do this through automation, processes and by taking the things that drive you crazy off your plate."

At this point I haven't REALLY said what I've done and I almost certainly have their attention. So continuing... 

"We're able to offer these benefits through our property management company. If you know of anyone that is struggling right now as a landlord, we'd be happy to see if we could help them in any way."

Admittedly I haven't done much of this, but if I was going to, that's probably where I would start. I'm sure someone much smarter than I will have something better, lol. 

Hi @Jim Setterlund, welcome to biggerpockets. You're in quite the pickle here.  

You said that the buyers of your house backed out for no reason. How so? There has got to be a reason, or you had a very, very weak contract with them. 

Has your house been re listed already? That's step one. 

Unfortunately if you can't find another buyer ASAP, or one that will purchase with cash you're facing either having two mortgages for a time or you will have to back out of the 2nd house. You don't have to "ask" for repairs to be done, you can walk away after receiving the inspection report. It's a bit extreme, but sometimes people do it to get out of contracts. 

Can you drop the price on your current house at all to speed up finding a new buyer potentially? 

Disclose it @Mona V., they are probably wondering why it's been 2+ weeks since anyone returned to fix the problem, lol! The truth will certainly make more sense to them. 

How big is the basement ? If the going rate for just storage is 150-250, and this space is heated, I'd imagine 3-500 is not outside the realm of possibilities. Keep in mind, the perceived value in this basement is higher for your tenant than it is for any other random passerby because he already lives in the building @Matthew Cohen.

Hi @Thomas P. Stafford II, welcome to Bigger pockets! 

Whenever we transfer in a tenant into our property management portfolio, we give them four basic pieces of information. 

1. What to do when something breaks.

2. Who to contact in the event of an emergency (hint, it's not us - usually Fire or Police department).

3. Where and how ((online / mail) to send rent.

If your tenants can absorb that much information in one letter, you're in good shape. Too much information can be overwhelming and will make them skim the letter as opposed to reading it. You will have more success by just issuing a second newsletter with additional information later on. 

What you outlined is a great start. If you feel the need, highlight that you value their relationships as friends and hope that your relationship with them now as their landlord can coexist with your current relationship. It doesn't have to be all one or all the other. 

The only thing I like better than carpet in common area stairs is the rubbery flooring (with the grip option) that you see sometimes in commercial spaces (think doctor's offices, hospitals, etc.). It's super easy to clean (you can mop it!), basically indestructible, and never has to be replaced, refinished, etc.

I, like @Nathan Gesner, would also avoid going back to wood. 

Once or twice a month is sufficient for cleaning the hallways / stairs. Once a quarter for everything else inside is usually enough (windows, doors, etc.) It will also depend on how many entrances you have and the layout of the building. 12 tenants going through 1 door is going to be a different level of dirty vs 12 tenants going in through 2 separate entrances.

Hey Travis, I'm in Windsor Locks and always down to talk shop. I work primarily in Hartford county and Western MA. Let me know what you have in mind and let's do it! 

Unfortunately it isn't only a CT thing, most of this stuff is done at the federal level. 

@Randy R Espinoza almost all non owner occupant loans require you to do 25% down to purchase. You mentioned not living in the property and making it your primary in your post, so I am not sure I follow what you're asking. If you want to live in it, it would be an owner occupant loan, and for that there is definitely some 5% down options.

The best part about it is that you don't even have to set it up! The tenant selects whether or not he wants it to be automatic, and he will receive emails from cozy saying something to the effect that "rent is due!".