All Forum Posts by: Filipe Pereira

@Michael Ndjondo makadi the correlation between competitive price and not providing their w9 is that if they aren't providing their w9 they're not being "forced' to pay income tax, so that's a savings to them. A w9 lets people report to the IRS someone's income through their EIN or SSN + a 1099. 

A contractor who doesn't provide a w9 is less valuable to me than one who does because I run a property management company in CT  and have to keep things above board, so to speak. You are free to do whatever you want, but if you don't issue a 1099 based off the w9 for anything over $600 that you write off, you're opening yourself up to a can of worms once you get to scale. 

Not all renovation costs have to be capitalized over a long period. Much of it can be done immediately and in the same tax year.  

Thanks Andrew. How have tenants been filling pools? Do you have outdoor spigots, or are they filling them from the kitchen sink? 

@Scott Mertens not really, no. Generally the laws written around leases state that as long as a tenant has a lease, they have the right to the property. Instead, I would make it a condition of your offer that the seller has to leave one unit vacant at closing so that you can move in.

I miss the days where posting a notice to pay or quit meant something. Welcome to 2020. Covid eviction moratoriums are not going anywhere anytime soon, and markets all over the country will face eviction case backlogs for weeks, if not months once the system gets underway again. 

In this kind of a scenario I would continue to send a monthly reminder that their rent is not considered paid in full unless the late fee is also paid (if that's what your lease says). If they choose to continue to not pay it, deduct it from their security deposit when they move out. I'd tell them to move out when you're confident that you would be able to evict them if they didn't, however.

I hate to say it, but count your blessings that they are paying their rent for now. Late fees are trivial in the mess and lack of leverage situation we are in right now. 

Is the property in Columbus Ohio @Sharon Raziel? If so I am trying to tag @Remington Lyman, but it's not working. I'm sure he has a tag for the OH market and will be able to help if your property is in the area. Hopefully he knows someone. 

That being said, I would start off by asking your town assessor why your property taxes are so high. Once you know WHY they are high, you can begin assembling your case as to why you think they are wrong. That may lead you to an agent, an appraiser, or an atty to help build your case. Often times it is some combination of the three. Best of luck :) 

I followed everything until "They provide receipts but not W9. That makes me think if this should be a deal breaker or not. They provide quality job at very competitive price. Is current savings as valuable as long term tax benefits for equal amount of saving at present time?"

So basically they are fine with doing the work, and getting paid for the work, but not OK with paying taxes on the income? That doesn't sound promising....

Unfortunately for them the IRS has clear procedures on how to file a 1099 for a contractor who doesn't want to provide their W9, so they are really just shooting themselves in the foot. 

Don't be distracted by the shiny object.

That's my one thing @Manoj Ghangas. 

If you become a successful agent, you will see people succeeding in real estate in about 20 different ways. If each time you see someone be successful in their way you change your way, you will never be successful for yourself. Focus on what you would like to do and fire away at that on all cylinders. 

As an example, now that I have a property management company, and we deal with a lot of contractors, it would be fairly easy for me to assemble a team to do flips. But that's not my game or my niche. I want to be known as the guy who does property management in Connecticut, more specifically Hartford county, not the guy who does a little bit of everything all over the place.

Niches can be a great thing! 

@Stanley Pearse 

If you have listened to enough of the BiggerPockets podcast, you will know that a good property manager can make your deal, and a bad one can make a good deal bad. It is so easy for a property manager to be a poor performer when they know their client is out of state and not over their shoulder.

If you don't have true boots-on-the-ground out of state, or a property manager that you can trust, I would pass on the deal unless you are expecting to make a significant amount of trips out to the property. The reality is that it is pretty unfeasibly for you to do so.

I've found apartments.com to be a bit clunky, especially on the listing side. There's so many hoops you have to jump through and some of their filters, captchas, and etc. are crazy.

Cozy is WAY easier to list an apartment on (with the exception of the media limitations). I hope apartments.com takes a note or two during the merger process.

Definitely the bigger pockets podcast and their book on managing rental properties. I have since shifted my reading to books on relationships, negotiating, time management and etc. 

I am a big fan of personal development. One of my 2020 goals was to read 6 business minded books. For a guy who was only reading a book or two a year for the last few years, that was a big jump for me! Always be learning :)