All Forum Posts by: Francis A.

@Paul Palmer

Great to know there are options in SE Mpls. Looks like you're about to score again in your investment deals. I have been looking  up and down the Hiawatha light rail line (from afar). 

In your opinion, why are there so many homes on the market? 2/1s SFRs especially. My realtor in Mpls says to look at them like one would look at Condos. There also seems to be a whole bunch of 3/1s and 4/1s with any different combination of bathrooms thrown in available. 

Duplexes on the other hand seem to be scarcer than SFRs. Ironically, the duplexes are all at least 100 years old which is also very interesting.

Eventually, it would be nice to own SFRs Edina (I rarely see Edina duplexes) but a fellow investor who is leery of out of state investing worries about when that time comes when people who would love to send their kids to school in the Edina school district can afford to buy their own homes rather than rent which would suck for an SFR owner investor.

All the best in your investing!!

Thanks all!

PS: I Googled SW Minneapolis and the boundaries of what I see isn't as large as I thought. And not surprisingly, Edina looks to be smack in the middle of it. 

@Account Closed   Speaking of $500,00 tear downs, I am seeing 4/1 SFRs in Edina (redfin) for $239,000 that look quite nice.  There was even an open house for a 4/1 that looked quite spiffy. Definitely NOT tear down material if you ask me.

And then there are those homes in Richfield MN that seem to sit on 10.000 sq foot lots. Sheesh!!

@Daniel Sanchez  The property is a 3/1 duplex. The 1 is the apartment that's going to be rented.

@Sylvia B. 

Clarification. My application is a 2 page long that comes with 1 page Rental Standards and Policy sheet that I hand out with the application. 

The policy sheet was specifically drafted with my attorney. It's designed to announce  up front what ia coming down the pike in terms of what we intend to follow up on to make sure that tenant and what he/she states on the application are indeed what the tenant assets to be true.

I do have a 6 page lease, a 1 page addendum (to make 7 lease pages).

Sorry for the mixup! 

Hi,

I received an inquiry asking if I accepted section 8 tenants and service dogs.  I understand it is a process to qualify one's rental to be section 8 ready so to speak. We weren't planning on pets but I understand "service animals" are under a different category.

I'm not sure if fair housing laws vary from state to state but with regards to California…

What is the correct legal verbiage to use in a phone call to say..

A: We aren't Section 8 approved

B: No pets allowed.

Interestingly enough, Craigslist flagged using "no pets" in the body of the text. However in a landmark decision, in West Hollywood pets are now considered "family".

Thanks!

Francis

@Jonathan MacMillan 

Welcome to bigger pockets. There is a regular RE tuesday meet up in Alhambra at the REMAX on Valley Blvd. http://www.meetup.com/NuVision-InvestorsClub/event...

I suggest you bookmark it or join to get updates.  Attending these will expose you to a whole raft of possibilities in terms of which direction you want to go regarding RE investing.

Rudy who runs the class is a fantastic teacher who shares and has huge experience due to the varying facets of RE investors he gets to deal with. 

Also grab this book if you can: http://www.amazon.com/Landlording-Auto-Pilot-No-Br...

It's mainly about Landlording but you will get an overview on the other possibilities in RE investing.

Join www. redfin.com for a free account to start looking at what's for sale to get an idea on where you're going to land. 

Secret hint: after you've looked at Redfin and MLS know that your best deals are probably not listed there. Ask questions you'll arrive at your "promised land" or plot. ;-)

All the best on your journey!

Francis

@Eldar M. 

All the best on your brave new journey! Read up all you can about this topic. 

I'd suggest you buy http://www.amazon.com/Landlording-Auto-Pilot-No-Br...

Especially read the chapter on the application process. Good stuff.

Get an account at www.redfin.com. It's free. Once in Redfin check out zip codes around USC area. 90038, 90018 etc. You'll see plenty of triplexes and duplexes (including some illegal fouplexes) LOL. They range from low 200ks to 500K.

All the best in your investing career!

Francis

@Michele Fischer  Thanks for chiming in. I do charge a small application processing fee!  

My criteria is pretty much like yours.  From all the meet ups and investors I've listened to, it seems like the application process is where you either get it right or wrong. It's also the place to weed out potential bad apples. Alas there is no ONE right way to achieve the goal of getting the right tenant who will enhance your Land lord experience as well as help you achieve "bigger pockets" (pun intended).

We learn as we go. I am too so thanks again for your input, it is much appreciated!! 

All the best with your RE investing.

Francis

@Rick H. 

To answer your question. I am the smallest client on said attorney's list. He runs a small shop.  In his defense, the attorney was good enough so say that he had clients who had 500 plus units and so they took precedence. I could have walked away but his reputation is stellar among fellow investors I have met. 

So far it generally takes him a few days to get back to me BUT once again...in his defense, he was straightforward in telling me how it was going to be. 

One day I may be with a new attorney OR I would have moved up the ranks in number of units owned!  Don't count me out! HA!

Anyway, I hope I didn't agitate you too much on this very fine southern california morning! Carbon Canyon sure is a nice place to live! :-)

Enjoy your day and thanks again! 

Francis

@ Sylvia B. 

I believe our esteemed @Brandon Turner  mentioned in podcast # 78 (correct me if I am wrong about the podcast # Brandon) that his application forms are all of ---- 25 pages --- long.  

I almost lost control of my car when I heard that comment by Brandon. LOL

The kicker is Mr Brandon Turner lives in Washington State, a state that is probably not as tough on Landlords as California is. (Again, please correct me if I'm wrong).

All the best!

Francis