All Forum Posts by: Greta Clav

Maybe consider small claims court if you do not find a faster and more promising route. Time is of the essence. If the PM is financially unstable, you may not be able to recover your money. Also consider what your cost in time and money will be in trying to recover the money. I can't speak to how long a court process would take, but if you have all your ducks in a row, a favorable judgement should be pretty attainable. And in the end, $6K is better than $0.  

I would act on this as quickly as possible. Contact a reputable RE attorney in the area where the PM is located. Look into the requirements for a small claims case. If possible file a claim immediately. Find out all you can about assets held by the PM and her business. Find out if you can file a lien. All these things will take time on your end. Meanwhile, the PM  could be spending, liquidating or moving assets from her or her company's name, which will make it harder for you to recover any money owed to you. Sometimes people get in over their head and find it easy to use other's people money thinking they can later "reimburse" them. 

Along the line of a comment above by @Adam Wayne, I would take into account the location. What are renters' expectations for that location? Also do you plan to keep the house long-term ? If not, would a buyer see value in a small 4th bdrm ? 

No one likes going to the laundromat. That will a negative strike against your property whether you are renting or selling. 

Investing in RE takes time, money and effort. When I started out, I spent a lot of time watching and analyzing the market where I wanted to buy before buying anything. Once I bought, I did a lot of manual labor myself... pulling carpet, painting, yard work, etc etc. And I did all the management myself as well. Finding good reliable contractors is no easy or quick task.  I made a lot of mistakes, trusted and relied on some people I shouldn't have, and lost some money too. It was very stressful at times and always time consuming! Just like college, making real estate your business, requires focusing your time, effort and resources into it to be successful. 

Another perspective on this is, if they are willing to go down 5K I would immediately think that they are bluffing.  If am the Seller and I have multiple offers, including cash offers, I would not bother with trying to compromise or work out anything, I would just move on and accept the next best offer. Something to think about. 

A local market. An area that you are familiar with, that you can monitor for changes, and that you can easily, quickly and economically work on. You can work with a realtor to find an investment out of state but you will have to rely heavily on the realtor's experience and commitment to finding you a good property. Also, managing and maintaining an investment property outside out of your area can end up costing more than if you are there to assess and/or take care of the situation yourself.

 Thanks, Alecia. Yes, I think in this case, a cash offer may make the difference. Inspections: I am learning the importance of doing inspections...after getting burned on one deal.  

 Yes, good point. Since I do not intend to purchase another property (besides the current deal) until a year or so from now, I can use my cash now and finance a future purchase (when interest rates may be lower than today). The property that I am looking to purchase now needs a few repairs which I can cover without much trouble. Other than inhibiting the ability to purchase more properties, are there other reasons why it is best to finance at this time? I am here to learn and I am open to hearing your perspective. Thank you, Eliott and @Erik Estrada