All Forum Posts by: Ben M.

I’m on my 3rd month of my first duplex rental property in Texas City and found that one of the tenants only paid partially so far and is ignoring communication. Supposedly this tenant always paid but was also always late, however it’s getting close to the end of the month so not sure why it’s taking so long this time. What’s usually the best way to handle difficult tenants such as this?

Hi Tamer, you can try Houston, Texas. I bought my first rental property (a duplex) from an investor group http://texasrealestateradionetwork.com.

Great tips! Thank you!

I keep hearing that rental property owners lose their cash flow from big ticket items or capex. Has anyone been able to successfully factor in capex into their expenses and actually owned properties long enough to determine that they are actually cash flowing?

Thank you everyone. This is for a duplex. Does it make much difference?

I’m 2 months into my first rental property and had an issue with grass growing too long and had to pay twice as much to take care of it. I am transitioning from the previous property manager (who handled the property before I bought it) to a new property manager. I am not sure what happened or why it was left to grow too long but was wondering if anyone had systems in place to prevent this kind of issue and if it has worked well for them? Thank you

Just got my first rental property and just realized that I totally missed on including the property management leasing fees on my numbers. This fee usually equals one month of rent which is a lot. I am still cash flowing but it seems like this could be a cash flow killer if not considered in the numbers. Just wanted to see if anyone had any feedback regarding these fees.

What’s a good website/resource to find out historical and projected appreciation rate for an area?

I am looking at a duplex with no repairs needed but the numbers look good and is about 15% discounted. This would be my first investment property purchase. Am I missing out a lot on the learning process by getting a ready-to-rent property? My goal is keep buying homes and adding value to them by fixing them up but this one already has some value without me fixing it up. Am I missing out on getting an easy property like this or can I still learn the process and costs of repairs when things start breaking on this property?

Great solutions all and plenty of options to choose from! Thank you!