All Forum Posts by: Dawn Vought

I'm going to have to replace a broken dryer when existing tenants in Independence, MO move out.  I've heard sometimes contractors accumulate used but good appliances like washers, dryers, etc. when someone simply wants a change and then sell them cheaply.

Anyone know of a contractor (or a good used appliance place) in the KC area that might have good, used appliances?

TIA.

Take a look at the house (and the neighborhood) through Google or MSN Maps.  5401 Wabash Ave looks like it had some fire damage, which in and of itself is fine as long as you know that the fire damaged part is being replaced and not just covered over.  If this is your first house that you're looking at in KC, I would stick with another area.

I agree with Andy.  It really depends on the street.  And yes, I was referring to crime/vandalism/safety levels.  Have someone you trust take a look at it, not someone who is trying to sell you something.  Regarding the insurance, I can't really say that the insurance costs are higher due to the area.  I have houses in relatively better areas than that house that have higher insurance costs.  Just get a few estimates so you can compare real numbers.

Mariama. I own a SFR in that zip code. It's generally not a good area, although like anything it may depend on the specific location. My house is older, so I don't think my insurance numbers would help you. Just be careful if you are considering something in that zip code. I would recommend going and seeing the property/neighborhood.

@Ann Howell  I have had a nightmare of a time with my Birmingham investments, due primarily to various property managers and contractors that ranged from bad to outright fraudulent.  My losses from them were tens of thousands when all was said and done.

One thing I did learn later on was that bouncing a check in and of itself is an offense.  It can be a civil offense or a criminal offense.  It becomes a criminal offense if the check was written with the intent to defraud  on the part of the person writing the check, so you might want to look into that as well.  (In my case, I was sent checks for rent in the mail that turned out to be written on a closed account.  That scammer's name was Prentice Fails of Birmingham, btw!)

One other lesson I learned is that you have a better chance of getting a lawyer to work on contingency if there is a large group (and hence a large amount of money) involved.

Great advice going to the Alabama Realtor's Board to file a claim.  If your guys were truly licensed realtors that would probably be your easiest route, as they have insurance or a pot of money allocated to cover things like this, I believe.  (Another scammer I dealt with, Michael Moore of Moore's Property Management, stated he was licensed, and afterward when I went to the Realtor's Board I found out he lied about that too.)

Arbor Trace was one of the many Birmingham property managers that I contacted to inquire about management.  Once I reviewed their PM contract and found it very one-sided to their advantage, at the disadvantage to the investor, I passed on their "services".

I wish you the best with all of this, and thanks for posting about it.

State Farm has gotten a lot more conservative these past few years.  I don't believe they will insure a vacant house for an investor anymore for any extended period of time.  Not sure if that is only in certain markets or areas though.

@Account Closed - I understand fully, believe me!  Have been there and done that.  As I mentioned previously, the taking over of the PM duties was out of necessity and not really choice.  If we hadn't, all of our houses would have been given back to the bank way before now.  I am happy to say that all of ours are currently rented and stable, at least at the moment!  Never give up, and you can work through the mess.  If I can do it (single mom from 1,200 miles away), you can too!

Most of our tenants use Chase Quick Pay to send us rent electronically (as we use Chase as our main business bank).  There is no cost to either party.  We do have one tenant who is old-fashioned.  They send us a check in the mail every month.

We send all of our rent bills and almost all correspondence by email.  If something is very important we will send it in the mail as well (assuming the tenant does not have access to a fax machine).

It goes pretty smoothly now that we are controlling the whole situation from the start.

@Account Closed - We're over 1,200 miles away.  Never say never!  :)  We do use local realtors for rental lease up and as-needed tasks, and local contractors for repairs.  Where there is a will, there is a way.

I've had to fire 4 KC property managers.  Now we do the property management ourselves and things have gone a lot better.  If we hadn't, we would have not been able to sustain the company and would have wound up giving the houses back to the bank. 

The problem isn't isolated to the KC market.  I can tell you first hand that it was (is) even worse in Birmingham, AL.  The key to successful rentals is good property management, and it does seem to be the hardest piece of the team to have success with.  It's not easy!