All Forum Posts by: Marc Freislinger

Dave,

As far as I'm aware, most owners are billed by the hour worked, or by the job. We charged $20/hr for our handymen to come out. Our guys were required to track their time, turn in all receipts, and take before and after photos for the owners. Everything was recorded and our work was always warrantied. If the tenants broke something, the tenants were charged at the same rate instead of the owner.

I think you will have a hard time convincing owners to give you money monthly if there is no work being done. Most owners don't really understand the costs of maintaining a property if they've never done their own PM.

George,

Your leases can say whatever you want, but you will need to make sure you have a valid non-protected reason for one tenant having a different lease than another. Having odd things like that will always open you up to fair housing lawsuits if your tenants find out.

But, that clause will probably not hold up in court, as you cannot charge someone for an apartment after you have rented it to someone else. I would just insert a reasonable lease-breaking fee, so that there is no debate over when they moved out, when someone else moved in, or how hard you tried to find a replacement tenant.

I got to see our managed properties on the news twice, and my own on the news once.

First: http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-east-side-home-invasion-093010,0,7840270.story Tenant broke his leg jumping out a window trying to escape from who he apparently thought were the police. Got a call from section 8 shortly afterword explained that we had some window screens to replace.

Second was not our tenants, but I caught a clip on the news where they were filming directly in front of one of our managed duplexes because some middle schooler had been propositioned while waiting for the bus.

My own duplex was on the news when a drunk driver hit it with a truck.

I've also been through fires, floors, and the usual. The worst part about being in property management to me has always been with dealing with liars and people who are looking to scam you any way they can. Any excuse to not pay rent, or breaking things just to "justify" their rent. Most of these people get screened out, but every once in a while...

I owned a 6 unit building right next to not only a busy track, but a road crossing. And by right next to, I mean the tracks were no more than 30 feet from one of the entrances. The train traffic was at least one an hour during the day, slightly less frequently at night. This building was in a MAJOR train hub in southern Indiana, so residents tended to be used to trains, and also less than 2 blocks from a college campus. With those two factors, it made it very easy to keep rented.

The residents told me that after about a week they didn't even notice the trains anymore. I've heard this from several people who have lived near tracks. If your tracks aren't super busy, or you aren't super close to a street crossing, I don't think I'd worry too much. Like everyone else says though, make sure you comp it against properties that are equa-distant to the track.

Aaron is right.

It's going to depend on the bank. A lot of them ask if you are related to the old owner. I don't know if it prevents you from buying it, but they at least ask.

I think to be good at auctions requires a LOT of work. The rewards are there, the time is not, so there's not much point in branching out until you have to. A show like this could bring in enough competition to make you have to.

Dave,
I'm really glad you came by to chat about your show. It says a lot about you to actually come to where investors hang out and put yourself out there. Don't take these guys personal. Some don't like competition, some don't realize that maybe others work differently than everyone else.

TV is TV and you guys need to show what will get you ratings. Personally, I enjoy shows that go more in-depth in the rehabs, showing how to do things correctly, like Holmes On Homes, In-A-Fix, etc.

Either way, stick around. Maybe you can learn some of what needs to be shown to help people who really want to get started in real estate. Encourage your guys to join too. You can only become more successful by learning and teaching.

Will,

Entering a home before the auction is generally felony breaking and entering. Usually a home is secured in some manner. Opening a window, jimmying a lock, etc is breaking in. It's a misdemeanor trespassing charge at best if the door is wide open, and you can prove it was wide open before you arrived.

I wouldn't claim to do it on national television either.

As for who would press charges, charges are brought by the local prosecutor. You don't need the homeowner to file a complain if you get caught in the act (or have a neighbor call the police).

Do I think you'd actually get charged? No, or I wouldn't do it. But it's possible if you get the wrong cop on the wrong day.

Keep in mind that you cannot make a decision to rent to them based upon the number or age of the children, so I would avoid any posts/comments that indicate you are looking at it.

I use Ring Central and Google Voice and have not had problems with either.

Ring Central can be customized quite a bit more than Google Voice, and isn't too expensive.

Josh,

I have posted my reasons before for no longer having my photo as a profile picture. Now that I've been on the site for over 2 years, and had 2 more kids, I'm sure I've aged enough to not be looked down upon. Unfortunately, when I joined, regardless of what experience I had at the time, there was often a feeling of being ignored/spoken down to because of my youthful appearance. When I changed my avatar, that changed, and I met several different members face-to-face. After an initial shock, that more than one expressed, they realized that I was still the experienced guy that had been chatting with.

I do not think it should be mandatory to have a personal photo. I would encourage people to post SOME sort of photo, as I have said in the past, in order to brand yourself. I tend not to read names, and don't often notice that I'm reading things from the same person unless they have a personalized photo (though, there are a couple of exceptions to this).