All Forum Posts by: Jassem A.

Deliver a notice Monday evening if they do not pay and also if they don't follow through after a week. Deliver a notice now if you are not confident they will follow through on their promise.

Keep it all separate. Require proof of income and check rental history before you even consider renting to him.

If it doesn't meet their minimum then you can sometimes package more than one on the same note

It sounds like it's coming from the power box on the wall not the roof. Probably just need to add some silicone caulk around the power box.

I only have liability on some of mine. Kitchen fires are most common because people will sometimes forget something on the stove or start a grease fire because they don't clean it. An HVAC person started a fire once and I found out he is not licensed and nothing was covered. Luckily the damage wasn't too bad.

Do the work yourself on the weekends if you can't afford to hire anyone. It builds character and saves money. Look up videos on YouTube if you get stuck or ask a friend.  You're unlikely to get far without becoming skilled or finding someone that is who is willing to work around your lack of funds.

At 550 and under 50k I would not say it's worth the effort. At 750-850 then maybe. At 900-1300 then we are talking especially if it's a good neighborhood.

I would look at the value of neighboring properties and see if they've also gone down by the same percentage. If they haven't then that might be a cause for concern. In any case an appraiser should know better than the tax assessor. Appraisers can be picky though too. If they see anything at all wrong with the place then they might say it's not even worth close to the tax assessment. I don't place a lot of value in either number.  Typically there's less movement in the tax value and more movement in the appraisal value.  If I am able to buy a home for half, a third or a quarter of the tax value and the work that's needed I would consider cosmetic then I would call that a win.  I also look at how much rent I will likely collect as a percentage of the purchase plus repair costs. I shoot for around 2% in neighborhoods that I would consider good.

I have heard of giving them the last month free each year if they pay on time and cause no problems as a holiday reward for being a good tenant. Unless they have great credit, income, and rental history I would not offer the first month free. 

You're going to either want a GC or the help of someone that is handy. The GC will probably cost anywhere from 5k-50k and the help might cost close to nothing depending on your relationship to them and whether you call it a painting party. Many people who are handy can perform most of the trades so you really probably only need one person.  Some people don't like to work alone however so it might increase to two or three.