All Forum Posts by: Jack B.

 Tell me about it. Seattle is a freaking joke. The policies are basically in favor of loser criminals and other dead beats at the expense of the "rich" who made different choices so we weren't poor all of our lives...

 This. I had some real morons last summer try to shake me down. They were literally so dumb that every text, voice mail and email they sent further showed they were liars and scam artists with an ever changing story. Claimed that they didn't pay utilities because they didn't know the address (on lease). They left me a voice mail stating they were coming to get their mail, and received a utility bill with someone else's name on it (felony) and didn't know what to do ( a reasonable person would ask or refer to the lease), the list goes on. 

I've found the tenants that do this crap are literally hoping that you give them money. In my case above I didn't even take it to an attorney, these people were so dumb my cat would win a court case against them. Oh and did I mention I took pics of their drivers license and welfare mail before I sent it to them unopened (I didn't open it but it was obvious what it was). I asked him how exactly they knew the address for drivers licenses and mail but couldn't remember the address for paying their utilities...

I'd tell them to get bent, honestly...

OP, I'd sell it and use the cash to buy two more properties. I did just that a few months ago and have drastically increased my returns, four times the appreciation, depreciation and equal cash flow, as well as added principle pay down of $700 a month on top of the cash flow. My house was paid off of course, but still, the rate of return on cash tied up was getting to be so low that I crunched the numbers and saw that although having a paid off place to live is reassuring, I was able to go from making 25K a year Total ROI to nearly 100K a year Total ROI.

I also love the fact it helps me reduce my taxable W2 income much more so than before.

I agree that the Police are the solution to this. I've called on neighbors before for my primary residence but for tenants I've always wondered how I'd handle it if they complained about a neighbors music. I'd urge them to call the Police. All they will do each time you call is ask them to turn it down. Usually as soon as they leave it will go right back up. You'll call them out 2-3 times that day and they never cite them. It requires too much effort for them....

 Back then? Probably not. Now, maybe. She was here illegally from Vietnam. But yeah, I've become colder since that incident. Basically I view the "justice" system as a criminal rights system.

I agree that turnover can be a good thing if you are prepared for it. I start advertising around the 12 month and 24 month tenancy mark just in case to get some leads and also gauge the interest level at the rate I set. I've also raised rents and forced turnover in an effort to stop giving away 12K a year in discounted rents. I had three rentals that were well under market but are now 100% at market. Not above, not below, but at market and it feels GOOD. Wish I had done it long ago. 

Guy emails me about a house. I send the usual spiel for the people who are too incompetent to read the large print at the beginning and end of the listing about qualifications.

Guy tells me his credit is below 600 (I require 700+). I ask him what is in his credit. He replies that he would be renting it with 3 other people and none of them have a score above 600, some have records, no income, etc.

I politely tell him I'm not interested but wish him luck in his search.

He emails me back that the house is ugly and has no curb appeal (it's a brand new remodel, stainless and oak everything) and that the rent is too high and no one would ever rent it from me with such high demands and at such a price.

I wanted to tell him that the 400K house with complete remodel that he just tried to rent but was decline due to being a loser rented at full price later that day and that I don't take advice from low income losers with bad credit. 

In reality I told him nothing because I have do doubt a guy with a 500 credit score and an income of 12K a year at 30 is going to come vandalize the place.

I also have nationwide. I've heard from other investors such as the Derosa Group that the insurance umbrella policy will take care of these bogus scammers.

I had an illegal immigrant driving without a license cause an accident, her fault entirely and tried to sue ME! This was years ago when I was with esurance. Of course the crazy lady tried to sue me when insurance declined to pay her anything considering it was her fault. She didn't even have any damage, I was in the hospital and my car totalled (old suv with steel bumpers vs newer plastic car, lol).

Note the insurance company didn't tell me they had to represent me if I got sued. My uncle who is an attorney told me that after I got served with papers. I could feel the insurance agent sinking in her chair when I told her they were responsible for representing me since they declined to pay. 

Long story short, it was a 2 year legal battle of deposition, motion and other legal BS after more legal BS. In the end she lost and went away. 

Insurance company told me the only person that never changed their story in that 2 years was me. I told them that's because I'm telling you the truth, I'm the victim here!

Suffice it to say I lost faith in the system after that. The suit should never have been allowed to be brought forth. Of course the state police let the illegal immigrant roll away from the scene despite them admitting they were here illegally and were driving without a license. The life partner drove away with her as a passenger after the accident.

Like the title says, I have four single families and one "duplex". I'm making about 200K in appreciation and 60K in cash flow and principle pay down. At this point I can move back into one of my other rentals and retire, but I planned on working for a few more years to maximize assets. My earnings from real estate investments outpace my earnings from my job (155K) and are much more tax advantaged but I want to use the W2 income to keep buying assets while I still can.

Option 1) I can sell one or two that have seasoned a bit and buy some commercial real estate out of state (storage, multi family, etc.). I could even buy a couple 15-20 unit complexes in Florida where I make six figures after all expenses, though I'd want to move there to either manage or be nearby. Then when the appreciation slows down in Seattle I could sell more houses and buy more apartment complexes raising cash flow to about 200-250K. At that point, I'd just retire from my professional career. 

Or...

Option 2) Sell a couple and buy some turnkey out of state for more cash flow. Seems like a lower return now vs. keeping appreciating west coast property. I don't need the cash flow right now, though it is tempting to quit my job and go travel the world on that extra cash flow.

Or...

Option 3) Keep holding for now until I figure out what kind of commercial real estate I want to get into. The houses will appreciate nicely for a few more years in the meantime, and if I lost my job, I'd be OK anyways since I can downsize to one of my rentals and live off my investments. 

Option 4) ?????

I'm a millionaire now and would be a multi millionaire in 5 years even if I stopped working thanks to investments. Not a bad position to be in but I would like to keep grinding this out for a few more years before I slow down. Ultimately I'm trying to 1) keep the equity and 2) find the next way to increase it drastically.

 "Do you accept section 8?"