All Forum Posts by: Jason Smith

your points fee is too high... You should really consider a few things 1) checking to see what putting 25% down would do to the rate, 25 LTV is the spot to get the best rate on investments 2) see what Raymond Rodriguez can do for you - I see him posting on this site and quoting rates and his rates always look good 3) check out Provident dot com and the live rates button. The info you provided with 25% down is $0 points for 3.25%. 20% down and the points cost explode. Provident isn't going to hold your hand, and be nice, or even talk to you on the phone, everything is through emails and document centers. Your DTI better be amazing to get approved with Provident, so if you have a bunch of other properties with mortgages Provident isn't for you. If you have other new properties that show loses on your last years tax returns, Provident isn't for you. Their underwriters will analyze your documentation, ask for more documentation, make you sign affidavits like no other lender. If you can figure stuff out by yourself and it is your 1st property Provident has amazing rates.

You are paying a management company 8-10% of rent to rubber stamp maintenance requests and then pay for repairmen. If you live nearby, you may consider being your own PM. If you live far away find another PM. 8 doors would be a lot to manage by yourself. You may want to PM your most cheapest 5-6 doors or so, and manage a few of the highest rent price ones yourself to try it out. PMs do have some positives, I think tenants are more likely to pay a landlord that is a PM if times are tough than a landlord. 

If become your own PM, and you find a good plumber/electrician/handyman etc do not use them a second or 3rd time without getting a quote from them and two others. Repairmen love to jack up the price once they think you have used them before. Once you find an honest, good and price competitive (doesn't always have to be cheapest) repairmen company you can ease up on the quotes. Get all the appliance and AC model numbers written down, if they text and report an issue you can Google and youtube the symptoms, then go check it out before calling a repair guy.

Just commenting to bump this up. The OP knows not to rent to her. He just doesn't want to get sued. I would hope that if he used the same criteria and documented his reason (I might email myself my reasoning for rejecting/accepting anyone - in separate emails this time) it would be enough. If it is on 90% of applications across the country I would assume it can be used as criteria.

Curious to hear from someone with actual knowledge of the law.

Sub meter. There are companies that will bill and read the meters using wifi. It costs money. But my friend is on the board of a condo that just did it, and prorated the water bill automatically. This is a full time living condo, not vacation. Some units are using 10x the average. After the first bill, they will report their toilet is running.

I bought units with stacked standard apartment washer dryers, 27" and 24" - the ones that have been around for 25 years. I am up front with renters, tell them they need to reduce their expectations for this tiny machine. No comforters, slower dry times. I do the work myself and they are pretty new machines, but they have all had one problem or another within a few years. Lid sensor, water pump, main control unit, stuck clothes in spindle. All the parts are cheap and you can diagnose them easily with Google. Whirlpool, GE, Kenmore, etc - they are all really Fridgaire or Electrolux. Way, way more issues than you standard top-load washer and separate dryers. Stacked are expensive for such a cheap looking product. I just don't have the space for separate.

I am interested in in these all in one ventless but I have seen the 10% of reviews that say they don't dry. Makes me kinda nervous. They are way more modern looking and only like $150 more than the ugly ones I have. I do see them on Apartment Hunters International a lot, so I figure they can't be that bad.

I thought profession was not a legally protected class. I know a lot of people on here mention not wanting to rent to cops or lawyers because of them trying to nail you with every law if things turn sour. Can anyone that knows for sure chime in?

@Zander Kempf you will probably get the best deal with same company that writes your car insurance. Safeco, as someone mentioned above, is probably the cheapest but REQUIRES you to have Safeco car insurances. My wife hit a parked car - minor damage to both cars, so the Safeco car insurance went through the roof. Had to find a new car and umbrella, as Safeco didn't do standalone umbrella. Was able to move home, car and umbrella to State Farm bundle and save a tiny bit. Farmer's considered us untouchable due to claim within the last 2 years.

@Eric Malone check the Instagram does she have wild parties where they jump off the roof into the pool, and smash holes in the wall. If so no, otherwise yes. 50% of the jobs you considered "safe" a year ago, probably didn't turn out to be safe. You can probably follow her on instagram too and get mini-inspections along the way.

@Joel Trout this thread should be deleted, for fear someone may just read the 1st few post. Your accountant is so very very wrong on the basics. I fear for you if you listen to his advice on a much more advanced topic, like taxes after selling a rental (recapture, capital gains, etc). Hopefully you just misunderstood what he said and he has been doing your taxes correctly. There is no standard deduction, or option not to itemize on schedule e.

@Ross Bowman it is not just you and it is not just algorithms targeting you. Sign twirlers on every corner. Poorly written corner signs saying 3/2 block $240k worth $330k. I received 3 messages today alone: "Hi its Andre, I'm a cash buyer...", "Hello, My name is Greg I'm with Pro Property Buyers, we buy...", "Hello, I drove past !@#$, and I believe you own it. We bought...". I feel like I have seen most this movie before in 2008, I just just didn't have property or texting turned on then to see the rest.