All Forum Posts by: Jason Ellis

@Jaron Walling Thanks for the reply! I'm not suggesting selling the property as is. I plan to fix it either way. I'm just debating whether to fix it and keep it or fix it and sell it. I probably should have made that more clear in the original post.

@Tyrek Brown Yes those are the questions I'm debating right now. On one hand I could potentially do a lot with that equity. This property has cash flowed pretty well, but a good multifamily could potentially produce even better. But I could also screw it up lol...so maybe like Jaron said, sticking this thing out for the long haul is the better way to go. I'm not sure if this property will continue to appreciate at the rate that it has, but I don't yet know a great deal about the Atlanta market either. I just wanted to hear the thoughts of other investors and see if anyone else has had to make similar decisions. Thanks for your reply!

Hi BP! 

I'm looking for some advice on a dilemma I'm having with one of my rental properties. I own a short-term rental in the Charleston area that is a really nice townhome. It cash flows well as a short term rental, but I of course took some losses during Covid like everyone else. My problem is that the townhome sits over a lake, and even though I got the insulation updated when I got new floors, apparently it wasn't good enough as the moisture underneath the home has damaged the subfloor. Contractors are telling me that the subfloor needs to be replaced. This will be a significant expense on an otherwise great property, or at least that's what the estimates I've received so far would indicate. My dilemma is that I have a good deal of equity in this property, over 100k in fact, because the value of the property increased significantly after I bought it. Considering how long it would take to recoup the losses from this repair through cash flow, I'm wondering if a better option is to sell the property and use the profits to buy 1 or 2 more, or maybe a multifamily. I recently moved to the Atlanta, GA area, and I've been wanting to get into this market, but I haven't been in position to do so. I do believe that the property could still cash flow if I decided to keep it, but I'm just wondering what other investors might do in a similar situation. 

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Thanks everyone for the advice and recommendations!  I do have an update.  My tenant reached out to me today after the exterminator she hired performed the service. She said that the guy who worked today seemed much more knowledgeable than the original inspector. He said that the bed bugs seemed to be in her wall which confirmed that it was not other neighbors, and in fact he said that he didn't even think it would be necessary to notify the other neighbors. That last part has me a little concerned, but she is moving forward with taking care of this herself and no longer expecting my help. Thank you very much @Karen F. for all of your recommendations. I will be sure to follow up with my tenant and let her know the severity of the issue and how to handle it moving forward. I will try to make sure that she understands if this is not approached with seriousness that this could be a reoccurring issue. Thanks again everyone!

Hey BP.  I have an issue with one of my tenants in a townhome who reported to me that she has bed bugs.  The tenant contacted me on Saturday saying that she had bed bugs and believed they were brought in by her boyfriend who had apparently been cheating at a cheap motel.  She was just telling me this to let me know she had already set an appointment for someone to come in and handle the issue and she would be taking care of it. I didn't get into her personal business and thought nothing of it, as she's been a good tenant for a couple of years now. Today she sent me a message saying that the inspector had come and identified a small hole in the corner of the ceiling (she sent me a picture), saying that the infestation could have come from the neighbors, and the boyfriend is denying being at the motel, saying that the room was for his friend. I again and pretty much ignoring the personal stuff with her boyfriend, but now she's asking if she is no longer liable because the source may be from the neighboring townhome. She ordered the extermination herself before notifying me, so I had no opportunity to choose the exterminator or get multiple estimates. Also, she got no confirmation from the neighbors that they have bed bugs, so I don't officially know the source. There is a clause in her lease about notification of infestation immediately upon seeing it. She did notify me, but it was with the intention that she would deal with it herself. I don't want to be a inconsiderate since this is my only property that I self manage and I've had a good relationship with this tenant for a while, but I also don't want to pay for the $1000 treatment that she ordered before contacting me and I'm not sure that I'm responsible for anyway. Any advice in this situation? What would you other landlords do? Also, I no longer live in the city where this property is located so I do depend on this tenant a lot for maintenance issues. Thanks for your help BP community.

This is awesome!  Wow!  I would love to pull off something like this one day!  

Hey Charleston BP folks!

Buddy Holmes and Mark Mattison are organizing another meet-up for July!  Buddy has reserved the Patio at Steel City Pizza on Dorchester Rd, North Charleston again at 7:00PM on July 17, 2017.  We had some great discussion last time and I'm looking forward to hanging out and networking with you guys again!  Hopefully we'll see some new faces this time as well.

Remember Happy Hour ends at 7 so come early and enjoy the food and drink and meeting our fellow BPers.

No problem @Buddy Holmes.  I'll create an event for us.

@Buddy Holmes no problem.  I noticed the deletion of the other post as well.  I wish I had copied over all of the people that you tagged in the other post, but hopefully they were able to see it already.  Thanks for organizing this and I'm looking forward to it!

Repost from @Buddy Holmes:

Hello area BP folk,

@Mark Mattison and I are trying to organize a second meet-up.

This time we will be meeting on Monday evening, June 19, at 7:00 PM at Steel City Pizza in North Charleston. 8600 Dorchester Rd behind the Sun Trust Bank at Dorchester Rd. and Club Course Drive. We will have the outdoor Patio which is covered and will have a server for Drinks and food (very good) if you like. I have invited my REI savey agent to give a quick presentation on how to find Income Producing Property (Buy and Hold).

Then we can have introductions and Q&A as we get to meet and socialize.

Hi BP!  I'm a newbie and I'm interested in doing a house flip in Charleston, SC.  I actually joined BP a while ago and I've been doing research and learning a LOT on here.  I just recently purchased the Book on Flipping Houses and I'm excited about reading that.  My problem is that I actually just recently purchased my first home so I don't have much cash on hand right now for another down payment.  I've read several of the articles on using hard money lenders to fund house flips, but my real estate agent has warned me to be careful and be sure I know what I'm getting myself into with a hard money lender.  I figured I should come to BP since it has already been such a good resource, and I'm sure that there are some BP members here who have used hard money lenders in the Charleston area.  Does anyone have a lender that they trust that they would recommend?  Thanks!