All Forum Posts by: Manco Snead

@Michael Radney Thanks for the lengthy response; that sounds like a good plan. I will keep it mind.

I bought my first OOS property last year; a duplex. It's been a full time job since I bought it, even with the PM I ended up firing for incompetence. Now on the second PM and maybe (maybe) it will be better. I still do most of the work to try get the current turnover finished; organizing all the contractors/vendors from a distance in an area I don't really know has been dicey and stressful. It's coming together, but if I could rewind I wouldn't have bought the property. And this is just a duplex. Other people with more experience than I have made all this work, but for me it's not really been worth it.

If I were to do this again, especially if it were a bigger property, I'd go live near the property for a few months so I could oversee getting everything dialed in, meet the contractors, check work, do some of it myself. From that I'd have my own go-to vendor/contractor list as I don't always trust the PMs vendors. Also meet tenants and try solve current problems with them. Then I'd interview all the PMs in person and go from there. I'm no authority on the topic, but just my thoughts.

Double check this with your bank, but I think you can buy another property for under 20%, even though it's a second property, if you buy it as owner occupied. Then after you live in it for the required 1 year you can move out and rent it. You could even do FHA for this scenario; very low down, but of course higher mortgage. Why are you living in the 4 bedroom unit? Would it be worth it to live in the apartment downstairs to get more rental income? I lived in an Airstream trailer with no bathroom for $300/month for a year to save $; it sucked, but it helped me get what I wanted.

If you have relatives with $, you could look into that for a down loan. Sometimes, these things just take time; if you stretch the money too much you could end up in a bad situation.

@Nathan Gesner  Great, much thanks.

@Nathan Gesner  Much thanks. I am told by my PM that to have the chimney sealed off I need to have it done by someone certified to work on fireplaces in order to have it up to code. This is news to me, but I want it done right. Do you know anything about this? Property is in Iowa.

Much thanks.

Greetings,

Hoping to to get some advice from people with alot of landscaping experience/plant knowledge. Recently purchased OOS/Iowa duplex which had a long neglected lawn which resulted in woody stemmed plants growing. Those plants have been cut down, but thick woody stems remain. The one quote I have to make the stems go away permanently, from a seemingly knowledgeable landscaper, is $4500. This entails tilling 8" down 2 separate times, then reseeding for lawn to grow back. I'm looking to not pay this much.  Any ideas? Much thanks. Photos below.

Greetings,

I recently bought a 1976 duplex with wood burning fireplaces. I haven't had the fireplaces/chimney inspected I and plan to seal off the fireplaces. Do you see any reason why I should have them inspected if I plan on sealing them off?

Much thanks.  

@ Nathan G   That looks good, thanks.

@Maria G.   The topic of ethics is not discussed too much in the RE world. RE investing is business and the mantra "it's business" is generally applied. There are people who believe it is unethical to be paying someone else's mortgage when they are paying rent. I own a few properties, but am currently renting, paying the owner's mortgage just like my tenants pay my mortgage. There could be a better system for all of this to decrease the gap between the haves and the have nots but I don't think our current system of capitalism is going away anytime soon. That leaves it up to the individual to decide what they are morally and ethically ok with and what they are not ok with. Just because the ridiculous boom in rents is simply termed "market rent" doesn't mean that everything is hunky dory and that's just the way it is. In real estate we who own rentals are the ones in the position of power and people are struggling with current rents. Personally, I split the difference. One of my properties is in an area where home values and market rents have gone through the roof, but I wouldn't feel good about maximizing rents. I've kept rents a few hundred dollars lower than they could be. As a result my tenants are very happy, they take great care of the property, things flow easier, I worry less, and I still get enough money out of the whole thing. And I feel better for not gouging them. So, it's whatever you find to be the right thing.

@Bjorn Ahlblad Thanks, looks great. Is that electric? If so, how do you plug it in?