All Forum Posts by: Jessica Pearl

Just asked a lender this question today. She explained to me that if the transfer is done after the closing then essentially you have to refinance through the LLC. But she also said that it is specific to each state, so I would suggest contacting a lawyer. In our case, because I haven't made the purchase yet, I have the option to finance through a personal mortgage but the title to the house would be to the LLC- basically I would be lending to the LLC.

Not very practical or replicable, but my fastest periods of saving were when I was working overseas with my housing and vehicle provided :-). Tax free income (up to a certain amount). If you live in a place with a low cost of living you can save very quickly. 

Otherwuse, our rule is: If we couldn't pay for it in cash, we don't buy it.

Looking at a property with septic and even though this thread is old it was still so helpful- and hilarious as well! Thanks for the laughs today. 

Borrowing from a post by @Yadira Gutierrez since we are in a similar situation. 

I have identified a couple of properties in my target town/city. But there are very few rental comps and I don't know if that is because it is not a neighborhood that renters typically look at (i.e. mostly owner occupied), or because rentals go fast. Is there any way to know if a neighborhood is easy to rent out or is that something that can only come from local knowledge? As Yadira had said previously, don't want to end up with a pretty rental property in a sub division that is not sought after by renters.

My analysis paralysis has been nailing down the specific market. I keep hopping from one market to another finding reasons that one is not good- even though I know you can find the right deal in most markets. Part of the problem is how much I enjoy the learning and research side :-) . But going to visit a bunch of places today in one of my shortlisted markets and so ready to make on offer on something and get started already.

Thank you for your helpful responses @Stetson Miller and

@Peter Davis !

@Peter Davis Hi Peter. I was wondering if the market for land has changed much since this post three years ago.  I am exploring Cape Coral as a potential place for investing and noticed how much land is for sale. Prices seem to be all over for similar size lots. Wondering if there are opportunities there.

@Joy Hunton Hi Joy- I was curious what you decided to do with your vacant lots. Has it been difficult to undertake building with all of the supply chain and labor issues?

We lived overseas while renting out our house for seven years. Learnt a lot during that time :-). We stipulated clearly in the contract what types of repairs and fixes the tenant was responsible for (our first tenant acted as if they were renting an apartment in a managed complex and called us almost daily), and gave pre-approval for any owner repairs up to $300. Anything above that, they could collect some quotes or reach out to our list of people (plumbers, electrician, etc) and the vendor would submit the invoice to us for payment. One thing I would do differently moving forward is to include monthly cleaning. Because I had no way to see the property throughout the year, we had a lot to deal with during turnover that could have been avoided. So I would strongly recommend finding a good cleaning person who can clean regularly and report back to you on the condition of the house. You could also consider using some kind of home warranty program for basic repairs and fixes but it might not be worth it if your house is in good condition.  I have a friend who had a property in Australia and told his tenant he would never raise his rent if the tenant never called him for repairs. The tenant was there for 10 years and never called him, but that is very risky and of course you lose out on possible market rent revenue- but it worked for him! 

Another thing I look at is the type of lease agreements. When I see month to month agreements, I can anticipate a higher risk pool of tenants and higher likelihood of turnover. Doesn't mean it isn't still a good deal (I once rented in a duplex in a downtown, nice neighborhood, good appreciation, but our neighbors changed countless times during our three years there due to problems.) but a clue for you as a landlord. You can also look at the unemployment rate and trends (as well as job growth for the town) to give you an indicator of demand moving forward. It's what I am trying to discern for the market I am exploring now (on the Treasure Coast because it is driveable for me- can't afford a shack in Palm Beach either :-)). 

My goal is to get out of my analysis paralysis on which market is best and just go for it. Want to buy at least one duplex and one other property this year. Have my pre-qual letter and will be looking at some properties next week. Goal for this year's properties is cash flow.  I'm surrounded by very risk averse people who are uncomfortable with real estate, with one exception, so it has been difficult at times to get going on my own.