All Forum Posts by: John Morgan

So I filed my first eviction with the JP last week and they are serving my tenant and his girlfriend an eviction court date in a couple weeks. It cost me $197 to do this. I should have done this months ago. I tried working with these tenants and let them slide on rent A LOT. So here’s my question. They just told me they would be out in 7 days. They asked if I filed and I said yes. The court date is 3 days after they say they’re leaving. Should I drop the case if they’re out completely this weekend when they say they will be? Or continue and go to court so they have an eviction on their record so other future land lords are warned about them? Is there a chance I could get back rent they owe me? Has anyone had any luck getting paid back rent later on after winning the court case? I assume a judge can’t make them pay me. Do some go through collection agencies to try and get back rent? Or do I bite the bullet and drop the court hearing so I don’t have to wait additional days to legally get my property back?

I assume if it gets bad, I might have to drop rent 10-20%. If I can stomach that for a few years then I feel that I’m ok with real estate investing. Hopefully that won’t happen, but I plan for the worst and hope I have enough income to offset some tenants losing their jobs and having to evict and turn over some properties in bad times.

It took me 20 years to be one. I never made much at my job, but I was frugal and invested every extra penny I had. I slowly bought stocks over time and seemed to double my portfolio every 7 years due to compound interest and dollar cost averaging. I got into the real estate game late (4 years ago), but already have about 600k in equity built up with it so far. Wish I would have started investing in real estate 20 years ago! The key for me is to go for base hits, not home runs. Delayed gratification is what it’s all about. You don’t need a to drive an expensive car and eat out twice a week. Drive a beater and eat in as much as possible. Oh yeah, and clip coupons and only eat out at buy one get one free restaurants until you’re well on your way toward that first million.

I’ve kept them all. I did sell one foreclosure I bought for 60k then sold it for 100k a year later. Did a 1031 on it. I’m more of a buy and hold investor. Passive income works for me. I aim for base hits vs home runs a lot of people try for recklessly. 

@Rahul Handa

I'm bringing in about $2,900/month after all expenses off 6 SFRs. Two are paid off. The other four are on 15 year loans. Prices range from 100k to 225k. My cheaper properties have a much higher ROI. Good luck! Once they're all paid off, I estimate they'll bring in an average of 1k/month. Not bad..not great. But it adds up with more and more properties under your belt.

@Ashley Sliwa

I would keep working full time. Wait until you have several properties under your belt. I started investing in SFRs only four years ago and far from quitting my W2 job. I’m only bringing in around $2,900/month after all my expenses on my six properties. Definitely not enough to quit my job, but not bad side income. Real estate is very competitive and all the guros our there make it sound so easy to get rich off it. Everyone seems to be getting into this. Maybe you can quit and do this full time right away, but for most of us it takes a few years to be able to make decent money. Good luck on your adventure! You’ll love investing in real estate.

@William C.

If it just hit the market in an active area, I would offer 95k. I’ve lost too many deals offering 10% below asking price. If I’m within 5% of asking price, I’ve found they’re more likely to play ball with me and counter offer. If it’s been on the market for more than 10 days, then I would ask 90k at the most and see what happens. It’s all a game. But if the numbers work and you’re excited for it then offer close to asking price. It’s not worth trying to save a few grand over right now.

@Ronald Rohde

The rent is only $1,050. This tenant is flaky and won’t show up to court. He doesn’t have a case. I’ve given him lots of slack and he won’t have a chance. 

@Greg H.

I'm in the early stages of eviction in TX. I formed an LLC recently..but the lease contract doesn't have the LLC on it since we signed it almost a year ago. It just has my name on it as the land lord. Do I need an attorney to represent me since technically the house is under an LLC now? I don't think my tenant will fight this at all. I highly doubt he'll even show up at court. He's months behind on rent...long story. But I hate to have to hire an attorney to get this thing started.

@Matt Henshaw

I took out 62k from my Roth IRA four years ago for my first real estate investment. It was easy to do and I had the money in my bank account in three days. I only took out the principle that I put into our Roth's over the years so I paid no taxes. That's why I love ROTH IRAs! Just remember to file a 1099R for this when doing taxes next year.