All Forum Posts by: Jeff Sheraton

That software would probably work fine.  If you buy a bunch you might outgrow it but for just one I'm sure you would be fine.  I have about 80 units and use quickbooks (and a CPA), but I wouldn't think you would need that yet.

Contact an attorney or title company (depending on what is customary for your area).  They will handle the settlement.  

If it's your first time it would really be helpful to get someone to walk you though your first deal. I would consider going to a local REIA meeting or talking to an experienced friend.

If you have a specific question I'd be happy to help.

How much equity do you have in your home?  I know you pay $149k in 2010, but has the value increased or decreased?

Once you figure this out you can get an idea of how much you could get on an equity line.

From there you would just need to figure out what your monthly cashflow would be from your current home and how much cash you would need to put out to get into your new home.

About 5 years ago I moved out of my first home into my current home.  The cashflow from the first home just about covers both mortgages.

I'm not sure of the MN specific laws, but I would have to imagine that if someone signs a year long lease you would have to honor it.  Of course there is always the option to try to convince them to leave or maybe even buy them out.

Personally my thought would be that if the property cash flows just let it be.  Fix the first unit while the other is rented.  No point in having two empty units at the same time.  

Maybe after the first was finished you could offer the current tenant the opportunity to move into that unit for the remainder of their term with the understanding that the rent will increase at it's expiration.

My thought is that it would be easier to just have one big LOC. That way as I spend it I wouldn't have to go back and get a new one every time I need more money. I would most likely only be looking to have a handful of my more valuable properties included.

Does anyone know of a bank that could do a $500,000 or more line of credit spread over a few properties?  Ideally I would like there to be an option to convert draws into fixed rate loans.  Looking for a good loan product to make some more purchases.

You can deduct the mortgage interest and depreciate the home over 27.5 years.  Also obviously you can deduct your other expenses repairs, ect.

Wastmasters does pretty good with the dumpsters.

If you go to the cabinet section of Home Depot you can order Kitchen Kompact cabinets.  They are cheaper than the in stock options, are much higher quality (plywood optional), and even qualify for quick shipping.  We can usually get them in less than a week.

I had the same issue at my house.  I used a reciprocating saw to cut the nose off each tread.  Then I resurfaced each riser even with the stair tread above with luan (painted the luan white).  Then I put the flooring (in my case it was hardwood) on each step.  Turned out pretty nice.