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All Forum Posts by: Jon K.

Jon K. has started 53 posts and replied 542 times.

Post: real estate wholesaling under attack

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

There are agents that don't provide enough value to justify their fees. There are wholesalers who are forthright with homeowners about what they're doing and actually do solve problems for them. There are also agents that are worth every penny of their fee and there are wholesalers who obfuscate their intentions and take advantage of people who are ignorant about their home's true value.

I'd say don't waste energy getting upset about generalizations but this is the internet.

Post: real estate wholesaling under attack

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555
Quote from @Account Closed:
Quote from @Tina Wicks:

I understand that Wholesaler's play a role and can provide a beneficial service to all involved.  But I have to say, I'm tired of the 5 calls a day asking if I want to sell one of my houses.  I'm tired of all of the texts asking if I want to sell one of my houses.  I'm tired of them calling my relatives asking if they want to sell one of my houses.  And I'm very tired of them calling my 86 year old mother in law asking her if she wants to sell one of my houses which then requires a conversation by my husband to explain to her what is happening.  

This may not be a popular post on this topic, but it is how I feel.

Good luck to everyone in your investing journey.

I know this doesn't solve the problem and it won't go away anytime soon but here are:
Tips for reducing annoying phone calls:

1. Have two numbers
a. One number for friends and relatives and doctor, lawyer, CPA, PM, etc
b. Another number used for filling out forms, used for "throw away" purposes - for my second number 
I use the phone number to retrieve calls for my cell phone carrier. The caller never reaches me.

2. When you get a Text you don't want, don't ignore it. Send the word "Stop" back as a text. Most systems are set up to prevent your number from being texted to if the phone sends "Stop" back 
Any other word or conversation or lack of response guarantees future texts from that number

3. My iPhone has a "Block this caller" feature which I use regularly

4. My home phone number is forwarded to my iPhone where I use the "Block this caller" regularly

5. I don't feel obligated to pick up the phone everytime it rings. The phone is there for my convenience not some insurance or window replacement solicitor's convenience. 

6. I'm told you can set up a Google phone number that you can use and it blocks known spammers. I don't use social media so I'm not sure about that one.

7. One trick I've used is to take the call, let them start the conversation, tell them to wait a minute that I need to put them on hold, place them on hold and forget about them.

8. And I have everyone important listed as a contact on my phone, so if a call comes in that isn't a contact, I can let it go to voice mail and screen if I want to call them back.

For those of you actually doing real estate and want to be sure to not miss a business call, you can do what I do for that, as well. This is a little more advanced for you if you do a lot of advertising and transactions.

9. I have a second iPhone, who said your phone has to be the newest latest and greatest? I bought a couple of older models a. one for my outgoing selling properties b. one for my incoming buying properties. When a call comes in I know to take the call since it's from my advertising. 

I wouldn't expect someone just starting out or that has only a couple of rentals to use that method but it works in the appropriate situation.


I'm aware you already bought a few older phones for this purpose but check out openphone.co. Fantastic alternative to google voice. Cheap and easy to get multiple phone numbers and you can even share them with team members. All app-based, no hardware.

Post: Help! Should I do this deal?

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

Your cash flow would not be $350/month because that does not take into account maintenance, vacancies, property management or capital expenses. I suspect once you add those numbers into the equation you're break-even at best, negative at worst. At a glance this doesn't look like a good deal.

Post: Ever had to implement your exit plan/strategy?

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

I didn't "back out" but switched to an alternate exit strategy. I had a house under contract, sight unseen (in-person at least) that I intended to hold as a rental. It was a townhome the owner had converted from a 3 bedroom to a 2. I thought that it would be trivial to convert it back to a 3 as well as possibly put a 4th bedroom in the basement.

The owner didn't want to show me the inside prior to us signing the purchase contract because he didn't want to let on to his tenant that he was selling the place. But he had photos on zillow from the most recent rental listing from just 2 years back. Based on his description of the place and the photos, we agreed on a price and signed a contract. After that he was fine letting me take a look.

When I saw the place in person, I found it was in even better condition than the photos showed as the tenant really took care of the place. However the layout wasn't what I expected and I couldn't covert it back to a 3 bedroom, let alone a 4, without more expense than I had bargained for. It would still have cash flowed okay as a 2 bedroom rental but not well enough for my tastes so I assigned the contract instead. I really prefer 3 or 4 bedrooms.

Not sure if there's a lesson to be learned from this other than having the option to have multiple exit strategies on any one deal.

Post: HELOC on investment rental properties

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

A while back TD Bank was doing them up to 75% LTV I believe and they were willing to do them in second position. Not sure if they still are but I'd give them a try.

Post: Can you skiptrace someone without knowing an address?

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

As the title says, I am playing with building a marketing list in a new way and have begun to collect names, phone numbers and email addresses. Does anyone know of a way I can skiptrace those records to find mailing addresses?

Post: Balancing ambition and simply family time

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

Earlier on when my children were younger, it simply meant not getting adequate sleep and neglecting all aspects of my life that weren't my W2 job, children or investing in real estate. That lifestyle was pure hell and having done it for years I wouldn't recommend it.

Over time, you learn the importance of systems and understand that your time does not scale. You get more done with less time as you outsource more and more tasks, removing yourself as a bottleneck. A book that really helped in that aspect is called "Who not How" by Dan Sullivan.

I've also gotten better at recognizing when I need a break. I had to train myself out of the habit that every night when the kids go to sleep I should be working again. I'll have a beer and do whatever instead to rest my brain. I'm more ambitious now than ever before, but now it's a lot more focused and a lot less desperate. I have learned how to make my hours count so I need far fewer of them to move the ball forward.

Post: Too many options/need someone to point me in right direction

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

Is $1850 fair market rent for that property? If so, it sounds like it actually has negative cash flow. If you are "breaking even" after mortgage, taxes, interest and HOA fees then after accounting for cap-ex, maintenance and vacancies you're likely losing money in the long run. Check those numbers carefully. If that's the case and if $1850/month is all you can get in rent then it's not a good investment and you're better off selling and investing elsewhere.

As for what to do after that or in general.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Plenty of markets out there cheaper than Boston. Maybe this book can help: https://store.biggerpockets.co...

Post: Too many options/need someone to point me in right direction

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

If I'm interpreting your post correctly you're asking for advice as how to proceed and/or optimize your investments with a focus on cash flow.

For property #1, what is your actual cash flow? Your rent is $1850/month. How much are you holding for cap-ex, maintenance and vacancies? What is your mortgage, taxes and interest? Saying you made 5k last year doesn't tell us much because we don't know what expenses you had. Did you have to replace your water heater or roof for example. Also, is $1850 fair market rent? Can you get more? If you sell this place are you capable of replacing it with something that cash flows better with the proceeds?

Property #2, you have about 110k worth of equity. Can you tap into some of that through a sale, a cash-out refinance or a HELOC? Absolutely. Do you need to? Beats me.... you have 60k cash in the bank. I don't know your market but that's a decent chunk to work with and it doesn't seem like capital is a problem at the moment.

You laid out 6 different options but we don't know anything about your goals other than cash flow. I'm not convinced you have an analysis paralysis problem. I think you have a clearly defined goals problem.

Post: Rental Showings - Do you prefer 1:1 or open house tours?

Jon K.Posted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Perry Hall, MD
  • Posts 548
  • Votes 555

One single 1 hour open house. The last two vacancies that's all it took to find a qualified tenant.