All Forum Posts by: Kanise Kelley

Oooh I see. I can understand that. That's good information for the future. Thanks. Hope it all works out for you.

Ronnie Boyd question from a newbie. Is having a pool a bad thing? I thought people liked pools. Does a pool make it harder to sell?

i would buy a property without central a/c if I could buy it low enough, add central a/c and still achieve the numbers I want.

but depending on the part of Norfolk it's in, you may not even have to go through that trouble. in some areas it quite common and acceptable to have window a/c.

as for letting tenants supply/install their own a/c, I wouldn't let them. i'm biased against letting tenants install fixtures after some experiences in my mom's rental. it's amazing how people can mess up the simplest task.

if buying 10 window units doesn't break the bank and doesn't greatly affect your return then go for it. it's definitely favorable to have a/c in the bedroom from a tenant's view.

hope everything works out!

Hi! Welcome to BP.

I'm just still a beginner, but everything I've read so far says stay away from anything that negative cash flows. and if your house is in rentable condition now what would you remodel? No need to get extra fancy for tenants. It seems like you want to hold on to the house and get your equity, so maybe look into a HELOC. but i would do it while you're still the owner occupying it. when i tried to get a HELOC on my rental property one bank said they don't it for rental properties and another would only loan %60 of the equity as opposed to %80 if i lived there.

best wishes for whatever you decide

i don't know the Fl market but you could try going to your local REI meeting and talking to the buyers there and see what they're specifically looking for. or talk to your realtor and have him/her pull a list of recent cash buyers and contact them to see if they want more properties in the area.

Kyia M. yes of course, not "if" but "when" you put it on your taxes

nice job on both! but i like the second one best if you make the letters a bit wider

Kyia M. do you have a house with a separate basement entrance? that would probably be ideal.

Pros:
-cut your expenses in half and save money
-use the extra money to pay off debt or use towards REI
-if you get a nice person, a roomie can be fun and make you more comfortable at night (for me anyway lol)
-you can keep an eye on the person
-you get a bit of landlording experiences because the roommate holds you accountable for timely repairs and maintenance

Cons:
-if you decide to claim it on your taxes, they count the extra money as income so put aside a portion to pay back
-a bad roomie can be a nightmare as you can imagine
-you can't walk around naked (maybe that's just important to me lol)
-they may have unsavory friends and guest over

like Silvestre said make sure to thoroughly screen everyone. A graduate student or military person may be ideal. And I would shy away from renting to friends.

hope everything works out for you ^_^

Iris Burrows If you don't want to be an agent don't be an agent. With all the fees involved, It'll take more money out of your pocket than it will put in your pocket if you're not passionate about it.

You don't need a job in real estate areas to be a real estate investor. And some of those jobs you can't just jump into. You may exhaust more money and time to get the education and licensed than you anticipate and end up not liking it.

the best job to do is the one you're passionate about. what are your skills and interests? and then do that. in my experience its not a good idea to try to force yourself into a job you think you should have.

pick a niche. start networking. offer to help seasoned investors who do your niche. you'll definitely get your feet wet that way. people really do want to help if you show you've educated yourself and are ready to make moves.

hope everything works out for you!

lol I can't stand that either. I think a lot of the older realtors may not be technically savy or up to date. I always look at my parents crazy when they ask something extra simple on how to use their phones or some other electronic. but i take for granted that i've always had these things and it's just second nature.

some homeowners are probably difficult. and then of course some houses are just dumps lol. now that i think about it, when i get back i'll approach realtors without house pictures and charge like $50 to take 10 pics for them.