All Forum Posts by: Karl B.

Good stuff. I had an idiot tenant who clogged the sink with grease and I cringed when the plumber used Liquid Fire to clear the issue. I had used the Green stuff as well as generic Draino and neither worked on that clog. 

On smaller clogs I like to use baking soda and vinegar.  

Local RE meetups, which has been useless for finding deals but good for information on tradesmen and other information. 

I correspond with a few investors on FB and we send one another deals we come across the other may be interested in (we invest in different areas, classes and RE types so we're not competing for the same properties).

Talking with realtors has been great for off-market landing deals. As the market slows down this will work even better, IMO. 

LOL

Here are some corny R.E.-related ones:

Q: Why can’t you sell an open floor plan to zombies?

A: They hate seeing the living room.

---

"Hey, girl, are you a mortgage? Because you’ve got my interest!"

First I would look into what they've purchased in the past and for how much. You may be able to ask the local property tax/appraiser's office for this information. 

If they throw you a number you like and you're willing to sell, I would then say something like, "I'll tell you what, I'll sell the two lots to you at that price if you let me into some blighted properties you plan on knocking down because I want to take the doors, cabinets, crown molding, etc. so I can use them in my current rentals." 

Old homes have some nice hardware! 

My first rental property was a 4-unit and I still own it (I was there today working on a unit a tenant just moved out of). If you're interested in multi-family a 4-unit is a great way to start and it's not hard to self-manage. I managed mine from California and the 4-unit is in Pennsylvania. Though I bought a bunch more properties and decided to move to PA to self-manage and keep buying.

Chances are there are some real estate meetups where you can meet with local real estate investors and learn. Some events are listed here on BP and Meetup.com is another good website to find local real estate meetups across the country. Also, you can listen to the Biggerpockets podcasts; they're full of information. There are also several former pro athlete podcasts including one from Ryan Broyles, which was great. 

They'll usually come to you. After being approached, my dad put a tower next to one of his warehouses. A few years ago he sold the rights to a company that goes around and buys tower rights for a nice lump sum. 

I have most of my money in CDs (9 month and 12 month). I still have some cash in the bank for RE deals. I also buy dividend and mining stocks when I see something I like but most of those investments are on a small scale. 

"To sell or title an unclaimed abandoned vehicle in their name, the applicant must post their intent to auction in step two of the AVP and wait 21 days. Once all AVP requirements are complied, the applicant may title the vehicle in their name, or sell it to a third party purchaser at auction or in a casual sale."

https://select.dmv.virginia.go...

Not sure about your local laws but in PA we must hold their stuff for 30 days. After that the stuff is yours and you can sell it or toss it in the dumpster.

Small claims limit is 5K so you would need a lawyer to sue if it comes out to more than 5K. For under 5k it's simple to sue them. They likely won't even show up and you would automatically receive a judgement.

To find their current address try this:

Do this: https://www.landlordology.com/find-deadbeat-ex-tenants/

"Using the last known address of your deadbeat tenant (which is probably your rental property), mail a letter addressed to your old tenant at that address. Before mailing, write on the envelope, “Address Service Requested” as such:

(image of what the addressed letter should look like - the photo is on the link above)

In doing so, your letter will be forwarded to your old tenant’s new address, and the post office will let you know what that new address is. This method works only if the person left a forwarding address, however.

I would also try to look them up on social media. Let's say you find them on Facebook. Now you have a general idea as to where they live. Look them up on the local FB marketplace - you may need to join a few local seller groups for this. Let's say they're selling a couch - have a friend message them asking where to buy the couch - you could get the tenants' address that way too - it's a long-shot but would be worth a try if the USPS method doesn't work.

I'm making offers, as I always have. I'm currently under contract on a commercial property that was priced stupid low and am also making offers on SF and MF. 

In my market SF/MF inventory still isn't high and so properties are still selling pretty well - multiple offers and prices really haven't dropped.