All Forum Posts by: Kellan Martz

I am about to buy my first investment property in the Cleveland area. For those with properties in the area, what are your average costs for the following expenses (if you cover them for the tenant):

Property insurance

Water

Sewer

Garbage

Trash

Other monthly or common utilities

I am likely buying a SFR, 3 bed 1.5 bath. I know these costs vary depending on usage, property location, etc. Just trying to get an overall sense of these local costs. Thanks all!

Commenting to follow the thread.

@Hai Loc evictions are not stopped for everyone. HUD only has control over section 8 and other publicly assisted properties.

@Adam Geber I personally would figure out a way to raise them on those that can afford it and hold off on those for who it would be a hardship.

@Timothy Hero it absolutely is affecting the stock market now. Things change quickly.

My understanding is that this applies to Section 8 housing where HUD has a hand in the contracts between landlord and tenant.

Disclaimer: This is general legal advice & I am not your personal lawyer, please seek legal advice for your personal situation.

In lease break situations, the landlord has a duty to mitigate their damages. So you can't wait until they move out and sit around expecting a court to award you rent from now until through July. A court would expect you to place ads and try to replace the tenants. You can't also just take their deposit because they broke a lease. You would be entitled to reasonable damages. Yes, they would be responsible for breaking the lease but you can't gouge them for it either.

Just a few additional words of encouragement. I am an attorney for affordable housing developments throughout the country. Many of our projects have Section 8 vouchers on them. Our developers have all noted that HUD has gotten much better with this program in the last decade and it more depends on the local housing authority being good or bad. I see someone above said the Indy housing authority is pretty good, so that's a plus. I also have helped place tenants in section 8 properties as a volunteer with nonprofits etc. and agree that they tend to stay pretty long. Good luck.

@Kevin Romines this helps a lot. To clarify my comment, minor renovations for us is under $3,000 - meaning basically looking to purchase a property that is ready to rent and possibly with a tenant in place. We just plan to have a small budget to address small issues at purchase time. @George Despotopoulos always good to see attorneys hanging out at BP. We won't be doing any renovations beyond just small clean up (see above). At least for our first purchase.

Hi all - buying our first investment property (two partners and myself). We are based in LA and will be buying in the midwest. Purchase price will be between $50-75k.

Question: What do people recommend - hard money lender or traditional mortgage?

Our Goals: Purchase by May, if not before. Purchase single family home or duplex with minor renovations needed (if any). Buy and hold. Location: Midwest (looking at Kansas City, Indy, Cleveland, St. Louis, etc.). Would like to have the property in an LLC for liability purposes. 20% down is our plan.

I am open to either and see the benefits to both. I am not fearful of HML as I've interacted with them in my real estate law work off and on for my clients. The traditional mortgage with a bank or credit union is appealing because of the stability but also like the flexibility and speed of HML (such as buying cash only homes). Your thoughts and tips would be appreciated.

Bonus question: LLC process. I can start the LLC on my own and write the operating agreement, etc. but haven't researched fully on buying the property in the LLC name or buying in our names then transferring it into the LLC. I know to look out for loan rules such as due on transfer clauses etc. but further advice would be great. Thanks!