All Forum Posts by: Kevin Hunter

No to the ice machine for sure. When it leaks, and it will, the water will rot the subfloor behind the fridge. When do people (landlords, property mangers, or tenants) check those regularly. The garbage disposal is a different story, as you can tell by all the various replies. My question is this, "would someone not rent your place solely because it lacked a garbage disposal?" Of course not. Therefore, I suggest no. However, if you and your wife have to compromise, fight tooth and nail but concede the disposal, not the icemaker....

@Matt Holmer, I manage two of the properties myself and the other four utilize property managers. Why don't you think an LLC for self-managed properties will do much good?

@Deb Jones, @Robert Melcher, @ J Beard.  Thanks for the replies.  You are right!!

@Ashley Schroeder

@Account Closed

I had the house built and they immediately moved in.  I have bought the mulch every year for them.  I am getting frustrated with their late payments recently and just wanted to gauge if I was doing to much for them.  You are all correct though, I think I will continue to pay for it and use it as a write off.....

I usually see "about" 1% higher interest rate on invesrmtnent versus primary residence. 4.25 sounds competitve to me for current rates.

My tenants in a sfh get mulch every year for the house. It is in an A neighborhood and does make the yard look nice. It costs $100-125 once a year. Should I pay it or have them pay for it if they want it? As an aside, they have been late on two payments this year but they are 3 years into their second 5 year lease. What do you all think?

@Mike Bicho, You should listen to Podcast 153 with Linda McKissack.  She and her husband started investing in their 40s as well and they utilized the 15 year mortgages because of the compressed timeline.  It is a great podcast and sounds like you are in a similar situation. 

Mike Bicho , it all depends on your personal preference. Do you want more cash flow or more equity sooner? If you want more cash flow then stretching the loan over a longer time will do that. If you want more equity to leverage then use the shorter loan. Endstate goals also matter. Your age and "get-out" strategy matter as well. What is the long term plan? Do you plan to hold for 20-30 years or would you like to liquidate at some point? The analyzers allow you to specify your personal preference because no one situation is thesame for everyone..... I would guess that more people starting off utilize the 30 year loan because the payments are lower but that shifts as folks build their portfolios and change or evolve their strategies.. Good luck.

Bill S. , Jon Miller , thanks for both your inputs. I think you are both right. Either way it is not a lot of money in the long run...... Peace of mind can be worth something as well!!

thanks @Dirk Jackson. Congrats on your LLC.

@David Dachtera, thanks for the comments.  Just messaged you.