All Forum Posts by: Kirk B

I was a little suprised to learn you kept credit card balances. Even 16.99% is pretty expensive money. These companies probably did you a favor by raising your % to make you pay off your cards.

My plan is to avoid using Credit Cards in my real estate business. But perhaps I should re-evaluate.

I don't use Credit Cards anymore for personal finances. I just use debit cards. Matty has a good point though, to use the cards to boost credit and for points.

I think Obama wants to regulate the credit card industry to prevent this sort of thing. Probably unecessary market interference just for a little PR. This country should spend more time counseling people about money and the terrible effect credit card balances have on personal finances. I cannot believe how financially irresponsible otherwise "professional" people can be when it comes to debt, credit cards, and over consumption.

Oak floors are my favorite. Easy to clean, hard to ruin, can refinish and they look brand new, and they last.

I think in my state, there is a law stipulating that in buildings over 5 units, landlords must maintain an escrow account with the security deposits and pay tenants interest.

In buildings with fewer than 5 units, there is no statute afaik. However, I think best practice (from a legal perspective) is to have a special account specifically set up with security deposits and to avoid commingling these funds with your general fund.

Talk to a lawyer about the laws in your area.

i see the formatting issue

Hire an electrician is the easiest and probably best response. Ask him your questions and then maybe you could do it yourself next time. You could get someone shocked or start a fire.

FYI: The ground bar and the neutral bar are bonded in the panel. The ground wire provides an alternative path to the circuit in the event that the nuetral wire is disconnected.

When you hover over the topic title its nice to get a small pop-up box with the OP's first 100 words or so.

Thanks for your responses!

I was wondering about the liability issue myself. Does the incurred liability effect hazard insurance rates or does it just expose you to more liability from injury lawsuits?

Have you encountered a tenant that refused to mow the lawn/buy a mower? How did you elect to deal with the situation? Do you have a problem enforcing this policy with low income tenants?

Most of the landlords I talk to around here provide a lawnmower and gas and have the tenants maintain the lawn. This is in 1-4 family units generally. 5 and up they either pay a specific tennat or hire a professional company.

Currently I mow my own lawns.

If you have a duplex property with a driveway that is only 1 car length wide, how do you handle parking? I can forsee major issues should one tenant be blocked in with the other tenants vehicle behind them.

I could potentially turn the small backyard into a parking lot, or limit parking to only one tenant who would pay slightly more rent.

Suggestions and experience? Seems like it could be a common issue many have had.

Thnks for your reply!

These properties both exceed the 50% rule when financed for 30 years. When financed for 15 years they only make $75/month.

Thanks for your help. I am going to try to figure it another way of doing this so I can get $100 CF per door.