All Forum Posts by: Kristopher Hanks

@Joe Koppel I would put the properties in a trust, whether it is in a living trust or land trust. 

@Sing Ho One of the most important lessons I have learned in my short time in buy and hold real estate investing is, I do not want any inherited tenants. My first property came with one and it has been a struggle to say the least. Never ask the seller to fill a unit for you and if you are buying, it may be a good idea to request that the property be delivered to you vacant if possible. 

@Kenny Engel I wouldn't say difficult, but you will have to put some work in to find the right lender to do the cash out refi. Small banks, credit unions, portfolio lenders. There are many possibilities. 

@Kenny Engel Start networking with one of the private lenders on BP and see if you can get someone to go in on a deal with you. If there is money to be made then someone will eventually step up. 

@Raza Rizvi I use Rentec Direct.

@Jen Boyd It was funny for me to see this post today. I just sent a nasty-gram to my property manager today about the failure to communicate. I sent him an email on March 27th and gave him until today to respond to a one line question. It was not until he read my email today that I got an email response and a phone call. I aired out that I could not do business with someone who just ignores me, especially since I put three houses with him to manage. I understand that I am not the only customer and I do not expect any more than good communication and good problem solving skills from my manager. I know it is a tough job, otherwise I would do it all myself. 

But I have to agree with @Colleen F. communication is the greatest hurdle between the owners and managers. There will be human error involved on both sides. It is how those errors are dealt with that will separate the poor managers from the good ones. 

@Kiran Alisam Slight Edge Property Management. But as Nathan said, do your own research and shop around and compare. They charge investors 7% of gross rent for the management fee and 40% of the first month's rent to place a new tenant. 

@Philip J ashcroft If you will be conducting any business in the state of California with a C-corp you will be required to register your business with the state whether you incorporate in California or not. So if you are going to be buying properties in California, I would just keep it simple and set it up there. If you plan on doing a lot of business elsewhere then you might want to set it up in another state and if/when you liquidate your properties in California you can shut down the registration by telling the state that you are no longer doing business there. I am registered in a second state so I have learned some of this by doing. NOT a lawyer, so hopefully a lawyer that is familiar with California law can chime in here and correct any of the information that I may have gotten wrong. 

My example: I incorporated in Nevada. I have properties in Ohio. I had to register my corporation with the Secretary of State in Ohio and buy a business license because my corporation is doing business in the state. If I failed to register and got caught it is actually a misdemeanor crime for me to conduct business there as an officer of the corporation without registering, buying a business license and then I am required to pay their franchise tax from gross rents. Hopefully some of this helps. 

@Martha Daisley I hold mine in a corporation. All of my properties are owned by the same corp. I have the most liability insurance I could get based on where the properties were located. You can also look at umbrella policies that will kick in when your liability insurance is exhausted. I don't really want to deal with preparing tax returns for multiple LLC's and having checking accounts for each company. If you are that concerned with potential liability, I have heard of legal insurance where you pay a monthly fee and you can get legal help when you need it. You can also factor into your numbers setting aside money to hire an attorney if it becomes necessary, which is not a bad idea. I just might do that in the future.

@Steven Caligaris Without knowing your market at all, 6% could be awesome or it could be terrible. It all depends on inventory and if you could get a similar property within 30 minutes of this one for less and have more equity when the deal is done. In the market I am familiar with 6% would just be an OK deal. But if your inventory is low and properties in your market are selling above asking prices then this may be a screaming deal. But my rule is, I never offer asking price. Probably the reason I do not invest in a hot market. But my focus is high monthly cash flow. If you are investing in a good market with a chance for great capital appreciation, this may be a deal to jump on.