All Forum Posts by: Karen Rittenhouse

@Grant Francke - We did this for a time, but found it created too much unnecessary moving parts and noise in our office. Tenants complained about issues only because a representative of the owner was in their home. And we tried simply sending air filters so we didn't have to send a tech. That doesn't work, either. They either toss filters out or we'd find them sitting in a closet after they moved.

It's the 80/20 rule. 80% of your tenants won't even replace burnt out light bulbs so they won't replace air filters. And we didn't find the maintenance to save us on anything more than what maintenance when they move out does.

@Cedric Macon I sure am!

Great ad, @Cedric Macon. Good luck to you.

@Kit Klekamp Unless these properties are very far apart in location, no need to have different property managers. In fact, we like local companies who specialize in our specific areas.

Be sure to interview a number of people who are using the company you're considering using. The company itself will want to sell you on all it offers, naturally, but speak to others who use them to find out how things really work.

Good luck to you!

@Nicolas A Botello Jr You won't actually get a loan until you have a property so, while doing your research on how to qualify, ask the bank their policy. If you have a national lender, they probably won't care where the property is. A local bank may.

@Nicolas A Botello Jr This sounds like a great plan!

The best things you can do right now are:

1. Attend all your local investor meetings. Find them at MeetUp.com and NationalReia.org. Also look for local landlord association meetings. These are where you will learn the language and find all of the "team" members you need.

2. Contact all your local lending institutions to find out if/how you qualify to buy those rental properties. If your credit and income are good, you should be able to buy at least 10 before the banks cut you off.

Attending those local meetings will also be where you can find some better deals on properties than through the MLS. Even if you plan to hold long term, the best plan is to pay less than retail!

Good luck to you.

@Paul Juell I've been a real estate agent and, since 2005, I've been a full-time real estate investor.

Agents and investors actually have 2 very different jobs. Agents work retail, most investors work with sellers who cannot sell on the retail market. The way I work with agents is to have them call me when they go into a property that is too trashed to list on the retail market. The way agents work with me is to list properties that I have rehabbed to retail ready.

Investors and agents working together is the best of both worlds, but many look at the other as competition. We really aren't competing, we're working in the housing industry in 2 different capacities.

There are plenty of bad investors who give the industry a bad name, there are also tons of bad real estate agents - plenty of room for everyone to complain about everyone else.

But the complaints are unnecessary. We all have a job to do and a role to fulfill and homeowners who need the services we provide.

If you were in an investor setting, you would hear resentment toward RE agents just like you hear the opposite in your agent classes. Just the nature of humans, apparently. But don't let it taint your enthusiasm or your business. 

There's plenty of business out there for all of us and we all need each other's support.

Good luck to you in your new endeavor!

@Erica Rome At this point, you need a real estate attorney to keep you on track.

He'd have a power-of-attorney from his wife in order to sign contracts for her. When selling their properties, both of them need to sign. Your attorney will tell you whether or not the POA is acceptable for this transaction.

And, you need to be discussing with the seller whether he sent the same offer to everyone and if anyone has accepted. If you like the numbers and want to sign, your conversation needs to be with the seller and your attorney.

Good luck to you!

@Kevin Uzelac If you want a long term hold, you need long term funding which will most likely be from a traditional lender.

Start checking around with local lenders as well as national lenders and credit unions to see what it will take to qualify for funding for rental properties. Typically, with 2 years of income, you can qualify for lending. If you can qualify for a $70,000 property, for example, then you know what price property to look for.

And, once you're able to qualify, most banks will loan for multiple properties over time. Debt to income comes in, but traditional funding is where you need to start your research.

Good luck to you!

@VAL A. - the property management company works for you.

Read your contract. If there are things in there you don't like, find a new property management company.

It's your property, yes you are entitled to the information about the tenant - if you want it. But, if you hired a good company and they're doing their job, why would you want to be in the middle of it?

And make sure that you never hire a company without interviewing multiple clients who already use them so you have an idea of what you're getting.  No 2 companies are alike.

Good luck!