All Forum Posts by: Laticia Braxton

10% is pretty standard and most agreements are for one year.  When interviewing PM companies (be sure to interview several), ask if they can send you a direct deposit each month instead of a check, it will make your life a lot easier.  You should also request management reports each month, so you are able to keep track of the expenditures and monitor what they are doing.  There are a lot of horror stories out here regarding landlords who hired the wrong PM and found out too late that they were being scammed.  Best of luck to you!

I would suggest that you connect with some of the REI groups in Baltimore and get to know some of the flippers in the group, to get a sense of which areas they tend to focus on. You should also connect with an investor-friendly real estate agent who can give you actual data (comps, ARV's, recent sales, etc.), to help you pinpoint neighborhoods. Lastly, spend a few days driving through those neighborhoods to get a feel for the overall level of pride of ownership. If your house and landscaping is beautiful, but the rest of the neighborhood is run down, it will be difficult to sell. As an agent, I know that whether I am representing sellers at an open house or showing buyers property, buyers always gravitate toward the best looking houses in the most well kept neighborhoods.

Best of luck for you!

Laticia

Hey Joe!  Fellow agent here who recently sold her PM business.  I did a lot of research when I was starting out and I ultimately went with Buildium. I really loved the software as it was very user friendly for me, the landlords and the tenants.  They typically offer a 30-day free trial which I recommend you taking advantage of.  Use that time to go through the tutorials.  I doubt that you will be disappointed.  Best of luck to you!

Laticia

Totally agree @Account Closed. Every successful REI I know is without a master's degree and those I know who are the most wealthy, don't even have a bachelor's degree. Use that $30k towards your first deal and learn from those who are already winning in the game...for free! Best of luck to you.

I would suggest that you put an ad on Craigslist or Indeed.  You will also need to 

clarify where the property is located, if you're looking for interested parties on this forum.

I had to deal with this exact issue a year ago for a property I managed in Dundalk (Cornwall Road) for an out of state investor. We had metal cans in the yard because those lids were the best for staying fastened and keeping rodents out.  The trash guys would come and throw the lids and crush them with their truck tires (yep, the Balto. Co. trash guys are thee best). I contacted the sanitation office multiple times to report what was happening and the tenants even took photos and video of the trash guys repeatedly destroying the lids and of course, nothing changed.  The crushed lids were useless at that point.  We got the fine notice, so I immediately purchased large heavy duty plastic cans with attached lids (Baltimore County doesn't want those either but oh well) and we attached them to the fence with a combo lock.  I went to the hearing because I was livid. 

What I learned during that three hour hearing, was that the inspector seems to focus on that area of Dundalk because 90% of the people there, were from that immediate area and everyone had the same story about the trash guys!  I was able to get my owner's fine waived because I had photo documentation of everything, including my remedy with the new cans.  I'm not sure when the courts will reopen, but in the meantime, I would suggest you take pictures of everything and send a letter to the office requesting the fine be removed. 

Best of luck to you!

Laticia

Nice!! Congratulations!  That 90 day rule caused me to have quite a few saddened buyers a few years ago...

Good morning @Alan Frye.  @David Fernandez' comments are on point.  I live in a suburb near Baltimore and you absolutely need to verify asking rents vs. actual rents in that neighborhood (on the same street/block).  I would advise you to contact a few of the local property management firms in Baltimore City, to get a true idea of the rental rates.  You could also ask a real estate agent to search recent rentals in that neighborhood.  Lastly, if you haven't already, contact the housing office to verify the voucher amounts and the number of voucher holders they have waiting for your type of property.  

Regarding your down payment, only you know which option is best for your overall financial picture.  Just make sure you keep enough cash in reserves because as a landlord, you will have repairs, whether the property has been renovated or not.  

Best of luck to you!

Laticia

It sounds like you have the perfect tenant!  He's taking "ownership" of your home by making improvements and that is highly desirable for a landlord, as long as he has your approval first. If he is doing these things without asking for landlord's permission first, you need to review your lease, to make sure he is in compliance.  If you don't currently have language in the lease that speaks to tenant's ability to make repairs, replacements or changes to the house, you should consider adding that into your lease when the next renewal period comes around. 

I used Buildium for several years for my PM business and I found it to be very user-friendly.  The online rent payment system, tenant application and screening tool, ability to send tenants emails and notices through the system, ease of scheduling vendors through the system, etc. made life much simpler for me. 

I would recommend that you spend time going through all of the tutorial videos and taking notes before you start using it.  There are a lot of them, but it's worth it.  You can also watch any of them on demand in case you have questions.  They used to give 30 days free, so ask for that if they don't currently have that promotion and you can use that time to play around with it and see if you like it.  Best of luck to you!