All Forum Posts by: Laura Williams

@Omi C. I own a rental at 31st street and Campbell and have been happy with it thus far. It got tons of interest when it was listed for rent. I also have a friend who owns a house at 28th and Harrison and rented it super fast at $1450 a month. I wouldn't go east of Troost unless you are in the Beacon Hill area. And I would definitely talk to local professionals before you buy as that area can change block by block. But I do agree with Vicki in that I believe the area is changing and getting better. William Robison would be someone good for you to also ask and get an opinion from. 

To sell retail my feelings are that kitchens and bathrooms do sell places so might be worth doing a light rehab. Have you looked into selling turnkey to another investor?? Not sure which way would get you more money. In some markets these turnkeys sell right at market and you could keep your tenant until you sold it. 

I was told by my accountant that if a place is your primary residence for 2 out of 5 years then you can sell it tax free up to a certain amount.

Agree with everyone else about painting a trim color and also a colorful door ..I like either red or  blue for front doors. Some colorful flowers around the front would be really nice. Agree with Steve B in that I wouldn't try to make it more modern but accent it's vintage charm. But otherwise it looks good...like a solid house. If it was a rental it wouldn't need anything. 

@Fred Stevenson 

@William Robison would be a great guy for you to talk to. He's a broker and also has a property management and rehab business in Kansas City. He specializes in working with investors. I've been working with him for almost a year now and he is very knowledgeable about areas/rents and if the rehab was done properly. 

Also forgot to add that for conventional mortgages there are some lenders that like AIM loan (internet bank) that will do as low as 25K I believe. I read about them on a BP post but never used them. Sure there are others like them out there..maybe do a BP or google search. 

@Chris C.

I agree with Steve in that I would look for a small local lender who might be more customer friendly and hold their own loans. If you have good credit for that price you might be able to buy on credit cards and cash up front for a better price and then refinance out with a local lender at 70% LTV. Some will do this kind of thing without a seasoning period if you have a job and good credit and can show that the property generates income and is in good rentable shaper. You would just need to do your due diligence as it's a bit risky.

@Ben Meddeb

I'm so sorry to hear of your rental disaster....what a pain to deal with all that clean up.  I also had a really bad experience with my first tenant years ago cause I made the mistake of renting to a girl that I thought was a "friend" and had also worked with her before. It was a total nightmare to say the least. The lesson I learned is that you can "know" someone without really knowing them. And in real estate if someone is a bad person they will use their friendship with you to take advantage of you. Since then I've only rented to strangers (I would never rent to a friend again) and I've used good real estate agents to find tenants and I've never had a problem since ...knock on wood. I wouldn't let this discourage you....clean up your place and then find a good boring clean tenant to rent to. 

@Account Closed for broker/rehab/property manager and have been very happy with him. Feel free to PM with any questions 

@Ron Karr

I agree with @Ali Boone that the property manager and team you have is the most important thing. If you get that right then your problems will be minimal. I wanted to add that it's also important to choose good quality properties that are going to attract good quality long term tenants. Don't just look at the numbers on paper. I've heard many stories now about the out of town investor chasing the high returns that got burned buying in bad areas. I think it's especially better if you are an own of town investor to take a slightly less cash flow on paper to be in a better quality area with less tenant headaches. 

@Debbie Lee  I knew a guy who told me he records all his business phone conversations through an app on his phone. I don't remember the name of it but I would check the phone apps for a good one. 

I haven't talked to my friend who bought the time share in a few weeks to see how her situation turned out but she was thinking her credit card was going to refund her money after talking to them. I'll definitely ask her next time I talk to her and let you know. 

I really hope you can get that money back!!! Hopefully from your credit card as that would be the easiest for you. But in any case you should post on one yelp or one of those rip off sites to warn others about this company.