All Forum Posts by: MarieChele Porter

Hi all,

I am in contract with my first investment property, which is a duplex in Garfield Heights, Ohio. I have just received the current leases and the lease terms are different from what was stated prior to contract. The discrepancies are less about $50/month rent including both units and about 2 months extra term on the lease than originally stated by the seller. I know the discrepancies aren't huge and landlords tend to fudge numbers around the sell, I'm just curious is there anything that can be negotiated through escrow for these discrepancies or is it just buyers choice with due diligence. It also makes me wonder if there are other things that are being hid because of the fudging. FYI the first thing I found fudged was on the MLS it said tenant pays all utilities including water and sewer but on a visit done by my real estate agent he found out that the water is single metered which means the landlord has to pay. I still went on obviously, but now this has come up so I'm just curious will we keep uncovering things of the sort.

Definitely I think investing in high quality rental property is a good option. The thing you have to do is develop your criteria which will help you decide where you would like to invest. If you want to do commercial I'd advice linking up with someone who's done commercial before whether as a partner or mentor is for you to decide. If you want to do residential decide on what you would like to invest in whether it be single family or 2-4 units. Whatever you decide on your criteria will at least narrow down the markets that are best for different things. Goodluck! 

I look at 2-4 unit properties but like I said it is not unusual for a lender to ask for 25% down for an investment property that's why it helps to know the questions to ask specific to your situation.

It is actually common that lenders ask for 25% for an investment property. If you get lucky there may be someone like you found who will be okay with 15% down (which I haven't found yet and am also in the middle of getting pre-approved so do share) but there are all kinds of different rules you may here from lender to lender. Some may want a higher minimum loan value then others, others may want more proof of income, some won't lend to investors at all it really varies lender to lender. I was so discouraged when I tried to apply for a loan because I was told no because of my work history months later I tried again but made several phone calls some said no but I finally found 2 that said yes!! You have to call around and ask the right questions for your situation, especially to avoid unnecessary hard inquiries. 

I just recently used upwork.com you post the job and invite people to apply. These people are from all over the world. You pick your budget and pay the workers right through the site. The great thing about them is that they have freelancers for many different things including business cards and website building. I listen to the Podcasts and I believe it was @Brandon Turner who used them for finding his virtual assistant so it's a great site you can use over and over again.

@Ashish Acharya haha well thank you! I have answered my own question with your help. :)

@Ashish Acharya OOOOOOOooo so that form is for electing if you would like to be an S-Corp or C-Corp?

@Ashish Acharya There is a form on the IRS's website called 8832 which you can apply to be a separate entity. 

Hello all,

Upon research I have stumbled across a thing called a disregarded entity. Let me give a little background. I plan to become a buy and hold investor starting out in Ohio state living in California. I am going to form an Ohio LLC as the sole member. Question, as a real estate investor is it a good idea to file taxes on a schedule C and be taxed as a sole proprietor or remain 2 separate entities? I mean I kind of thought the whole point was to limit liability by being 2 different "beings" but I would imagine there's a difference in opinion out there especially regarding tax purposes. All answers will help. Thanks guys!

 I don't think a learning experience is ever a waste of money especially with the potential that it has to pay you back. There will always be negative comments but only you can decide what's right for you and when you start proving them wrong who knows who would be your next PML....