All Forum Posts by: Mark Jones

Yes, get your own master keyed set of locks on the doors. From your profile it looks like you have a number of other units. I'd want them all on the same master. 

I would definitely make closing contingent on a unit being vacant. Do a walk thru the day of closing to verify before signing. The seller may be reluctant though. If closing falls thru or gets delayed, they now have a vacant unit not bringing in money. Your offer won't get selected over one without this contingency. You could sweeten the pot by offering more EMD.

I use Clearnow. It's pretty low-frills but I like it. $15 for the first draft each month, $2 each thereafter. You create an account, send your tenant an email through the service, they setup an account and then the rent gets pulled from their account and deposited into yours a couple days later. 

The biggest drawback I've had: there's not a way to do a one time charge.

If you have enough units to make it cost effective, I've heard good things about Buildium. 

Cory, right now I'm in Broadripple. It's pretty easy to keep the units full. But in the future I'm open to just about anywhere. My litmus test is would I live in the area with my family. If no, then I'll pass. 

Downtown multi's (complexes) are going in just about anywhere they can squeeze them. 

As others have said, give them an option on the increase.  Send them a letter stating that rising insurance and taxes necessitate a raise in rent.  You need to increase the rent by $75 (or whatever you want to put).  Then offer "if you can not manage this much of an increase, let us know what you can afford: _________" and let them fill in the blank.  It might surprise you.  

There are a number of variations of this letter.  You could state how much undermarket the rents currently are and then just give them a blank to fill in with what they feel is a fair increase.

Hi everyone, I'm new the forum.  I've been living in Indianapolis for about seven years now.  House-hacking in a duplex for about five.  I also picked up another duplex along the way.  So I'm not quite a newbie but in no way an expert either.

I learned of BP through my local REIA meeting.

I'm trying to get started doing sandwich lease options as well (to fund more buy and hold rentals).

Thanks!