All Forum Posts by: Mark Langdon

I would manage it yourself for the first one to learn the ropes especially if your hands-on. No better way to learn. Then you can have a PM run it if you do not want to do it anymore or if you want to free up your time to look for new deals. I am a long time landlord and love it. But I know as I get older and accumulate more properties sooner or later I will have to get a PM.

Welcome to the BP family ! You will get a lot of great info and listen to some podcasts if you can. Start researching your areas and see what's out there for potential deals. Stay persistent and make sure the numbers work. Glad you skipped the guru as you saved a lot of money. Good luck and ask questions ! The BP community is here to help answer them.

I did this only once but I checked out their employer and references but that's not a good reason to do it. I may have gotten lucky. It is a red flag so I don't recommend it. Anyone who wants to hurry up and move in with some cash is a problem. Wait for a better tenant.

Floors are always last. Paint right before the floors are done. Inside or outside painting order doesn't matter.

Always refinish wooden floors. I always use tile in the kitchen. Never use carpet unless you like throwing money away. I use laminate wood flooring as a last resort in areas that don't already have wooden floors but I don't care for it too much. Not excited about vinyl even though the new ones look nice but scared to try it.

Always ebay 10% lowes coupons you can use at Lowes or Home Depot and then pick your favorite cash back credit card as you can tell from the posts there is plenty to choose from.

Why not. Keep the list as if they are available it's an instant fill. What could be easier than that.

Good you passed on this. More negatives than positives on this deal. I definitely feel your price will be reduced when you sell. People are funny; some don't care but some it will be a huge deal. Like you said; glad the numbers didn't work. Better to wait for a better deal and not get desperate to make this deal work.

I always consult my lawyer to follow the law so I can sleep well at night. It may not be worth the small amount to get back depending on your lawyer fee. After that it's up to you if you want to call their bluff even though you missed the deadline. I would send the letter no matter what and see from there.

No problems starting them off as long as they pay every month even if they are not living there. My son has the same situation at his college where the landlords make them pay starting in May but they know no college students will be there unless they are going to summer school. They have to do that or they lose out on the rent during each summer. They also make the parents co-sign so I think you must do that to help protect yourself.