All Forum Posts by: Matthew Morrow

if it’s this far out I’d suggest just paying it and moving on.  In our area water /sewer must remain in the owners name for this reason. Sometimes the work put in to get a few $$ could be spend getting the next tenants in and reliably paying. 


Quote from @Lucas Gillmore:

Quote from @Jeff Gates:

In my area the tenant leaves the water bill unpaid and the company comes after the landlord.

I am in that situation tenants moved out didn’t pay last water bill. $55 now what the city is about to put a lean on the property. Do I pay it and turn it in to collections? Small claims and get a judgement? Write it off? They moved one town over bought a mobile home.

Everything is a lesson learned, don’t take it as a negative but more so another chapter in the stuff you can refer to in the future.  It sounds like you have a great situation regardless. Double check with your lender’s on HELOC/refinance time frames. There are some restrictions depending on where you are, type of property, and other things.  
If you need anything please reach out.  

also, I host a virtual meet up that we do a monthly call to talk about all things real estate. Mainly to collaborate and share experiences. No cost, Just networking.   Occasionally members present their deals or issues and we help each other Thru situations. 
If you want more info, shoot me an email and I can send it over.  

Quote from @Jason Deangelis:

@Matthew Morrow great advice. I should have been more specific about my situation. I used cash for dp, closing, and a portion of rehab. I filled the gap (around 20k) from my personal home Heloc. I have a conventional loan now and want to cash out refi on that to recoup all of borrowed and some of cash invested. I just need the direction to go for a refi sooner than my existing mortgage company which is saying the seasoning for a cash out would be 12 months. Also worth a mention, I wish I heard what you said about Heloc rates two months ago. I went from 6-8 and as a new investor didn’t think to check in on how fast it increased. Lesson learned the hard way but still a great deal!

Learning from others mistakes although painful at times can be extremely valuable . However we learn best from our own experiences and specifically the ones that burn us the Most.  We are defined though by how we respond to these hard times. Lots of people give up,. Don’t be them. Lol

Quote from @Justin Long:

Quote from @Matthew Morrow:

That is fantastic!. What a perfect time to get into it also. Although cost can be high and material certainly have been a challenge – you now have three solid years into this and I’m sure appreciation has treated you well.  

The tenants make or break the experience as you’ve found, especially in the beginning for the first several properties.  

Best of luck!


Quote from @Justin Long:

Quote from @Matthew Morrow:

@Justin Long nicely done! Are these performing already? or still under construction. 

 Thank you sir!  I actually purchased back in 2019 (just added this investment into my profile, which prompted the post).  Back then material costs weren't nearly as high, demand wasn't quite as high, and the builder just wanted them off the books.  

It is performing well!  I wished I had more funds to allocate back then to buy more than 1 property.  The rent/price is very good in this area and having great tenants help tremendously.  

 It has.  It's been tempting to want to sell, but I don't want to disrupt the tenant experience or pay the LTCG taxes right now either. 

And yes, tenants make or break the experience.  Before I ever bought my first property, I talked to a co-worker that told me horror story after horror story based on his buy and hold experience.  He had purchased several C/D properties in a bad area, and didn't properly manage them.  He gave me a blueprint of what NOT to do as a first time investor. 

The tenants make or break the experience as you’ve found, especially in the beginning for the first several properties.  

Best of luck!


Quote from @Justin Long:

Quote from @Matthew Morrow:

@Justin Long nicely done! Are these performing already? or still under construction. 

 Thank you sir!  I actually purchased back in 2019 (just added this investment into my profile, which prompted the post).  Back then material costs weren't nearly as high, demand wasn't quite as high, and the builder just wanted them off the books.  

It is performing well!  I wished I had more funds to allocate back then to buy more than 1 property.  The rent/price is very good in this area and having great tenants help tremendously.