All Forum Posts by: Tracey B.

Julia,
I have 2 duplexes like this and I put electric baseboard heaters in them. It is a quick and inexpensive fix. You need a good electrician though so he does it correctly and doesn't cause tripping breakers or anything. I also like the idea of having a master control of the heat and setting it at a baseline temp during the cold months in addition to their electric heaters.

Claudia, let me first say that you should check your state and see whats legal in case you get caught but what I do is the rent is due on the 1st. If they pay 2nd thru 5th its $50 more and on the 6th I file for eviction. My tenants always pay on the first and the few times they don't they include the $50. Whenever someone doesn't pay on the 1st I send a notice that day saying they now owe rent plus late fee and on 'x' date I will file against them in court. Works every time.

Mike gave you the best advice. I do the same thing. I screen over the phone and run their names in the local court database to see their criminal history. I also ask them why they are moving from their current place. This is a MUST ASK. It tells you everything you need to know about the person. Problem tenants will start complaining about the landlord and all their issues, I love hearing these stories as I never to rent to these type of people. Decent people say things that aren't problematic. I also ask where they work, how long, who will live with them etc and verify this info from local court records to see how honest they are. If they pass this preliminary screening, only then will I make appointment to show the unit. I also stress over the phone the checks I will run on them and the application fee. When I meet them I also ask the same questions to see if they slip up and tell me something they didnt say over the phone, I try to gauge their personality by getting them talking. This has worked very well for me. One thing I overlooked that recently caused me issues was an elderly couple that seemed ok but had their children doing all the talking. This is how they deal with problems too, use their children, something I do not tolerate. Always prescreen over the phone and dont waste your time with people you dont get a good vibe from. A lot of time people dont want to answer my questions over the phone and I dont waste my time meeting with them.

I only rent 12 month lease for 1st time renters moving into my units. Right now I am moving into only voucher tenants and they require 12 months at first then month to month. I recently told a sec 8 tenant that I was not renewing their lease because they were complainers, naggers, nasty people and they used the term "sue" too many times for my comfort. At least I got a years worth of payments. It will suck to have a vacancy after school starts considering it took about 3 months for me to find tenants last year for this building. If I was not comfortable with giving someone a 12 month lease then I will not rent to them.

When I used to do a lot of rehabs I would always flat fee list my property and deal with the buyers realtors on my own. There were lots of issues that came about and if another realtor was involved I know some of my sales would have fallen through. Since I had a vested interest in selling, I was able to work out the kinks and get the properties sold. I was very successful at this. I found that many realtors don't understand that their goal at the end of the day is to get paid and that only happens if everyone gets to settlement. Most realtors actually work against this process and is why I would never list my rehab using a selling agent. Now when it comes to buying, I have several realtors that I can go to to get lockbox codes and to submit offers. I always communicate with the title companies and never let realtors do anything more than write up my offers to purchase properties.That is their only value imo.

On several other re forums this has been a topic of great debate. There's several "gurus" who claim investing in rentals in dumb. Feedback on this please. Why or why not invest in rentals. Aren't they a great replacement for 9 to 5 income?

Mike I said Steve, not Mike. Why are you people acting crazy now. If this is an open forum, I can disagree with you. You dont have to launch a gang attack. I dont know who Mike M is and I didnt repsond to Mike M so why are you writing this? There are a lot of posts on here that are insulting and derogatory to the president and if you cannot handle someone challenging your viewpoints or making jokes than you shouldn't post on a forum.

Steve, you cant really be that silly? You totally misread my post. Anyway I am done with these political posts because some of you don't know a joke from a hole in the wall. You need to talk about what is not appropriate as many of your posts dont need to be here. Mine was a response to another posters post. Get a life!

Jimmy you are asking a question you already know the answer to. Yes you can buy a really cheap house, fix it up, rent it out and make great cash flow. If you screen your tenant appropriately, you could have a good tenant too. There are many people who do this for cash flow. You don't have to be a slumlord, you can have a place in the ghetto and a good tenant that likes to live in the ghetto. So I dont really know what you are looking for. Yes you can do it. Go find a house and screen properly and there you go.

Jimmy, financeexaminer has pointed out some really good things to you. I know a few landlords that thrive in these areas. My take on the situation is this: right now there are lots of neighborhoods that are decent working class where a deal can be gotten but have better chance of being able to sell in the future and are a little safer. Focus on those areas. If you can get a 120k house for 40k that needs 10-15k in repairs to rent it out and you can make 1200/mnth, go after those deals instead of buying 10k houses in shoot em up bang bang neighborhoods where you will probably NEVER be able to sell in the future. The goals of rentals are cash flow and appreciation so if you only focus on one, you do so at the expense of the other. Lastly, where I am, the voucher programs will not let tenants live in war zones where there are drug dealers on the corner and board ups on the block. Also, if the DEA can prove you accepted money from a known drug dealer, you are liable for jail time for aiding and abetting.