All Forum Posts by: Michael Haynes

Anne Marie Gainsom in Oklahoma. My sister's name is spelled the same as yours. Haven't seen in 50 years. She moved to France and became a Citizen and never came back. Start with the Horse before the Cart. Do you own a Home? Best way to start is as a First Time Home Owner. All your best Financing and Discounts and you can learn everything with HUD. Read IRS Publication 523 regarding Sale of a Residence. You live in it for 2 out of 5 years and Sell for up to $250,000 Tax-free. You find a fixer-upper to Rent until you Sell and just move into the Rental to do it again.

Jimmy Johnson in North Carolina. Learn how to use Search on Zillow. Take you five minutes to know all you need to know. 

Hello Peter Sik in Alabama. You are trying to get Blood from a Stone. Waste of Time. Try to start Eviction process one day after the next Late Rent. 

Hello Zak House in Phoenix. Read the IRS Publication 523 explaining Sale of a Residence. Then, move into Show Low STR for two years and Sell for up to $250,000 Tax-free. Then, think of only buying houses etc. in the fire zones that are made out of concrete and steel and cinder blocks, without asphalt or wooden shingles. Every structure out West is an accident waiting to happen with the stupid building codes that refuse to allow stick houses to be built. Same thing here in Florida with all the rich guys wanting a million dollar house on the water with the hurricanes. You can have Home Owners and Flood Insurance and the Big Bad Wolf will blow your house down and then, you need to pay a lawyer to try to collect damages from Insurance who may never pay you.

Hello Angela A. in San Diego. Read the IRS Publication 523 regarding Sale of a Residence. You can move into the Condo for two years and sell it Tax-free for up to $250,000. 

Hello Jim Peret in Delafield, WI. Your in Waukeshaw. I was in Milwaukee two months ago with my old partner visiting her mother in an Assisted Living. I'm 75 and I had 12 Rental Duplexes and Houses in South Tampa, Florida for 30 years. This is before the "Gold Rush" of building and immigration in Hillsborough and our surrounding Counties on the beaches. Tampa was on a list last month of the Best Place to Live. It is the safest in the Gulf of Mexico as we have not been hit by a hurricane since 1921. My Tenants were almost all Service Workers. Minimum Wage Slaves. Just like me when I started at 8 years old. I self-managed my properties and tried to help everyone with just First and Last. But, you had to jump on the Three Day Notice with the first day Late. At that time we could Evict in nine days if we hit it on a Monday. Then, we got the Woke, Bleeding Heart Judges and with a letter of hardship at Mediation the Deadbeat, Single Mother with kids and Older ones on Fixed Incomes could get another 90 days to stay for free. Some guys were handymen who helped me on the next fixer-upper or maintenance or building a new shed or fence etc. I had one who was with me for ten years not wake up one morning and his wife called me instead of the cops. Everything for me was hands on. I learned to build houses with my guys and my last Rentals and Farm and Beach Home etc. are in Brazil. The big, golf course type, Rental Apartment developments, along with the 55 and over Communities, Doctors with 100 Doors etc. have Managers who demand the First, Last and Deposit and go after you with Lawyers to file for a Judgement and ruin your Credit and next Rental Apartment application. But, then they also have, "First Month Free" offers when things get tight. The new development here are all the Latinos etc. who have Service Trucks and Trailers and they Rent a big house with five to ten friends to divide the cost of Rent in good neighborhoods. There is nowhere to park except on the lawns and the neighbors call Code Enforcement. Here in Florida we are a Right to Work State with lots of Seniors and it is very hard to make $20 an hour if you do not have a Profession or Business. 

Hello Randi Guthrie from ? My observation was not a judgement, it was a complaint. Here in Florida, even the well dressed, failed lawyer type Agents, driving Mercedes, working for big companies, don't know what they are doing. They are desperate for the next Sale and that's it. Always happy to take your listing and then sandbag it. Geoffrey Paugam is trying to be an Investor, so being an Agent means nothing. My other complaint is that you need to start from the beginning. Do you own you own Home and do you Homestead it knowing the IRS Publication 523 on Sale of a Residence? BP does not promote the easy way to make Money from Real Estate by buying your Home and living in it for 2 out of 5 years to Sell for up to $250,000 Tax-free. You find a fixer-upper to Rent until you Sell and move into that to do it again. Safest, easiest way for a Newbie to get started and that is all you need to do. Most people are not trying to be a Robert Kiyosaki with 30,000 Doors. Does Geoffrey own a Home? If not, he is Renting to live and looking to Invest without all the Tax and Financing advantages. BP promotes "the shiny object" and not the practical.

Hello Jared Schweiss in Minneapolis. A Patio will not add value. It could be a Selling point. If it is raised wood deck, then expect it to rot and look nasty after ten years. If you pour a concrete slab here in Tampa, Florida, it will raise your Property Taxes because it is not "permeable" for water drainage. That leads one to pavers. Keeping the tenants happy is always a good thing and they will tear it up and make a mess, so, get used to it. 

Hello Denise Evans in Tuscaloosa. BP and all the other Rental courses and books and gurus try to make it sound easy to own and rent houses for Passive Income. It's not Passive at all and the smoke detector example is just one of the hundred things that should be on the Manager's list of things to do. Here in Tampa, Florida the Code Enforcement Rule is that EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE and HALLWAYS has to have a working smoke detector. Everyone is always looking for a way to not have to do the work and expenses with Rental Properties. Pay more for the Ten Year Sealed Battery Smoke Detectors and then all one has to do is to make sure they are all still in place and push the testing button. 

Hello Mohan Deep in Milwaukee. You can't get blood from a stone. The only guarantee in the Rental Business is to get First, Last and Full Security Deposit. Here in Tampa, Florida a 3/2 House goes for up to $3000 a Month. Do you know anyone with $9000 Cash in order to move into a nice house in a good neighborhood? I don't.