All Forum Posts by: Michael Lauther

I am bumping my own post in the hopes of getting input from those who have dealt with a fire damaged property.

John Chapman I would say that my system is workable and for now it will serve my needs. In the long run I will need a good property manager because the stress or managing people from a distance will be much less if I am able to manage a property manager.
As we discussed a good handy man that is trusted is worth paying top dollar for. insurance contracts on heating system runs about 120 a year per unit and they will field telephone calls for heat outages and cover most calls under the contract. The problem with property managers is that in lower income areas the maintenance gets too expensive. the property mgr gets a cut when he hires out the job and in some cases the contractor that gets the repair order subs it out and when the repair is not done right everyone blames everyone else.

I own single family properties and half are section 8 so rent is not an issue for them but I do find myself chasing tenants for rent.

We finally started to repair fire damaged property. tore out all burned material and gutted directly affected areas. Plaster on lathe walls are covered in soot. what is the best course of action demolish and replace or clean walls and paint? I hesitate to start gutting plaster on lathe walls. May be too costly. my main concern is that the odor does not return. I understand cleaning with a dry cleaning sponge is recommended and not soap and water. Serve pro also indicated use of ozone but we removed any soft material and only hard surfaces remain. would ozone treatment be useful?

Any advice is appreciated.

Justin Foster The area you choose to invest in has everything to do with how you apply the 2% rule.Taxes and insurance vary considerably from one place to another and will have a significant effect on expenses as do cost to repair which will impact maintenance as well. While we like to refer to this as a rule it is just a guide to use as a starting point when evaluating an investment.

Naga A. I have to say that Farmers ins. did a stand up job. They gave me a detailed run down of cost to repair which exceeded my limit so they cut me a check minus an escrow account for the city of Dayton. I used that money to buy an additional property and I am fixing the damaged one out of cash flow. I need to check but the payment came in a single check in about 4 weeks.

Chris Clothier I liked your article and it seems to elicit more questions than answers. I am most curious about where these funds are purchasing Single family rental property. I find that neighborhoods that are a large Percent rentals are not those desired by those who want to own. As for those who rent, if and when they are ready to buy, they will look to get out of that neighborhood and upgrade. I do not think the corporate mentality seen in the management of apartment buildings will work well for single family units. If the cash flow is not what they expected these funds will be forced to sell to individual investors at a discounted price. If on the other hand these funds participate in community outreach rehabilitating communities, they could experience profitable growth and increasing ROI. This would require a longer term vision than in my experience, our corporate culture would allow.

Welcome Michael Anspach, my goals were not met by the local Long Island market. I currently invest in Dayton OH and live in Hampton Bays. It is a challenge to invest long distance but not as much of a challenge as investing to meet my goals on Long Island. Best of luck to you and dont hesitate to contact me if you need advice.

Elizaveta Voloboeva Statistics regarding real estate on a national or even a state and city basis are useful but can be misleading when it comes to a local market.
If you are in the business of flipping property the immediate market could have more to do with your success or failure than your skill. If you are a buy and hold landlord like myself the market is not as important as cash flow. I do not always buy at a huge discount but I always buy in an area that has a demand for rental property and that is not the best areas for flipping where a retail buyer may want to own.
I would add that in my market in Dayton the expectation is a slight decline in the price of property. That means that I will be able to cherry pick properties for rental income at a good price. The hope is that eventually prices will rise and with it rental income.

Mike Wallace "I am looking at a 18 unit that is for sale for 179k. 85% occupied and making some serious money. But i have no experience with these type of areas... "

I am curious about your your definition of serious money. We all tend to throw around terms that mean different things to different people. Now bullets flying is a war zone but what are the numbers you are looking at. In my experience the numbers in the very bad areas look good on paper but the 50% rule escalates drastically in some areas to a 75% rule. Can you give us specific numbers that cause you to characterize this as "serious Money"?

Welcome Robert Fabian, you are correct this is an awesome site that will serve you well. I look forward to hearing about your progress . Best of luck to you.