All Forum Posts by: MIchael Rickerd

The following thread is all about 'hardening' rentals. While it covers a lot of stuff that may not be applicable to you, it has lots of good information.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/68041-how-do-you-harden-your-rentals

Going to have to disagree with Greg above. There is a real dollar value to you as the owner. Sure, the tenants pay the utilities, but they do not pay for the HVAC system when it expires. And it will last much longer if it isn't running nearly as often. 

Also, (my opinion may be biased, as I am very hands on with my units) if someone was going to do 2,000 dollars in work to one of my properties, and the only slight inconvenience I would have to deal with is painting a bunch of small spots on several walls, I would be all over it. 

That is a no-brainer to me. Putting your tenant on the spot to pay and then potentially missing out on free work, valued at thousands of dollars, which improves your asset, is ludicrous.

 Have you read the TITLE of your own thread? Saying someone STOLE from you, when in fact you were not doing your own due diligence, is an accusation.

Just FYI.

I think you're overthinking this. 25 extra dollars a month to use a washer/dryer seems excessive to me. 

This is a situation were being a penny pinching, 'get all you can' landlord is beaten out by being a human being. She's already paying your mortgage, let her have the faulty washer/dryer in her basement.

 Seconded. My fiance uses this exact model on her retail store for employees. Works great. We use a similar model on the front door of our home as well.

Jerome,

I haven't crossed this bridge yet with my properties, but I will soon. Let us know who you find. I am sure there are lenders out there, you just have to search em out. I remember a BP podcast where a guy called close to 50ish lenders and finally found one that would refi in as little as a year.

Don't underestimate the power of an LLC! They are most definitely worth the hassle associated with them. "It is better to not need it and have it, rather than need it and not have it," is very applicable to an LLC.

Awesome to hear that it is working out well for you!

Its usually 10% for repairs (which I agree with and take into consideration) and 10% for vacancy (which I don't use in my personal situation. I live in a high demand for rental (especially students) area).

So 140 x 2 gives you 280. So you're cash flowing 5 bucks a month. Which is at least in the green!

If you aren't looking to get rich off of the cashflow of this property (which you won't) it may be worth it to dive into this lifestyle. Skilled investors with all sorts of tools/connections can hunt down the best cashflow producing properties, but I feel that your first property comes with a lot of experiences/teachings. And that mad cashflow isn't the top priority.

Investing for cashflow is more difficult. But even if you aren't cash flowing heavily, you are still receiving financial benefits in other areas. Don't forget to analyze those as well.

Yep, 10% is typical. It may be tailored to your location though. 

I have a thorough home inspection done by someone I trust, who also happened to own a company that built custom homes for a very long time. Thankfully he is an all-in-one package for everything house inspection related. This alleviates a lot of my risk, and helps me sleep at night.

Having cash reserves saved away really takes the worry out of unexpected repairs. Figure out how much you personally feel comfortable with saving away, and get there. 

I'll also mimic Nick's comment about having more cash flowing properties! It's much much easier laying down at night knowing you have thousands in positive cashflow every month from all of your investments.