All Forum Posts by: Michele G.

My question is how to determine the proper amount of walls-in insurance to carry. 

The unit is a 1600 sqft, 4 bed, 2 1/2 bath, 2-story condo with 2 car detached garage in Orange County, CA. Since the HOA covers the exterior I only need to have a walls-in policy.

What is a good way to determine the right amount of building coverage? I don’t want to be underinsured, but even the agent said their recommended “rule of thumb” amounts seemed really high for the unit. Since it is a 2 story unit I do worry about a leak in an upper bathroom creating problems on both floors.

What deductibles do most investors have? $1,000? $5,000? Do you base it on the cash flow/reserves saved for the property? 

I’m looking for reasoning that I can apply to my current properties as well as future investments. 

Welcome! That is the exact situation I am in right now. I have 3 good SFH cash flowing properties with tons of equity. It's a tough call. I see pros & cons for both routes.

Zelle has been instant pay the couple of times I’ve used it. It was super easy and instantaneous. Monitor your accounts though (which you should be doing anyway). Someone hacked into my friend’s account through Zelle & got 5 transactions through before she got the first email notification. The bank’s fraud dept was on top of things, but it was still a hassle.

2,234 miles. All of my rentals are within 15 miles of each other. I want passive income so, to me, it doesn’t matter if they’re in my backyard. Sure I could have higher cash flow without a PM, but then I would have to work on my investments and I don’t want to do that. I’d rather focus on my family and acquiring new investments.

I would think that is your responsibility and something you need to turn over to your insurance company. Why would someone leave a window open in 0 degree temps long enough to freeze pipes? Plus the area the pipe is in would have to get below freezing & stay there long enough to freeze the pipes. When we see frozen pipes as a tenant’s responsibility it is because the tenant turned the heat off when they went away for a few days during a bitter cold spell. Other than that the frozen pipes we see are usually the landlord’s responsibility.

Gary Lawson How has the flooding been? We’ve had a couple of big rains recently and I thought of your property.

Originally posted by @Christine Johanns:

OK folks I hope SOMEONE On this thread can answer the question I desperately need an answer to. 

I set up my LLC in NJ my state of residence. It was my intention to invest here BUT I got a great deal in MICHIGAN! Ok, so I understand that I have to " REGISTER" my current LLC in MI. BUT HOW OR WHERE DO I DO THAT??? DTE Energy won't even turn the electric on until then! :( My renovation crew is paying the 2nd floor tenant to run extention cords and use his power. HOW DO I REGISTER an existing LLC in another state. Thanks anyone who replies !! ~~

https://www.michigan.gov/lara/0,4601,7-154-61343_35413_35429-120092--,00.html

That link will get you to the State of Michigan business site (called LARA). You should be able to find the info you need or a phone number to call to get the info. You can type Certificate of Authority in the search bar on the page I linked you to and you’ll get the form, but I’m not positive if there’s more to registering than filling out the form. 

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Hi again,

Has anybody ever invested in rentals in Milan, MI or nearby?  I keep seeing some really nice older duplexes?  I know it's a small town. But being close to Ann Arbor, I think it might be easy to rent out.

I think Milan is a good town to invest in. It’s a small town with a lot of surrounding farms and very little crime. Schools are decent. Most people that live in Milan commute to Ann Arbor (20 min) for work since there aren’t a lot of jobs in town. Ypsilanti is much closer to Ann Arbor, has a lot more people/housing, & more job opportunities, but you have to know the neighborhoods. Crime is much higher in some parts of Ypsilanti than in Milan or Ann Arbor. You can go from B to C- areas really quickly. 

Can you PM the info please? The guy we had lined up just backed out saying he was too busy so I’m trying to get a couple of quotes to do the project. Thanks! 

We have a bathroom in Placentia that needs work. The shower is small and the spray faces the door which gets the floor wet. We are looking for a contractor who can fix this for us. The bathroom is original (40 years old) so it needs updating anyway. Does anyone know of a contractor that can give us a quote?