All Forum Posts by: Michael Rossi

EXACTLY! And don't forget the baggy pants that must be held up with one hand and the prison style stretch beanie caps.

Jetspeed,

RELAX! You're worried about nothing. The chances that the tenants are going to actually sue you are almost nil. I have had dozens and dozens of tenants threaten to sue me and only 3 actually did (they all lost). Having some scumbag tenant threaten to sue you is a normal part of the business. Tenants are tenants because they are irresponsible. They can't possible accept personal responsibility for their actions, so when they don't get their deposit back - it must be your fault - you EVIL RICH LANDLORD (it couldn't be the fact that they didn't follow the lease or left the place trashed). Get used to it.

If you put it in an envelope with a stamp - THAT IS FIRST CLASS! How did you send it if not first class?

I've had literally hundreds of tenants in the past 7 years. I could count the number of tenants who got their entire deposit back on one hand and the number of tenants who got ANY deposit back on two hands. By the time you consider the number of people who leave the property a mess and the number who don't give proper notice, the vast majority of tenants are not getting their deposit back.

His last post was on 4/30/09. I'd say he's back to reality at his day job. Not everyone makes it - in fact, the majority do not.

I tell them that there is no place in the city from which you can't throw a rock and hit a drug dealer.

It's ironic that you posted this now. I got a call from Fair Housing yesterday about a woman I rejected. The fair housing official asked me why I rejected her and I told the fair housing officer that the applicant's son was a "criminal scumbag" (with over 50 arrests) and that I didn't believe the woman when she told me that her son wouldn't be living with her. To the best of my knowledge, having a son that's a "criminal scumbag" isn't a protected class. End of story.

I guess if we need to watch what we say, next time I'll be more careful how I phrase it and call the guy a "criminal druggie scumbag".

You can do month-to-month leases with Section 8 tenants. I do it all the time.

Mike

That's because an hour is WAY TOO LONG! You're violating the 5 minute rule, which says that tenants only have an attention span that lasts 5 minutes.

When I have them call 15 or 20 minutes before their appointment, they call and then must get in the car and leave for the appointment within 5 minutes (before they get distracted). When you have them call an hour before the appointment, all kinds of things can creep into their empty little heads and cause their memory of your appointment to vanish. Brains the size of a pea can be clogged up by almost anything!

If you live an hour away, then you'll need to have them call an hour ahead. If you live closer, then have them call a lot later, preferrably 10 to 20 minutes from your appointment time.

Good Luck,

Mike

Payers of rent are...well, renters.

Payers of notes are...well... often, renters too.

Yes, CRAZY! The problem here is that you don't have a basic understanding of how the rental business works.

Here are the real numbers on your house if you rented it as proposed.

Gross rents: $1,200
Operating Expenses: $600
NOI: $600

Mortgage: $800

Cash flow: $200 Monthly LOSS!

I would strongly suggest that you read the sticky thread about the 50% Rule. In addition, if you don't have landlord insurance for your house, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY INSURANCE!

If you're not going to live there - I would sell it!

Good Luck,

Mike

Bob,

I have my rentals divided into different LLC's. All but one of my LLC's contain rentals with debt (typically 10-12 rentals per LLC). Obviously, taking on the debt and buying a large number of rentals was key to allowing me to live off my rentals. After less than 5 years on this path, I was able to semi-retire and am now enjoying a nice life.

On the other hand, one of my LLC's is dedicated to paid-off rentals. I bought the first one about 5 years ago for cash. After about 3 years, I had enough cash to buy another for cash. The 2 paid-off rentals over the past 2 years have thrown off enough cash that I can now buy another (assuming I find a GREAT deal).

My point is that I LOVE THE PAID-OFF RENTAL BUSINESS! As you buy each subsequent rental, the cash flow really dramatically accelerates. The down side is that if you're in a hurry to get out of the rat race by building up a significant cash flow, the paid-off rental business is slow (unless you're already a multi-millionaire and can pay cash).

Since you asked for opinions, here's mine (and worth every penny you paid for it). If you're not in a hurry to quit your job, I would work really hard to find GREAT DEALS (at a HUGE discount) and pay cash. If you are in a hurry, then I would work really hard to find GREAT DEALS (at a HUGE discount) and use leverage.

Good Luck,

Mike