All Forum Posts by: Mindy Jensen

Like @Curt Davis said, you seem very afraid to take on debt. You even said yourself that you worked so hard to be 100% debt free. Being debt free is awesome, but there are different kinds of debt, in my opinion. Credit cards and car loans are bad debt, and a mortgage is good or neutral debt.

Running a business costs money. Look at landlording as running a business, because that is exactly what it is. View the mortgages on the properties as an expense of running that business. You cannot run a business for free. Mortgage rates are still low, but are going to be increasing. As rates go up, less people qualify for loans, and the rental market looks better and better. 

This is a real estate investing site, so people on this site are going to encourage real estate purchases. What you have is analysis paralysis, which means that you are afraid to take the first step, caught up in the numbers. Read through the forums on rental properties. Check out the blog. Listen to the Podcasts. Throw up an #AskBP to get @Brandon Turner's attention, then say How do I get over Analysis Paralysis?

You said that these duplexes are much nicer than most in the area and that your friend was flooded with applications. People need a place to live, and will always need a place to live. What is the economic outlook in Eau Claire?  Menard's is headquartered up there, and they are only in like 11 states, if I remember right. Tons of room for growth. You have the Mayo clinic, too. 

Keep poking around BP. If this site doesn't inspire you to become a real estate investor, then perhaps real estate isn't the right place for your money. Ultimately, the decision comes from you. Good luck!

Have you received a copy of your credit report in the last 365 days? If not, it's time to go get one. You are entitled to one free copy of your credit report every year. Go to annualcreditreport.com, it is the site created by the three credit reporting companies.

Obtaining a credit report for yourself does not negatively effect your credit score. Once you get the report, see if there are any mistakes on the report. Make sure someone isn't trying to steal your identity. A hard inquiry occurs with your permission, like applying for a credit card, mortgage or other type of loan. Have you done this 10 times in the past two years? Hard inquiries stay on your report for two years.

If you find incorrect information on your credit report, contact the agency upon whose report it appears, and ask them how to get it dismissed. They may ask for additional documentation. I don't think there is a copy of a letter that can get the inquiries just wiped out for you. You have to do some work to get incorrect information removed from your credit report. Correct information will stay. If you have indeed applied for 10 credit cards, loans or mortgages in the last two years, you won't be able to remove the inquiries from your report. Good luck!

Thanks, @WAYNE G.. They did replace the sump last year after they discovered the broken cement-filled pipe. That sump is working correctly and non-stop. There is just a massive amount of water under their house. 

@John Powell, I have been doing this a long time, and I have never heard of an investor's inspection. I am going to ask about this the next time I need one. What a great idea! Did I just miss this or is this a new thing? Thanks for sharing.

@Dawn Anastasi

@Eric D.

@Brian Burke (His link won't work)

@J Scott

@Brandon Turner

@Marcia Maynard (Hers won't either)

@Jon Holdman

@Account Closed wrote a book called The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down. 

House hacking may be a viable option for you as well. I am completely unfamiliar with Brooklyn, so I don't know what sort of multi-family properties are available there. Any property with 4 or fewer units will qualify for an FHA loan, which can be secured for as little as 3.5% down. Do you have any family that can help you out? The IRS allows a tax-free gift of up to $14,000 per year.

You said you have your license, do you have access to the MLS? Do you have auto-alerts for when properties come on the market?

Living in one unit while renting the others out might allow you to pay the entire mortgage with rent, allowing you to save more money for your next property. Good luck!

@Nnabuenyi Anigbogu, congratulations on the new property AND having an attorney to help you get through the legalities of all this. And you found BP, which will help you the rest of the way.

I always recommend everyone read anything @Eric D. has ever written. He is a fair but tough landlord, and has taken a horrible complex and turned it around to a wonderful one, simply by putting rules in place and enforcing those rules.

I like @Seth Nadreau's advice to talk to them all. But first, find out how they qualified for the original leases. Decide how you want to qualify tenants, income 3x rent, credit score above 650, no pets, etc. and then apply those criteria to the current tenants. If they don't pass, I would give them notice that you are not renewing their lease. Since they are already currently living in the property, I would pay for those yourself, rather than asking them to pay for a background check to live in a place they are already living. 

If they do pass your background check, tell them you are increasing rent, effective 1-2 months out. Month to month leases in my state require 30 days notice for any change.

As for the hoarder, you have already glimpsed how he treats your property, and how he responds to your requests. Get him out as soon as you can. He will be nothing but trouble. Prepare for trouble getting him out, so you aren't blindsided when you go to take possession on the date he is to be out, and he is still there with all his stuff.

But hey, you will get to learn how to do an eviction! 

Good luck! Keep us posted.

@Spenser Harding what is your initial screening parameters? Let everyone know you will be checking their background. That can deter some of the less-qualified people. Let them know you have a 3x rent salary requirement. Let them know there is a background check fee. Let them know everything upfront. Your pool of potential renters will shrink dramatically once you tell them everything up front. Also tell them they need first, last and security deposit. Whatever you are going to ask for, make sure they know this before they arrive. 

If you are getting an enormous response, you can be picky. What a great 'problem' to have. Good luck!

What is that market like? My market is smokin' hot, so this would most likely not appeal to the majority of sellers. There are the rare few who care more about the property than the money, and would rather it go to someone who will take care of it. A friend just won a vicious bidding war because she wrote the sellers a note telling of her pregnancy and her desire and difficulty in finding a home to raise their baby. The sellers ended up negotiating only with her.

So building a rapport with this person can't hurt, and may help. 

Welcome @Bob Vollmer! You have come to the right spot. Read the blog, listen to the podcasts, and poke around the forums.

I'm just down the road in Longmont, although our market is smokin' hot right now. I am starting to look at the Loveland market, and possibly going up to the Cheyenne market. Would love to connect.