All Forum Posts by: Mike Harvey

I would appreciate that.  Thanks.

I'm going to have to part ways with my talented, but unreliable handyman. Does anyone have a good handyman they would like to refer? My current properties are in Cypress so I'm looking for one that is located in that area or close enough that the drive isn't an issue.

If possible I will be there.

I have an acquaintance that tells me that even if my insurance company has a restriction on a breed of dog, that it doesn't matter because it is the tenants who are liable for their dog. This doesn't sound right to me, but insurance is what he does for a living so he should know more than I do.

Does anyone have any first hand knowledge about this?

I am updating my records in Quickbooks for my latest rental property. There are a couple items I'm not sure how to account for. Can anyone offer any advice?

- Seller paid closing costs(I got them to contribute 4000 for some repairs, but the HUD just lists it as seller paid closing costs)

- Taxes unpaid. For easy math lets say that 2000 went to my escrow account and 1500 was paid for by the seller for the period that they still owned the house. I want to have an asset account for escrow showing 2000, but how do I account for the 1500 that came from the seller?

My CPA will be reviewing everything, but it's Friday night and I'd like to get this all entered so that I can have it reviewed next week. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I went with my gut and notified the person that she didn't meet my requirements. I'm still curious if anyone else would handle it differently though.

For those that asked, my pet policy is "case by case". My first tenant had a very big dog, but I met them in person and made the call based on that. He was just a big lap dog.

I received a call from someone interested in renting one of my properties. My gut reaction is that I am not interested in renting to this person, but this is only my second property so my experience is limited. I don't want to pass up on someone that could be a good tenant because I am making too many assumptions up front. I also don't want to take her application and application fees if I'm already sure I'm going to reject her.

Here are the things that concern me:

- Willing to rent without seeing the property.

- Moving to town for a new job.

- Will be living with her fiance that doesn't have a job yet

- Works as a dog bahavior specialist, which means she would have strange dogs coming and going. This was the big red flag for me.

Given these things I would reject her application for the slightest issue with her credit or background. I'm leaning towards "no way!" Thoughts?

That would be great. Thank you.

Right now my goal is to do a deal in January. A great deal might move that up a bit.

I'm getting started with buy/hold investing in the Houston area. So far I have purchased 2 SFR's. The cash flow is decent, but as far as "buying right" I did what all rookies do and bought pretty close to market value. I'd like to put together a better deal next time.

I think that buy/rehab/hold is a good strategy for me based on my goals and skill set. I'd really like to purchase from a wholesaler, do the rehab, then hold the property as a rental. I'd buy and rehab using my own cash and then finance the property after the project has been completed.

I've read some great success stories from people using this strategy, but I am in one of the hotter markets in the country and am curious as to what I can expect to find here. Has anyone rehabbed a wholesale property lately that would mind sharing their numbers?

This would be my ideal property:

Single story 3-2-2 with an ARV of 100-110K in one of the west suburbs like Cypress, Katy, Jersey City, etc.

Any info or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.