All Forum Posts by: Andy Luick

Welcome to Landlording....1st get a great lease as it will govern what happens when something goes south.  2nd - nothing wrong with renting to convicts or felons, some of them make the best tenants simply because of their limited options.  I just draw the line with certain types of crimes or recent trends or multiple drug or DUI offenses. 

Some places have enacted pre-rent inspections and approvals to prevent slumlords, scumbags who pretend to own something in foreclosure or abandoned just to collect rent and to get some local revenue.  You have to know the rules of your market.

I rarely hire an attorney for landlord tenant issues....just isn't worth it.  Why didn't the renter pay....this is another example of putting yourself out there as the manager and not the owner.  As a pretend manager, you always have someone to pass the buck to and can always say 'geez man, so sorry but I have someone to answer to...how can I help you get the rent paid up....maybe we can make a plan to works for the owner."  Sometimes this stuff works.  I break my own rules sometimes....I now usually file evictions by the 3rd or 4th of the month unless someone has communicated with me.  I have someone now who is 3 weeks late and hadn't communicated.  I let her go this long because she is always late but ALWAYS pays.  I sent her a message yesterday that I was filing today because I hadn't heard from her...and low and behold, she has been holding the rent waiting for me.  Truth is...she was hoping to not hear from me and use the money to travel for thanskgiving I would guess.  Second guessing people as a landlord become a habit.

So is the unit empty now or where are you with it?  Put a nice notice clause in the lease..something like this works:

NOTICE: Any notice which either party may or is required to give, shall be in writing and delivered either: (1) in person, or (2) by emailing the same or (3) by texting then mailing first class postage paid, to Resident at the premises, or to Management at address specified as "Address of Management", or at such other places as may be designated in writing by the parties from time to time. Management is authorized to act on behalf of owner with respect to this agreement, to manage the premises, and is owner's duly designated agent for service of process with respect to any matter arising under this agreement.

If we give notice, we usually tack in on the door, take a picture of it and text it to the renter, plus email it.  If I think it's going to court or it's already in court, I send it all certified or retrun receipt and take a picture of that as well to send to the renter.  I don't know your area but go learn the local magistrate system and the players.  Obvioously, get your unit inspected and approved so you avoid the same mess with the 3 other units.  I love 4-plexes so keep at it!  Luck!

As an aside, I have access to a nation lender capable of doing some pretty interesting loans.  They do 203 and Va loans but I'm getting some information on a new loan geared towards the self employed where they just look at 12 or 24 months of bank statements for the business and a low 600s credit score.  Interest rate will be higher but in this market...who cares.  I will pass the info along when I get some more on it.  I always prefer a direct lender to a broker any day.....

As to this string.....what is old is new again.  Just keep that in mind especially with wholesaling.  It isn't for everyone....same with turn-key approach....it isn't for everyone.

We all tend to make assumptions are we read these posts.  You can learn a TON for free right here at BP...you still have to sort through what is pie-in-the-sky and what's real.  There is much to learn and even most of the veterans in investing....and whether you are a homeowner or a flipper or landlord....it's all investing...most of us learn something new every day.  The thing is, a good chunk of folks here and elsewhere are tire kickers....they probably have never done a deal and probably never will, except on the home they live in.

Learn to earn for now until such time as you are coming back home. Doing anything without boots on the ground is dangerous. Unless you have a relative in that local market, I would stick to learning. Beyond that, make sure of the stability of your relationship before you both go on a deed.....that would get messy in the event of a breakup...besides, when you both return to the states.....one can use the VA loan first and the other can wait for the next deal. A 4-plex is the way to go and the 203k might be the better loan for it. I'd also look at converting one or two units to shared housing for better rents and less turn-over or lost rents on vacancy.....but that's just me! Happy Investing....and definitely happy learning!

Sometimes you have to crawl before you walk...walk before you run.  I'd suggest you get with a 203k lender in the oranges or newark area and find out what you qualify for.  Find a deal you can be all in for whatever you qualify for.  Fix it up nicely, live in it and then list it for sale with an agent who gets it done in your area.  Investors always want to save the commission and sell it themselves.....HIRE the RIGHT pro for this.  Take your profits and roll them into the next deal.  If you're married, qualify for the loan individually.....have your partner take out the next loan...again 203k.  It used to be that you could use the loan every 2-years but that may be changed now.  This little recipe is a great way to get on base and build wealth.  Stick to the formula and after a number of flips, you can not only be the envy of your friends but be living in the home of your dreams and have it about paid off.  This is the best and fastest way to build equity and tax free wealth.  It's getting harder for buyers to get loans....especially on the lower end of things.

Network with wholesalers here on BP from your area...same with investors.....I set people up with deals all the time that don't meet what I'm hunting for.  Some of us are helpful....some of us not!  Luck!

Nice - with the correction that is headed our way at some point soon....you're probably correct.  When it comes it will shave half the value in our market at least.  When it comes, don't panic....just ride it out if you can.  Happy Investing

You'll always get some great advice here.  If you have the time, shoot a decent video of the place and stage it a little bit.  If you don't have the voice for it...try to find a film/radio student to do the voice for you.  I don't rent single family anymore....totally and strictly shared housing for me now for a whole variety of reasons which you might consider if this is a 2-bedroom unit.  I'm blessed with a radio type of voice so the video work for me;

If this is your only unit, give yourself some time to rent it out yourself and save the commission.  NYC is a pretty hot rental market...always is....and people are always transitioning there so December is never slow.  Just like Atlanta.....we get tons of calls and emails every day for our program and time of year doesn't matter.

Agents are like contractors, not all are good at everything.....the one you buy with isn't necessarily the one you sell or rent with.  Everyone has their specialty and what they stink at!

Pretend to be a renter for a weekend and go check out competing units BEFORE you even list yours to see what the competion really is.  If there are any open houses in your area for condo or apartments....go check those out to.  Get ideas for accent walls and light fixtures.  Upgrade the unit with some higher end remote fans...I just got one from a japanese company for about $200 that's awesome and contemporary....looks like a plane prop.  I usually swap an outlet in the bedrooms now or kitchen for one with a built in USB charger...these run about $30.  I also like to upgrade kitchen and bath faucets.  You'd be amazed at what renters notice.  In your market, you'll have renters who really wish they could be buyers.....the closer your unit reflects something current.....the better bait you have for a better qualiity renter.  Luck!

Rumen - the initial income might have been fine but these were crappy people to begin with.  Just is what it is.  Most of us fail to realize that, in this market, anyone with a decent economic pulse OWNS they don't rent.  So renters today by definition and position are LOSERS...except for about 10% of the folks who might be new to town or a position or are transitioning for other reasons like divorce.  No decent person suddenly finds themselves jammed up and let's the dog crap on the floor or turns the walls into a punching bag.

I'm not taking shots at you....we here are all pretty much on the same team.  All landlords landlord with great risk in today's economy...and that economy will continue to slide.  People with character and upbringing don't trash a house whether it's while they are living in it, getting evicting from it or the bank is foreclosing.  Trash is trash....it's just, in this economy, many have learned to hide what they truly are.  In landlording, like most other phases of life, you find out what you are truly dealing with in a person when the proverbial turd hits the fan.  I'm involved in a property myself...upper end $400k property, great swim/tennis neighborhood...best schools.  I inheritted the tenant and her kids....she was married to an NBA star.....she hit hard times even before I got involved.  I felt bad for the kids so I made a deal where she could stay upstairs in the main house by just paying the utilities.  She had 4 kids so I honestly felt bad.  I planned to rent the basement to someone else once I finished repairs.  One day the utils get turned off because she didn't pay the bill!  But guess what?  The cable and internet were on and there was a fresh package of lamb shanks in the fridge! New clothes left all about with tags still on them.

I immediately filed the eviction.  Once I got her out...she took some of her personal stuff and left me with 4 dumpster loads of stuff.  You would absolutely cry if you saw the video we shot.  The space under each bed was full of trash, cast off food and whatever else.  The boys never learned to pee straight so it was fine to pee on the walls around the toilet to the point that the drywall blistered and had to be replaced.  They clogged one toilet and kept crapping in it until it overflowed....then just closed the door to that bathroom.  My crew has cleaned 1,000s of boogers off the wall.  Bear in mind, this isn't a hoodie house but a very nice home with people who once lived in an estate.  Sadly, these folks had no upbringing.....none and it showed.  We patched 100s of holes in the drywall.  There isn't a room in this large home that wasn't wrecked....and to top it all off, when we removed the carpet in one bedroom, we discovered that one child preferred to pee on the floor next to his bed.

Regardless of how you do it, you're eventually going to get a bad tenant....just a matter of time.  Pretty much everything we buy now is from failed landlords...and for good reason.  The quality of renters has gone way downhill....maybe not everywhere but in most places.  That's why I prefer shared housing.....I do have larger headaches but it is offset by minimal vacancies and better net rents. Oh yeah....after 6 months gone and not a dime paid....the poor tenant called me asking to come get the rest of her things!  Sad but true.

There is one site call tenantreputations.com where you can rank tenants and write up whatever issues you had with them...plus post pics.  There was another but I understand they got sued and shut it down.

In some severe cases, more so when I still rented single family houses before I started doing everything shared housing, I would post a youtube video indexing the tenant so others would be warned.  I have one tenant who calls every so often offering to settle up with me in order to remove the video...which I refuse to do.

Once you bring an attorney in, you have usually already lost.  Principles are costly or can be so you have to decide if it's worth it to you.

Definitely check your screening process as this wasn't the first time at the rodeo for this renter....they were pigs from the get-go and domestic violence had nothing to do with.  The most recent landlord reference is totally worthless....but a home visit and review of interior of vehicle they are driving is priceless.  You can always pretend to be delivering a package to the prospective renter and ask the neighbors about them....neighbors, especially inner city, love to talk smack.

If you are renting single family units....always do a move-in video....smart phones make it easy.  Pictures lie....video almost never does.  Luck!

AS read through the posts on BP - you will discover that "turnkey" means alot of different things to different folks.  Here, this "turnkey" really means wholesale and that should be what you are paying for it.  First question is....why are you buying it and at what price?

There have always been cheap deals in birmingham.....just like atlanta, memphis and other urban markets....but you better know the neighborhoods well as one block in either direction can be heaven or hell.  It doesn't look like much work was ever done with this property...new roof at some point....a ton of water and termite damage in the framing and subfloors...plus mold.  Why do you want this one?

With tree guys, call the insurance provided to make certain it is paid & in force.  Also have them add you as an additional insured.  With trees, I would go a step further and get signed waivers from anyone working on the site.  The waivers might not be effective in FL but it will deter anyone who does get hurt on the job from suing you directly.  Don't just get pictures of the completed work.....ask for a video....almost every idiot has a smart phone with video so let them send a video of the completed work.  Just makes sense to me.

I have some property interests in that area and my ex brother-in-law runs a small handyman business in sarasota if you need someone reasonable and honest.  The problem with FL is that it's expensive for licensed contractors to do business there so the only deals will be with those operating illegally.  Just is what it is......luck!