All Forum Posts by: Nathan Gesner

Look in a different area. Consider a completely different state that provides far better cash-flow and is Landlord-friendly.

I recommend a checking and savings account. 

Checking: rent goes in, bills go out. pay your mortgage, repairs, insurance, taxes, etc.

Savings: hold security deposits so you don't accidentally spend them. When your checking account gets a surplus, transfer those funds to savings so you can save up for your next purchase.

I don't have any personal experience with property managers in Memphis but CrestCore holds the highest qualification from National Association of Residential Property Managers. that's a good place to start.

Have you looked for a real estate investor group in your area? Try to find other investors and ask them for recommendations. If that's not an option, call around to several real estate brokers and see if they can recommend someone that specializes in real estate.

I've never personally known a Landlord that was sued at all. I certainly don't know any that have lost everything.

Does it happen? Absolutely. But so do fires and I don't give much though to those, either.

The best protection from a lawsuit is to follow the law while treating everyone honestly and fairly.

Seller financing and rent-to-own (also known as lease option) almost always fails. Why? Because the buyer has poor financial discipline which is why they can't qualify through a bank.

If you have good financial discipline but just have bad credit due to unfortunate events outside of your control (e.g. medical issues) then my recommendation is to work hard to recover your credit and save up the funds necessary to purchase.

I'm using seller-financing right now to purchase six apartments but it's because the terms are more favorable to me and the seller, not because I can't qualify through a traditional lender.

What's the upside to you? If you buy it today and lease it to your friend, you could get some cash-flow for a while but eventually the friend is going to buy you out. Will you be able to sell it to him for a profit or do you have to sell it to him for $80,000? What if the friend is unable to qualify for a loan for ten years and then decides to buy it for $80,000? Are you obligated? What if the friend changes his mind and decides he doesn't want to rent it or defaults in the terms or the uncle decides he no longer wants to sell?

I see a lot of complexity and not a lot of upside. This would look better if you built in some protections:

1. Add some profit to the sales price since you're the one taking the risk;

2. Put a deadline on everything. Don't sit on the house for 10 years with an agreement that the friend can buy it at any time. I wouldn't carry it for more than three years, at which point his opportunity to buy it goes away and you can buy it through a traditional lender.

You could discuss the issues or just respond in writing to ensure there's no emotional element. Explain it just like you did to us and then wait to see if they intend to charge you for these items or if they accept your explanation.

You should be responsible for the bulb but not the time it took them to figure it out. The black mark on the fence would normally be chalked up to ordinary wear-and-tear unless it were egregious. Carpet can generally be cleaned to remove dirt and owners have to expect wear-and-tear over time so I don't know that they have a case if it's "ordinary" traffic patterns. If they choose to charge you, it should be prorated based on the percentage of area you are responsible for and based on the remaining life of the carpet. As for the paint, you should be able to show them the can or let them test it themselves to see what happens when the walls are washed.

Again, I would recommend a written explanation and then see how they respond.

This question can be answered with common sense. "Ordinary" means it occurs to most people through normal use over a normal period of time. Carpet wears down. Door knobs eventually break.

The things you list could be ordinary, given enough time, but they certainly wouldn't happen all at once in such a short period of time. Charge them. I hope you are inspecting the home because there's probably something else going on.

Yes, I ask how much my applicants make and I require them to prove it. Why do you want to hide it?

If you really don't want them to know how much you make, explain your reason why and offer to pay the entire term up front. That will alleviate their fear of your ability to pay and everyone is happy.

Put your foot down. If the tenant owned the home, would the mortgage lender send someone out to babysit the contractor? Of course not.

I give the contractor the tenant's contact information and they schedule a time to make the repair. If the tenant insists on someone being there, they can handle it just like I would handle it at my own house.