All Forum Posts by: Carol Venolia

I've been buying 1960s mobiles (for cash), rehabbing them, and renting them out. I think that's where the money is. Their book value is low, but their value as a rental is high. Of course, the park has to allow you to sublease, which is often not the case.

If you choose to move the house away, make sure the local jurisdiction allows for that. The county where I invest won't even allow transportation of mobile homes older than 15 years to a site within the county.

Good luck!

Thank you all for these great ideas! I gave my first new tenants a houseplant, and they left it outside and let it die. That taught me to be more aware of what tenants actually like before giving them a move-in gift!

 Thanks for explaining, James!

Hi Scott,

Sounds good, but... what is "house-hacking"?

Thanks!

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing some basics of your cost breakdown? Are these units in a park, or on land? If in a park, what rent are you charging and what's the space rent? I'm feeling like I'm doing well if I clear $300/month/unit here in CA.

Ah, but I see you're investing in RVs! Are those long-term, or is your income an average based on constant turnover?

Thanks!

Good tip! I have one that saves me a lot of time. When a prospective tenant first contacts me, I email them a doc that outlines what I'm looking for in a tenant (minimum income, etc). That weeds out lots of folks, and leaves me showing the place to people who are fairly likely to be qualified.

Also, I start showing a place when I still have some minor stuff to do (put up blinds, final cleaning). If someone doesn't show up for their appointment, I haven't lost anything.

Consumer reviews have scared me off Home Depot cabinets, but I've been delighted with IKEA so far.

Have you looked into Consumer Cellular? They've got inexpensive plans with no contracts.

Zillow estimates aren't known for their accuracy, and I'd be curious about why the seller is pushing the sale so hard.

You can use Zillow and other real estate sites to look for comps yourself. Just look for recent sales in that area.

Good luck!

Hi Leo,

You're entering an E-ticket ride! Your first question is easy to answer: Any government lien seems to stick, so you need to research whether those exist. I look for that info at the County Recorder's office.

Your due diligence question... There's a lot to look for, and you'll want to come up with a system for doing so. I could write a book. But fortunately, there's a DVD. You may want to check it out at www.larryweingarten.com/store; scroll down to the Tax Deed Deals video, and have a blast!

The tricky part that it took me a few auctions to catch on to is timing your due diligence. If you research properties after an auction is announced, you'll find that most of them have been withdrawn by the time the auction takes place. It's great to wait until the auction begins (if it's a multi-day auction, like most on **********), but then you have a lot of work to do in a short time--and many auctions last 4 days spanning a weekend, which makes it tough to use government or business resources. So you gotta play that line carefully.

Happy to answer other specific questions! Best of luck!