All Forum Posts by: Ned J.

It baffles me when people get so close to graduating and then drop out..... you have been running a  marathon and you want to stop running at the last mile? Not smart..... you are caught up in the moment and not thinking long term. Finish your school, whether you change majors or not. Don't set a precedent of quitting before you finish commitments.

I am a firm believer that you don't have to go to college to be successful. There are plenty of ways to learn, grow and thrive in life without going to college to do it. Sometimes learning in the real world and by getting your hands dirty in the trenches with mentors is way better than stuff you learn in a classrrom.....no doubt.....But you are so close to achieving something that you have been working hard to achieve...why quit now? If you still had a couple of years to go, then sure...but 3 semesters?...my advice is to finish.

You wont regret finishing, but you may very well regret not finishing

@Rich N.....interesting.....none of this applies in CA....at least to the best of my knowledge....hope I'm not missing something....

So you have to set up a separate bank account for each security deposit....what a PITA.....especially when the interest rate at like 1% on typical account, and depending on your property/rent etc average deposits are going to be 1-2k...

No plans for long term property management......it eats a very large % of the cash flow.

I would if there is ANY concern that their fears are reasonable. Cheaper and easier than dealing with a post break in drama or vacancy. I t doesn't guarantee that they wont be broken into, but it makes it more likely the thief will choose an easier target

And buying and installing them doesn't cost much more than dealing with a broken door and door jamb from someone kicking the door in

On a kind of side note......would you as an investor want to live right next door to your tenant occupied investment? As a tenant....would you want to live right next door to your landlord?

My answer on both would be.....HELL NO. As a landlord I want to be aware of what's going on at my property but not having it staring me in the face every day....if you ever have a conflict with the tenant, it would be weird and awkward to be right next door. And if they are good tenants I can see you becoming a little to neighborly to run it as a business. As a tenant I don't want my landlord right next door....I want a little more privacy than that...

If you can buy it I would tear it down and just add to my property size.....or flip it and let someone else own it long term.

Normally I would say HELL NO to paying the tenant for repairs/appliances they buy without my authorization..... all it does it set up them doing it over and over and expecting me to pay....very bad idea.

In this case the whole septic issue is a disaster and they seem to be pretty flexible and understanding about it...... so I may chose not to rock the boat. What they are enduring with the septic issue is pretty bad, so I may just cut them some slack and bend my rule. BUT I would make it 1000% clear that this will not be tolerated again....this is a one time "get out jail free" card.....don't do it ever again.  And if they want you to pay for the refrigerator, then it now belongs to you and it stays with the unit.....and get that in writing.

If they weren't dealing with the huge and degusting issue with the septic, I would 100% agree with sticking to the rule of NEVER pay for unauthorized repairs/items the owner buys and then want to be paid back for..... EVER....

Why does the security deposit have to be placed in a separate interest bearing account? As long as you have the cash available to refund the security deposit why the hell do you have to keep it in a  separate account that bears interest? You don't give the extra interest to the tenant...so I don't get the rationale....

Find me a business that makes good money and never runs into a sh*t storm every now and then, and I'll start doing that instead of REI. We would all love have the perfect investments where everything goes perfect all the time and we always make $$ every single month....making $$ is hard work for most of us

It can be hard work sometimes and a huge PITA....we ALL get kicked in the nuts from time to time but in the long run it works out for the best if you stick to the numbers on a long term basis....if the long term numbers don't work, then its time to dump that property and move to another.

I can sympathize with you but on a much smaller scale....only own 3 units...... 2 move out at same time, one needs major bathroom remodels at about 7k....rent is kind of flat so don't think I can increase much for the next tenant and property values have not increased much so selling is not great either.... the other needs new floor and paint and misc to about 5k, but I can increase the rent about $250-300/month and its value is almost double of what I bought it at.....

It will get better....

I'm relatively new at this so other more experienced people may chime in with some other insight but...from what I have learned a HELOC is usually best used as a quick "buy like cash" approach.... its not usually used as a long term finance tool for a buy and hold type property. The HELOC allows you to buy quick when you find a deal, then get it rented out for some time and do "traditional" financing once you convince the bank its "seasoned" with cash flow etc. Or you used it to flip or BRRR where you are only going to be having a balance on the account until the property sells.

Using a HELOC for long term buy and hold seems like a bad and risky plan...variable interest rate..... if the market crashes your primary residence is tied to the rental property, so you could lose both etc.

That's my understanding of the "best" ways to utilize a HELOC

I would contact the seller and point out the issue....as well as the inspector........and sternly request to be reimbursed...more so from the inspector, since I think more liability falls on them.....the inspectors I have worked with kick on the heat and a/c for 10-20 minutes and actually see how they work to cool/heat the house......be stern but polite and respectful. You may get lucky and have them pay for the fix..... worth a shot. I know its not much $$ but I don't let people off the hook that easy just because its not really that much $$

But I wouldn't go past that....if they refuse, let it go, pay the cost and move on....hope that you don't find anything else

I would never buy from a flipper...... a large % are all working just off profit margin... their desire to do good quality of work is usually very low.....good quality work costs $$ and that eat profits. They want to make is nice and shiny, but often what lurks below the surface is crap