All Forum Posts by: Neil Goradia

How much are they asking for it?

You can get a job at the county treasurers, recorders, or assessors office. Never done it myself, but that's what I would do in your shoes if you can survive off the minimal pay. It would be great to get paid to learn how to research properties and know what all can be found in the public domain. You also learn about surplus/tax sales, and other ways to get good deals. Further, you meet people every day that are either buying or selling real estate which is great for networking in your local area.

You can get a job at the county treasurers, recorders, or assessors office. Never done it myself, but that's what I would do in your shoes if you can survive off the minimal pay. It would be great to get paid to learn how to research properties and know what all can be found in the public domain. You also learn about surplus/tax sales, and other ways to get good deals. Further, you meet people every day that are either buying or selling real estate which is great for networking in your local area.

Understand that the main allure (human nature really) is always to start making $ as soon as possible, taking whatever shortcut you can take. 

Here's the problem - Would you rather trust people here on this forum who have no outside incentive, or trust "them" who ultimately are just looking for your money? I don't know how many people I've talked to that have gotten stuck with "investments" via one of these guru classes that think they have a great cash flowing property only to realize they completely overpaid for it and are now stuck with a crappy out of state property that is constantly vandalized and in a bad area. 

I agree with @Arpan Patel, go to network with people in your area and listen to their ideas. Don't buy anything and learn here on BP.

Meetup.com usually has the local REIA (real estate investment association) groups

@Corey Arnemann Sure, no problem! Vandalism is a funny thing, and can be viewed as a grey area in landlord tenant disputes. Looking forward to reading your blog post!

@Lynn McGeein I agree on the police report. However, I usually always have my tenants pay at least a portion of it. I can usually tell if they are telling the truth based on the police report, pictures of the damage, and credibility of the tenant in question.

@Jessie Huffey Thank you, I agree it may not be worth filing a claim. Not to mention my premium would possibly go up as well!

@Fred Heller, agreed. The police report is the only thing he has, which is pretty much his word against hers.

Great idea, thanks @Brad Gibson!

@Jerryll Noorden Amazing story....I can definitely relate to the same thing in regards to marketing. 

Just curious, in order to get those assignments approximately how much are you spending on mailings (Or are you mainly using your blog to drive traffic to your site)? Also, since the assignments are quite large, are you doing double closings so your seller can't see your fee? Congrats again!

I did the whole "purchase, refinance, buy next rental" strategy for a few years. It works OK as long as you don't over leverage too much in low income areas. This usually creats vandalism and vacancy causing lots of stress when mortgage payments are due and you can't find a renter. If it's a really nice area you're probably safe but remember your cash flow will drop significantly.

Regarding the LLC - this will make it tough for you to refinance because banks don't like properties that aren't in your personal name. Luckily, you don't need an LLC for tax benefits since it is a flow-through entity. You can deduct expenses and take depreciation of your rental properties on your schedule E just fine. An LLC just adds additional separation from your personal name in case you get sued.

So if you do go the refinance route, my recommendation is to keep in your personal name but get a liability insurance policy to protect in case of a lawsuit.

Although my tenant has agreed to pay for fixing window (he's one of my better tenants), he is wondering how to recover this money from the person he suspects did it. He filed a police report when it happened. Does he sue the person to recover that money or do I have to get involved since I'm property owner? My stance has been that it's tenants responsibility to try and recover amount on his own since I wasn't there when it happened. Thanks.