All Forum Posts by: Sylvia B.

A tenant of ours moved out last Friday and left a fridge in the garage, unplugged. I wasn't going to open it, but Hubby did before I could stop him. Fortunately it didn't stink too bad and just had some mold and stains inside. 

I listed it for free on Facebook Saturday, and Sunday morning two guys with a trailer showed up and hauled it off for me. They also asked if they could have some stuff that was left by the curb - old TV & broken exercise machine - and I told them to take anything they wanted. They were thrilled and I don't have to pay anyone to haul it away.

Yes. There are a lot of things worth more than money! 

Ha! I understand the feeling, and I have to say there are quite a few of my friends and acquaintances that I would avoid renting to. However, our experience has been completely positive with the friends we've rented to. My own family, not so much.

We bought a cheap fixer for my brother to live in, and the day before we closed he took off. No note, text, phone call, nothing. Either changed his phone number or just quit answering. It was not a house we wanted to keep for a rental, so we eventually fixed it up and sold it. Even made a little money, but it was a pain. But he's my brother, and I'd probably do it again.

I like most of my tenants, but that doesn't mean we'll be friends.

We invest in a town with a population of 2100, so our circumstances are a bit different from most of BP members'. We rent to friends, acquaintances, family of friends. It's hard not to in a town this size. But we do not  become friends with people we rent to.

 Glad to know I'm not the only one who calls them that!

We have never had a problem finding quality tenants for our houses, so we have never bothered to get involved with the section 8 program. Why would we want to add potential problems if we don't have to?

Hubby and I own 12 houses, and I would go crazy if I had a separate bank account for each. Well, actually, the houses are owned by 3 separate LLCs. They are managed by a 4th LLC, which owns no real estate. Those 4 are owned by what you might call the "master" LLC.

In spite of all that complication, we do just fine with 3 bank accounts. One for security deposits, one for the managing LLC, and one for the master LLC.

All payments are received by the managing LLC and deposited into one bank account. All bills are paid from that account. Reserves and funds set back for taxes and insurance are simply a matter of bookkeeping entries.

As rents are received, they go into the "operating fund". Each month a certain amount is moved from the operating fund to the "insurance fund" and another amount to the "tax fund". At the end of the month, anything above $xxx in the operating fund is moved to "reserves". 

In reality, all the funds are in one account at the bank. The money is simply designated as being in a particular fund in QuickBooks.

Every quarter, anything above $xxx in the reserves is transferred from the managing LLC bank account to the master LLC bank account. This is an actual movement of money from one account to another at the bank.

At any moment, a glance at the accounts in QB tells me how much money is set aside in the various funds and how much is available for regular monthly expenses. It is very simple to use, though rather complicated to explain!

 Nobody is forcing you to read them . . .

 I know the meaning of the word, but I'm still struggling to figure out what a tertiary market is. I'd guess non-metro areas?

Outdated but clean and functional, or outdated, broken, worn out? If the former, the consider just making it sparkling clean and give it a fresh coat of paint.

New knobs on the kitchen cabinets will often make a bigger difference than you'd think and not much expense. Shop Amazon or eBay for good prices.

Adding a second bath is likely to be more expensive than you think. Updating the existing bath will probably give you more bang for the buck.

Who are the "some people" giving you advice? Do they have experience with rental homes? If so, is it with the quality of tenants you desire? If the answer is yes, then you should probably listen to them.