All Forum Posts by: Dick Stevens

You're making things too complicated with factoring tax deductions.  Keep it simple.  Take the gross rent and subtract the mortgage (principal and interest), taxes, insurance, any utilities you will pay, and an estimate for repairs & maintenance.  Whatever you are left with is your monthly cash flow.  Don't forget that you may have vacant months, which means all expenses are out of pocket.  I'd never invest for the potential of appreciation alone, it's a silly gamble.  You previously said you're at about a monthly break even. If that's still true, it's a bad investment property.  Also, once you start renting a property that was previously owner occupied, you are going to have to factor in capital gains tax and depreciation recapture when you sell it.  If you sell right now, you can walk away with any profits in your pocket.

Mark, have you ever rented this house before or is it a new rental for you (e.g. first time offered)?  The answer to this makes a difference in how you treat the expenses.

What is the issue?  You confirmed with him that you haven't received an invoice and he told you he will get it to you when he can.  Pay it when you get it. 

She was there for a few hours into the next day?!  Who cares!  At least she is out, which is what's most important!  Fix the place up and re-rent.  Go after her for damages if the deposit doesn't cover everything she trashed.  Don't loose focus over 1 day (or a few hours) worth of rent.  Not worth it, and you'll probably never see it anyways!

If you want to be certified de-leaded they will test the exterior as well.  If lead is found you only need lead abatement up to a certain height. It's around 4 or 5 feet.  They will also check all common areas of the interior.

First, find a new property management company.  Your current PM is incompetent and has very poor business practices.  Second, sue in small claims court to get the back rent that is due to you.  

What is his current job?  Is it another short term contract position?  Call his employer and ask.  The fact that he has an out of state fiancé that owns a house tells me he's likely not looking to stay long term.  I'm not interested in short term rentals.  It's a lot of extra work and you will have additional cleaning and repair issues when you need to re-rent due to the two dogs.  If your place has been vacant since November something is wrong.  Are you overpriced?  Bad area? Poor marketing?

If you both signed a new lease of course it's valid.  First thing is to get them out of the property!  If they are not paying rent, follow your states eviction laws (e.g. Pay or quit) and get them out of the property.  Regaining possession is #1 priority.  If the repairs are something that cannot wait because delaying them will cause damage to the building, then follow your state laws for owner entry, give proper notice of entry, and conduct the repairs.

I would not recommend a 9 unit as your first investment purchase.  Start slow and learn the buiness with a smaller property.  You will make mistakes along the way, and making them in a nine unit building could be a lot more costly and overwhelming than you bargained for.

Having a minimum credit score for a tenant in the 700s is a great idea if you want vacant units.  I agree with the rest of the people that posted; look at the whole picture.  I have some tenants that have minimum credit b/c they pay everything in cash.  They are great tenants, but credit alone wouldn't tell that story.