All Forum Posts by: Colin Reid

Totally agree with this, though my pet fee is non-refundable, collected up front. I think of it as paying rent for your pet. I'll still use the security deposit if the pet causes significant damage, but it hasn't been an issue for me.

@Susie Evans nailed it!

Why does his wife care that she can smell it? Are they moving back in?

I also don't really believe it. I'm very allergic to cats, and the sellers of my last home owned a cat. They lived there for 6 years, and had the carpet professionally cleaned and stretched right before I bought it. I never smelled cat, didn't sneeze any more than normal (I'm also allergic to New Mexico, and allergy meds barely take the edge off). I didn't sense any cat in there after one cleaning. This person isn't either. They're reacting to expensive carpet replacement.

@Mary Jay, you sound like a great candidate for a property manager. I say that because I'm the same way. I know that I'm not good at being the "bad guy," confronting people about their obligations, demanding payment, kicking people out, etc. I know me, and I'd be the guy that falls for the sick dog, lost job, flat tire, dead gerbil, and alien abduction story every time. I'm not good at that part. So I pay other people to do that dirty work for me. 

It sounds like you're similar, and there's nothing wrong with that. Just recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, and work with people that complement those.

Welcome! 

I always recommend the book, "Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller. It's a good introduction to most of the forms of real estate investing, and get help you figure out what you want to do, i.e. buy and hold, flipping, wholesaling, etc.

Good luck!

Good luck! Where is it in Tampa? Keep us posted!

 I found my current job by talking about leaving my last one (not always recommended), and in my new job I've found several potential partners by talking about real estate. It's been quite beneficial to me.

 This is a benefit of living in your property first that I hadn't noticed before. Rents (usually) rise more than mortgages. On a fixed rate mortgage, your Principle and Interest portion never changes, so only taxes and insurance should climb over time. So if rent vs mortgage is a wash in your area, live there for a few years until the rent climbs enough to make sense.

Buy a place that you can live in while you rehab it. Owner-occupied financing usually has more favorable terms, including lower down payment. Live there for a year or two, maybe with roommates, then rent it out. The insurance is almost always part of your mortgage payment, so that's accounted for. Utillities you have to pay anywhere, whether they're baked into the rent or separate, and when you rent it out the tenant takes on those bills as well. For rehab, if you can stand living there pre-rehab, and during rehab, assuming you're doing the work, you can spread those costs out for as long as you want.

Obviously, you still have to buy right. It's gotta cashflow when you rent it out, so you have to be thinking about that going in. 

I also work overseas, though my communication is usually pretty good. I might go a day or two without internet, but it's pretty rare. My contact with my PMs is pretty infrequent, except when something goes very wrong. I've had HVAC fail on move-in day, a furnace go bad on the first cold day of the year, things like that. Those are rather urgent. Other than that, I get my statements once a month, and they handle the minor stuff without even asking. Maybe have a trusted partner in the US that you can authorize to make those big, time-critical decision if you can't be reached.

 Nice! What are you gonna build? I've been eyeing RV-9A's for a while, but I'm gonna buy rather than build.