All Forum Posts by: Paul Honen

Anyone have any recommendations for good handymen in Chattanooga, TN? My current one keeps rescheduling and its come to the point where I need someone to fix some issues for a tenet ASAP.

Hey @David McLean. I'm looking for things to BRRRR for the most part, but just looking on the market it seems easier to find rentals that meet the 1% rule in Rossville. I have heard about incurring state tax on those properties, but haven't looked into it too in-depth yet.

Thanks for the info!

I'm probably overthinking this, but have any of my local Chattanooga, TN investors invested in the Rossville, GA area? 

Are there any pros and cons to doing that over buying in Chattanooga or any things to look out for?

@Shawn Burns cozy.co or a pay app are my go to's so far. 

No checking account does make it that more difficult. Certified check by mail seems to be the way to go. Cash by mail might be fine, but that feels wrong to me. Not sure why.

Good Luck!

@Christopher Krueger 

What a pain. I'll reiterate as @Brendan Lawrence said Cozy.co is great. It requires you to have an email for your tenants to send the sign up link to, but they can put their phone numbers on the site and you should be able to see it.

If you don't have the previous lease you are missing some vital information. Like when the lease ends, and what have those tenants agreed too. I would do everything I could to get those ASAP. Hopefully their contact info is included with those leases, otherwise, you are just going to have to ask them the for their information.

Good Luck!

@Moni Valles Security Deposit is all about how the unit is left. Normal wear and tear is fine, but anything more (including cleanliness, paint, holes in wall) than that could keep you from getting your deposit. 

Your lease went month-to-month after your first year, which is a common thing that happens. 

Like @Andrew B. said I think billing late fees since you moved in wouldn't stand up in court.

Good Luck!

@Mark S. I think most of the comments before me seem like good advise on the real estate side. The only thing I can offer is that it seems you need to figure out your budget. 

All the things that are necessities (medical, food. etc.) can be found out way before 2022, and you will know exactly how much you will need to live if you were to lose your job. Once you know that you can invest accordingly.

Good luck!

I doubt it has anything to do with you. 

I like to assume the best in people, while also realizing most people will put themselves first when they need to. Realtor might just be having life issues. 

Time to start shopping around for a new one!

@Sher J. We used the Biggerpockets lease package for our state. They say that it has been created/reviewed by lawyers. It was fairly good. There are a few changes I think I'll make for my next signing, but it is a great starting point.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $319,000
Cash invested: $17,000

Triplex bought via House hacking

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Just wanted to get feet wet in real estate investing. Also fairly low barrier to entry

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS and through an agent.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Raised Rent, had to get some plumbing done and will have to renovate one of the units when some of the tenants move.

What was the outcome?

Getting my Mortgage mostly paid (have to pay around 41$ out of pocket)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

So far, learning how to handle tenants and handymen.

The previous owners really didn't put lots of care into doing things the correct way as far as repairs go.
Inherited some tenants that might be trouble, too early to tell.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Worked with Sean Smith as our Realtor. Really helpful and a great contact for beginners.