All Forum Posts by: Paul Smith

I would look into your local Credit Union.  I believe that you can get much better customer service than you will at any large bank.    Customer service, low or no fees.  Most of them will have an app that goes along with their services.

I would sell the condo.  I don't like to have properties that have a negative cash flow.  The condo could go more into a negative situation if any of the fees for the condo go up.  You could go from a negative $75 to a negative $150 with a tenant locked into place.  If you are already negative, if any repairs came up on that condo as well, you would be in a pickle.

 This could affect the way you want to house hack.   Having a shortage of funds can make some people change what their original goals were.   Since it sounds like your just starting out (my assumption), I would not want any negative cashflow sitting out there.

I don't think that you will get the entire cost of the fridge back.  If the tenant does take you to court you will most likely lose that battle.  You could try and get the numbers on what a moderately priced fridge would cost to replace those parts and use that as a basis and maybe lower the numbers.  If a judge sees you've made an attempt at making yourself whole, without trying to charge them for something new, you may win out.

As for putting in an expensive fridge, guess there may have been a lesson learned.  Find a good local appliance store, and find a brand that has a stable fridge that they make and don't change constantly.  See what kind of discounts you can get from that store if you buy only from them in the future.  We have found out that when changing out shelves, drawers and gaskets, its just a little more expensive to just put a new fridge in.   We always choose the new fridge and sell the old one for a hundred or so on Craigslist.

Is this a basement wall or above ground?  What is the building material?

I normally don't go around advertising that I own and work with Realestate to most people.  If the topic comes up and they are interested in investing or learning more about being a landlord then a little more information may come out.   But I don't always tend to tell them the number of investments that I own.

When the conversation does head that way the same things always come up.  "I have always wanted to do that". (flip houses)

" you must have a lot of money"

"aren't tenants just a headache"

The people I do converse with are the contractors, real estate agents and other investors. 

I do enjoy listening to those who have properties and what they are thinking, but unless someone new has a real question or can add value to the conversation, I guess I steer clear.  

I have seen people advertising to sell their home for bitcoin.  Not sure if they are selling it for the current price of bitcoin or what it will be in 3 hours from now.  I am not a fan of buying or selling investments on a futures type market currency.  

People who are mortgaging their houses to buy bitcoins are playing a dangerous game, or just like making payments on their house.  It like a reverse mortgage and putting all the money into the lottery or slots.  

If you know someone mortgaging their house on bitcoin, make them an offer for their house, they may need it in the future.

Divorce seems to almost always destroy a credit score.  I am not really sure that I would count her child support into calculations for her income.  Thats a third party that she doesn't have control over.  If he loses his job that support may vanish.

Its important to have that conversation with the previous landlord.  Was she always on time with rent?  Does she have a lot of other monthly payments that she is making?     

I am personally not a fan of the shorter contracts.  If she finically goes south in month 3 of a 6 month contract you will still have to evict.  If she leaves after the 6 months is over you will have to start this process all over and incur the loss of income.  So I am always a fan of 12 month lease.

We use a company called Tenant Data that gives us a lot of good information.  It shows if they have any revolving debts, installment accounts, credit scores, collections, delinquent accounts and much more.  I also like that it shows the previous places that they have lived in the past.   Some people aren't forthcoming about where they really may have lived and give you false information on the application.  Many counties and cities also have access to other public records that may be helpful.  Guessing access varies to that depending on where you live.  Don't be afraid to call the previous places they have lived for references.  Make sure who you are calling is actually the owner or manager of the properties.  Good luck with your future properties.