All Forum Posts by: Paul Leason

Hindsight is a wonderful thing!  If you had known that back then you should have quit college and thrown that $115k into good use and bought some RE!!😂 

As it happens, we don't have that luxury so you have to plan for the long term REI. Buy now and hold and benefit from in in 10, 20, 30 years time. RE will go up and down but over time it will always trend upwards. Look at a 50 or 100 yr trend.

Get a good job in whatever field that $115k bought you and save hard to get your first property.  House hacking is a great start and have someone pay for your first home.  Or buy a duplex like @Nathan Broekhuizen   

My start in RE was buying a 5 bed SFH and renting it to work colleagues and college friends. Never paid a mortgage out of my own pocket!

Thanks for the mention @Jason Carter  

@Scott Passman lots of great advice up above and I have to also agree with @Jacqueline Coombs that wholesalers have not provided with me any great properties for a LONG while. Seems like they have got too greedy here and then network with other wholesalers to sell their deals.  I’ve had the same house come to me through 2 different wholesalers and one was $5k more expensive than the other.  They are just marking it up and there’s no skin left on the bone for the investors.  And with a wholesaler you are not being represented, so they will sell you a property.  Being out of state would be difficult unless you have someone here to vet the property. I think @Mark Krier would also agree with me on that.  Hook up with one of the Investor/Realtors here and let them guide you to a good property.  @Mark Krier @Jim D. are both good choices.  Best to list down some questions, give us a call and interview us. See who you like and feel most comfortable with and proceed.  If you have the opportunity, come up to GR and do a tour.  As @Mark Krier stated, neighborhoods here can change block to block so its hard to define n’hoods to buy in and those to stay away from. 

Lastly be confident of your numbers. 1% is doable here with PM.  Not a lot higher.  If that is not going to work then you’ll struggle to find the house that meets your needs.  GR is now a long term buy/hold imo.  We got lucky back a few years when 1.5% was the norm!  

PM: do the same interview process l.  We can suggest 3 PMs, then call them and see who you like the best. 

How did they contest it though? Through you or through small claims?

Well it’s up to them to contest it now as they don’t owe you any money.  

If they contest, I would suggest I suggest getting an attorney at that point. 

Do you live in Grand Rapids? if so, I highly suggest joining the RPOA.  The team there are able to answer these questions all day long.  Well worth the low membership fee.  

It seems tenant 1 is asking tenant 2 for the difference in the security deposit that held back.  Did you return a partial security deposit or none at all? Did the damages result to more than what the security deposit was?

 If you took from the security deposit what was owed then there would be no need for you to go to small claims court. If they are more than he would either need to go to small claims court or filed for a money judgment.  

I’m sure if it went to court the judge would ask who was on the lease and not ehocthe security deposit belonged to. 

Disclaimer: I’m not an attorney!   

If you are confident about supporting with evidence and you issued the Notice of Damages within 30 days (very important) after they moved out, you should be ok. 

Did you send an NoD with the Sec Dep return? 

Per the NoD, they have 7 days to contest it and then it’s up to them to pursue it further, so for you, sit and wait, I think.  

@Alan E. Here’s the link to the tax estimator for Grand Rapids. https://www.grandrapidsmi.gov/Government/Departments/Office-of-the-City-Treasurer/Property-Tax-Estimator At $177,000 purchase, taxable value is 1/2 = $88,500 PRE = 0% (non homestead) Taxes are $4688

How are you getting a loan at 3.5% down on an Investment property.  You have rents of $1900 so can only assume you’re not going to owner occupy 1 side. Typically 25% down for a MF Investment Property.  

$2500 in purchase closing costs looks shy by about $2k.  Typical closing costs with a mortgage are going to be around $4500

Doubt you’ll be able to get 5.0% on an Investment Property these days

Management typically 10%

Your property taxes look low. You are only accounting for $2144.  At $177k they will be more than that, especially 0% homestead.  Google GR property tax estimator. 

Insurance: you have $50/mo = $600/yr.  please let me know who you’re using!

Hi Ashley! Lots to cover there! Flipping, improving communities and property management. Getting involved in the local community is a good start and then deciding in how you would like to help and how your skills would benefit others. I enjoying flipping and turning ugly into pretty, but it takes skill to define the right property, so it doesn't end up a hobby that costs you money! There's are several REI events around GR you can attend and learn more. Otherwise let's grab a coffee and talk through what you would like to achieve and see if we can create a plan for that.

Just like they say above, this is where I go to aswell.  There are pages and data within these sites though that are not always easily accessed.  I was surprised when I taught some tricks to some seasoned investors/realtors!  Look me up if you’d like me to walk you through the main pages and I can send you the links that I use.