All Forum Posts by: Peter M.

Just sounds like a bad deal. Only other option would try to get a zoning variance and build bigger but thats just more money up front with no guarantee of you getting the zoning change. 

Unfortunately, what I wrote above is the extent of my knowledge of how he does it. He recently bought and built at self service laundry and I think one of the main reasons was to get away from being a landlord there. 

I don't either but I will offer to buy them  and the tenants pay extra rent until paid off (plus a mark-up for this). Once they are paid off the tenant owns them and since I make sure it is paid off before the warranty expires I don't have to pay any money to fix any problems if they arise. After that it is their problem because they own the units.

Yes I fully understand your sentiment. When I tried being a full time agent a couple investors wore me thin and didn't end up buying anything. One actually drove around on his own and walked into a house that was being renovated that happened to have the listing agent there and bought it right there without me. So I am much more conscious of wasting agents time now that I don't have MLS access. Even with wholesalers I try to run all the numbers and due any due diligence I can before going to the property to cut down on wasting mine and their time. Just a balancing act, be honest with the agent upfront and work with him/her until you buy something or they start ignoring you. Then find another one. You could always get your license to ease your conscience but is that little voice in your head worth the classes, fees, CE, and broker fees? In my case its a no so I am just judicious with which houses I see.

One thing you could try doing is contacting the listing agent and tell him/her that you will go unrepresented and they will get the whole commission. Sometimes it works or they assign you a buyers agent from their team and do a dual agency transaction. 

I don't ban hot plates but I've never had that issue. I do include a 2 page Troubleshooting guide when I do a new lease. At the end it says that if they call and it is an easy fix listed on this sheet I can charge them a trip fee for it. It has cut down on frivolous calls and recently one tenant even texted me asking for further troubleshooting ideas and it saved me a trip. 

You just have to call around to different banks and talk to them about what they offer. You could try talking to a mortgage broker as well. They will know the local laws and market better to let you know if you would even qualify in the first place.

As for marketing I don't do my own currently but I also don't do the volume you are talking about either. There is direct mail, cold calling, door knocking, internet marketing etc. Networking with agents can work as well. Just depends how much time and money you want to spend on it. There is no easy answer to your question because if there was everyone would do it. You gotta find what works for you. 

1. If you are all in at 145k and getting 2000/month in rent, without knowing a lot of other specifics that is probably a good deal unless you are in a super high tax state or insurance on triplexes is really high there. No way to know for sure without knowing other monthly expenses but $24000/$145000 is a 16.5% return. So assuming you had 4k in expenses for a year it would be $20000/145000= 13.7%. Pretty good return.

2. For lenders look for smaller local banks who lend out of their own portfolio. Fannie/Freddie qualifying loans will be the best rates. The best LTV you will get is 80% so if it appraises at 180 you'll only be able to get back 144k max so you will most likely have to leave some money in this deal unless you can do the rehab for a lot less.

3. Faster deals-do your own marketing. 

You are not going to get it back and pursuing it will waste more time and money than the $300. I would just walk away. It sounds like you broke the lease you signed with the landlord so you may actually be liable for more damages. I would contact the landlord and clarify your position with them to make sure they won't come after you once these other roommates move out. Get it in writing. 

If you are looking at the TAR lease as @John Johnson suggested it says somewhere toward the bottom that if you use it and are not a member of TAR the lease is voidable at will by the tenant. So yes it is legal but the tenant could just stop paying and you wouldn't have an enforceable contract so it would take longer to evict. Not to mention plenty of other legal issues you could run into. 

No it will be a waste of time and money. You will learn just a little about transactions but mostly the laws and how to pass the test. Best teacher is experience.