All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Good post and a simple test to see what the market looks like.

You can also look at the population trends. If a city was built to hold X people and the population falls there likely will be an oversupply of housing.

Buffalo has seen its population fall for 20 years. You have to believe that there are more houses than there is demand if the population keeps falling. Or that they are tearing down houses to keep things in balance.

Similar for other cities. Dayton OH appears to have peaked in the 1960's.

You can find the American Community Survey at the following: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/. The site is the US Census Bureau. They have all sorts of info that can tell about the direction of a community. Your tax dollars pays for the information and the site so use it. Your competition is likely taking a look.

John Corey

Assuming we are talking about an active foreclosure process...

You can contact the trustee and pay for a copy of the file. It should not cost much. The trustee file will have a full list of all the lien holders and other people of interest that have to be notified as they have some interest in the property. The file should largely be current with the full amounts owed. The trustee can add you to the list of interested parties that need to be notified when there are changes to the file.

The above came from a senior title officer and a lawyer who handles foreclosures. Each state may vary a bit and the info was in relation to another non-judicial state so check the laws in your state.

Slightly better it to pay for a preliminary title report and ask the title company to prepare to issue a binder or title policy if you take title to the property. They will tell you what they have found and if they are prepared to write a policy if you proceed with the deal.

John Corey

I believe you asked this same question in another forum on this site. I posted a reply.

Simple version here.

Legally you can sell at any time. You just have to own it before you can sell it or you are committing fraud. Owning can be for a second.

If a lender in involved they might have requirements that impact what sale price they will work from when determining the amount they will lend.

It is not a matter of law but market or business practice.

John Corey

I find it helpful that you can edit your own posts after it has been submitted. Some of the time the typos or other types of mistakes just need fixing.

On the other hand there is a limit I would say. On some systems you have 30 minutes or maybe a few days. Of the Motley Fool they do not allow you to edit as it might be legally important the the prior comments stay the way they were presented.

One system had a long term set of discussions going. Then one day a key member got pissed off and systematically deleted all of their prior posts. Folks were shocked at the holes in the past discussions. It was a rather famous event on The Well.

So, how tunable is the system being used here. Can the ability to edit after the fact be adjusted? Assuming it can is there any need for a change from the present?

Just curious. It is the software developer side of me asking.

John Corey

I would think such a list would be a jewel in any rehaber's manual.

Beachbum just posted how he used a particular flooring material when he was managing 100 units of innner city Section 8. It was long wearing, presented very well (attracted positive comments from the tenants) and easy for the tenant to maintain. I not even sure I know what the product it but I would certainly check if it was on a list and I had Section 8 rentals (likely I soon will).

The flooring material in question is cvt.

John Corey

I want to highlight some points made above.

I definitely like hearing from Beachbum as you can just hear his property management experiniece in what he says.

Many landlords do their own work and pay themselves nothing. Hence they get it into their head that service calls are free. At least until they burn out.

They also pay for things out of their own pocket and therefore are sensitive to the price paid at the point of sale. Against a short term view.

Lifetime value and the cost of unplanned maintenance has to be included in the equation.

Thinking about the tenant is critical. If the place is easy for them to maintain they will like it more. Assuming they clean. Some places have surfaces or other things that are just a pain to deal with. I have rented before and I can not wait to leave if some item is a regular annoyance. You want your tenants happy to stay.

Horses for courses. Get the wow factor but understand that certain things will not raise the rent you can achieve. It might significantly reduce the turn over of the costs associated with maintenance. Profit is income minus expenses. Economizing on the materials can reduce the profits if you end up with higher turn over, more dead time plus change over costs.

John Corey

I have see both sides of the situation and some stuff in the middle.

What I have found is a SFR that is not furnished will mean that the tenant has a big move to get in and the same to get out. They have less incentive to get pissed off and leave on short notice. They have stuff that they care about.

In one market I know the typical 1 or 2 bed condo comes completely furnished down to the towels, plates, TV, etc. Lots more items to inventory, replace, have go missing, etc. You also have to realize that none of this stuff goes up in value over time. Like buying a car, you pay and then the value goes down. The tenant moves in with a suitcase and can pretty easily move out. More like a traveler or visitor so no real attachment. If they get a small rent rise it is pretty easy to hit the road and find a new place.

I prefer unfurnished but with major appliances supplied if I care about the floors, etc. If I do not have a concern then any appliance in the unit is supplied as a gift and becomes the property of the tenant when they move in. If it breaks it was given to them for free so they can get it fixed, buy new, upgrade, etc. If they want to leave me with the unit when they leave that is fine. Stove/oven are an exception depending on how built in the unit is.

John Corey

I agree with what Beachbum is saying. If you file the claim and get a judgment then you are making a longer term investment. Normally you will be earning interest. You are already out most of the money so the incremental cost is not that high.

Many people do get their act together later in life. Not all but the younger one commonly do when they realize that a spouse, family, home, job and car all are impacted by old judgments.

I know a couple of people who buy old judgments and make it their business to work out a payment plan. They get very high returns as they are buying what are effectively notes at a discount or they JV with the judgment owner.

John Corey

Signs in the window have always worked well for me when renting SFR. Much better than many other channels.

I tend to have an outgoing message that provides a description. When renting in areas that attract the wrong type of renters I make it clear that I will be screening all applications, there is a fee and what ever else makes sense and is legal. Nothing too long but I do find that the quality goes up for those who leave a message.

I also focus on an open event where multiple people come by at the same time. Saves me the time to travel to a home when the applicant is going to be a no show. All applications are filled out on the spot so less room for folks to go home and cook up a good story.

Much of the above came from a city produced guide for landlords. They wanted to reduce crime in the city and found that better educated landlords resulted in fewer problems and police calls.

John Corey

Vacancy rates will vary by the type of property. There could be too many apartments and not enough houses for rent. There can be a shortage of 3 bed rental apartments while an oversupply of 2 bedroom apartments. In city centers there can be a shortage of studios with parking or not enough units located close to subway stations.

On the rents the same applies.

When I was managing a portfolio in a specific city I found that market rents were pretty clearly indicated by the ads in the newspaper. At just below those prices (5% to 10%) I could rent as many homes as I had available. I would want to advertise effectively the same spec property at a price that was just below most of the other ads.

Formal rent surveys can be produced for a fee. Apartment associations likely publish a regular update. Their info will be slightly less helpful to the person renting SFRs on a decent lot as they focus on the needs of their members (apartment owners).

John Corey