All Forum Posts by: Bob Collett

Spencer

Following are some items of potential interest:

Some communities here have P.O.S requirements

Some communities require annual rental permits.

Some will hold eviction hearings in downtown, and others will hold eviction hearings at the local court.

Property tax rates vary from a low of about 1.9% of valuation in Independence, to a high of almost 4% in Garfield Heights... of course services are far better in Independence.

Let me know if you have specific questions.

Hi Ryan

For a typical eviction in Cuyahoga County, first start with a 3-day notice. After the 3 day notice, your attorney will file at the appropriate time. If the reason for eviction is non-payment, you will probably win the eviction case. If your property is in the name of an LLC, you must use an attorney. If the property is in your own name, then you can represent yourself without an attorney. Either way, if you are out of town, you will need a property manager to stand in for you and state the facts in court.

Depending where your property is located will determine what court your case will be heard in.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

I agree with Jason. I have a $25,000 insurance premium on a 38 building condominium complex that manage. About 3 months ago the company sent out a letter stating that the deduct able would be increased from $10,000 per event to $20,000 per event.

We changed coverge to a competitor and increased our premium $500 per year, but reduced the deductable to $5000 per event.

Chinedu... I don't thing there is such a thing as "good and cheap" when it comes to insurance or anything else having to do with real estate investing... certainly not in the long run.

Insurance must be good, or we are buying into a "fools paradise". There is nothing I can imagine worse than paying on cheap insurance for years, only to find out at the worst possible time that they won't pay out.

So, I think more important than the insurance, is a trustworthy  agent who is an expert in writing insurance for rentals and/or flips. 

I have found that a good agent can save you some money just by tweaking the same policy! ... and not being willing to sell the "wrong" policy.

By the way... i do not consider myself an expert on insurance. I will send you a couple of people I like offline.

Have a grateful 2017

Bob

I am working with out-of-country clients who purchased LLCs containing single family residential properties a few years ago. Now that they are just coming to undetstand that there were no residential property disclosure forms, no POS inspections and no title search; they feel that they were duped by the seller... a local real estate agent. I agree.

They cannot understand why the required annual inspections now reveal violations that existed when they made the purchase and why they must now provide both in order to sell the property.

I am spending a lot of time cleaning up the mess.

Thanks John.. I am on the way... ha ha

Thanks Kevin

Robert Gilstrap... I do believe it is justified to take the fee in the same month because the manager still "manages" even if the property is vacant.

I am always trying to improve my business... and was curious how this is perceived by the owner, who always thinks we charge too much anyway.

My contract allows for a commission on a lease-up and also a monthly maintenance fee... but I noticed that the timing language  was a bit vague in my management contract... so went looking for input before I rewrite that paragraph.

By the way, I do not always bill the management fees in advance... because I base the amount on collected rents.

Thanks for your input.

I tried to work with wholesales for quit a while... never found one that was not a waste of time, or violating license law daily!

... by the way, THERE ARE NO STATE MANDATED COMISSIONS IN OHIO, ... except that without a license it is illegal to pay or receive any commissions on real estate.

Good luck

Vic. I too owned sucessfull small businesses most of my life. Now I work full time as realtor/property manager.

My suggestion is to put 100% of your efforts and energy into your small business. This will yield a far greater marginal return on your additional time than dabbling in real estate.

You are already an expert on your business. 

Good luck.