All Forum Posts by: Ralph S.

Outsourcing employment verification has been around for years. Mostly larger companies.

None of my tenants would fall into that category...LOL. I do, though. Have a couple past employers who do this, and it's a pain for the (former) employee, too. Log on, securely identify myself, answer security questions, agree to release information, review the information that will be released, get a temp id and pw, good for only a short period, and have to give that to the bank or whoever needs to verify.

Think about it, employees rent, get loans for cars and homes, apply for jobs and any other life event where someone has to verify employment dates, salaries, etc. Loading all this into an online database sure beats paying someone to respond to the endless faxes requesting information.

Imagine it'll become more and more common.

Hi Josh

Emailed two screen shots to you at webmaster@.

Ralph

Hi Josh

Problem is same as the OP, needing to log in each time. Both in IE9 and Google Chrome. I get to BP from a Favorites link, as I have for a long time, biggerpockets.com/dashboard, and now it says I have to be a member to do that.

Ralph

Hi Josh

Cleared cookies and am still getting the "you can't do that" screen after clicking my BP favorites link.

Ralph

Do you want to sell? I think sitting on a free and clear $40k net per year property is pretty good. Clearly requires a premium to get you to give that up.

If you do, certainly don't listen to anything they have to say about price. If $300k wasn't a sweet deal for them, they certainly wouldn't be there, and if the neighbors gave up $500k in listing price, there ought to be more, if not much more in there somewhere, for you.

Location, location, location. I'd say 24 acres without highway access might as well be in the boon-docks, next to worthless. On the other hand, who cares about how many acres you own, you own the access.

Perhaps your three is worth more than their twenty four......think?

Don't get bogged down with 3 versus 24, when it comes to price. You own the key to the development. That's one for you, zero for anyone else. As long as there is no other alternative, all they own is farmland.

I don't see a problem here at all. No matter what you do, you win. Well, unless you let them bamboozle you.....

While I agree with Al in spirit, there are certain realities. Right now, there is nothing but rumor about the drug thing. Nothing anyone will do without hard evidence. But, he seems to have a handle on that.
A handyman/narcotics cop/pest inspector friend. That's some landlords friend.

Congrats on taking the plunge. Now realize there are many new experiences coming your way, and they are situations that happen every day, and some handle it well, others poorly.

1st. Turn off the fear. You're in charge. It is your duplex, not theirs.

2nd. Learn, if you don't already know, the landlord tenant laws in your state/city. Abide by them, to the letter. Some of what I suggest below are ok in my area, but may not be in yours.

3rd. Your concern is for your investment, and maximizing your return on that investment. Period. You'll never rent to you, someone who looks like you, or treats your duplex as you would. That's why you have to take the lead in keeping things up.

4th. It's not personal. Don't let yourself get drawn into an argument, feel you need to explain anything, or win arguments (you'll never win a argument with a tenant). If they violate, you issue a notice. Little, if any discussion.

Take the money from the threesome now twosome, and accept the reduced rent for the remainder. Deal with the end of the lease at the end of the lease.

Schedule a thorough inspection of both units, with proper notice. Maybe even schedule a pest inspection. Let them know you and you pest inspector will be opening every door, bedroom, closet and cabinet, and inspecting for signs of insects, rat holes in walls and corners, and treating/scheduling repair if necessary. Let them know you'll be checking all windows for proper operation, the furnace for clean filters, etc. etc. Let them know as the new owner, you want to make sure the duplex is as good as it can be. You are a responsible landlord that they can count on, and you're sure they'll be just as responsible in their obligations to you.

Let the suspected drug dealer know he can't have a dog or roommate. Not confrontational, just the way it is. Not according to the lease. If you are so inclined, offer the roommate an application to apply to be added to the lease, for an increased deposit and increase in rent, of course. As far as the dog, again, for a healthy non-refundable pet deposit and increase in monthly rent, you'll consider letting them stay. You're such a freakin nice guy, aren't you? Then hand him the 3 or 5 day notice to vacate or remedy. Be nice. It's his choice, not yours. He's in the drivers seat. His choice to either live up to his agreement, pay to change the agreement, or leave. His choice. Just another day at the office for you. No big deal. You're an old hand at this. You do this all the time.
Service with a smile. And be prepared to follow through with eviction if necessary. I suggest a lawyer write the five day, and let them handle the eviction if needed.

Welcome to landlording.

Think Dale has it covered, Ron.

Your idea to hold for a year with a tenant in place is a strategy for an appreciating market, which is unlikely. Why deal with managing a rental, for a potential income of a few thousand dollars when you can flip without the management headaches for many thousands? What's your market doing, anyway? If like most, next year it will be worth less than it is today.

You mention the neighborhood has few rentals, sounds like flipping to an owner occupant is the better way.

Just my two cents.

Ralph

The difference is what you divide income by, Investment (owners equity) or Assets.

In an over-simplified example, you buy a property for $100k, put $20k down, and take a mortgage for $80k. Your balance sheet would look like:

Assets, 100k
Liabilities, $80k
Owners Equity, $20k.

You cruze through your first year and make $5k.

ROI = $5k/$20k = 25%
ROA = $5k/$100k = 5%

Again, this is a simple example.

Ralph

Underwater, resetting 5 and 7 yr ARMS originated in 2004-07 will continue to fuel the still growing foreclosure rate, not expected to peak until 2013. A new bubble is forming in the shadow inventory, which should now include homes defaulted on, that haven't been foreclosed. Sooner or later, who knows when, the rate these properties come to market will have to exceed the rate of foreclosures. It can't grow forever. By keeping these homes off the market and controlling when and where they do go on the market, they influence some control over the available supply side.
This can't continue indefinitely. Even now, the fed gov is planning ways to shed the Fannie/Freddie inventory. What happens when this is turned over, initially to large investors who then parcel it out, fueling the supply of available homes?
Today, we see declining prices, a buyers market, and our perspective is from when we were at the top of a artificial bubble and today's market sucks in comparison. In the future, when we look back at today, I think our perspective will be the same. Those days (today) will still be the good old days, before the crapola hit the fan.
Pretty gloomy. I know.
On the positive side, rental demand will continue to grow. Vacancies down, rents up. Price to Rent ratios will continue to improve. While disgruntled former owners will enter the renter population, growth in rental opportunities will be in middle class with a better class of tenant. So, if you started off in low income for the cheap price of admission, it's time to start looking at middle income blue and white collar for growth. NOO percentages are rising in middle class areas. Take advantage of it.