All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Great information!
Andy, you'll just have to weigh and decide. When a tenant rents a SF, they do seem to be a little more responsible. Tenants in an apartment see as such, I just live in an apartment, who cares.

That said, I've got almost ten multi-units. When you have a vacancy, you're only loosing a partial rent. It's sometimes like spreading yourself on ice so you don't fall through. On my SFs, when I go without a tenant for a month, I'm covering that entire mortgage.

The good part, since you are thinking of buying either a dup or tri, when it comes time to sell, it's easier to sell to an owner occ. Which means the future buyer might even be able to get a deal as a first time home buyer... Which can make it much easier to sell when that time comes. Always think about your exit strat when you're buying, you may plan to hold the property for 10 plus years, but always consider the way out.

Nathan, it all depends on the state laws where the unit is, if the law requires it, I doubt the 10 year battery will be allowed. When you find out, I would be very interested in this.

You know that's a good point. I change the batts once a year on all the units I manage myself. I know they don't go dead in a year, unless they cook like me...
I've noticed many missing, the tenant usually says that it was beeping. I think you're right, they must have a gadget that uses the 9v.

I wish I could have made, but I missed the whole thing.
I was out of town taking care of some stuff.

PS: That's another bad thing with owning out of state, sometimes you might need to travel. Even though I use property managers in most places, they can have some really high estimates for repairs. Since I do all my own rehabs, it kills me to pay someone something I know I could do for a 3rd of the cost.

Great information!
I've seen people run into that type of suit in California.

Another issue I've seen; If your tenants smoke a lot and they do it in the unit, it will limit the life on the detector. I picked up a can of smoke detector spray, it just sets the thing off like smoke would. And I had detectors that I had changed 3-4 years back, they all failed to go off.
I've since made the building non-smoking. Hind site, it does upset the smokers...

Linda, I do understand. I actually moved from Long Beach to Cheyenne just for real estate. Buy and holds are good there, but you have to hold. I've got one in Victorville, which I might have to dump if things don't start looking up.

When the economy turned, it was just a good indicator, this way I knew if people were leaving the city or were they moving in.
Just a very small piece of the puzzle, but it has sure helped me avoid certain areas at certain times.

I've invested in 9 states so far.
When I find a deal in an area, I find out why someone would want to live there.
Here's one tip: Locate larger cities around the city with your subject property. Let's say Memphis TN, I would use Jackson MS, Little Rock AR, Lexington KY, Nashville TN, and maybe Birmingham AB. Once you have this list, call the 800 # for U-Haul and only ask about one location at a time.
Let's say, how much for a 10 foot truck from Jackson MS to Memphis, write down the amount and say thank you and hang up. Hit redial and do it with the rest of your city groups.
Now reverse the process, example; Call again, ask how much for the same 10 foot truck from Memphis to Jackson MS and write all the amounts down.
If it costs more to go from somewhere to Memphis, it means that people are moving into your subject city, which can mean you will have a better rental/buyer market. It also probably means that U-Haul is having to pay someone to get there and bring the trucks back. This is why it cost more going one way than the other.
Also check with the city planning department and the COC, these guys will know what companies are moving in and how many employees they'll need. This can also be an indicator that you will probably have a strong rental/buyer market in that area for the 3-5 years. It also depends on which companies are moving in and how many employees they are projecting.
Hope this helps.

PS: U-Haul makes most of their money by selling these type reports. It started with renting trucks, but the owner that died some 25 years ago found out he was sitting on a wealth of information that people would pay for. That's why U-Haul is usually cheaper. The reports are not sold under the U-Haul name, and I can't remember the company name that they're sold under. I do know that the cheapest report they sell is over $2000. The 800 # trick is a lot cheaper! And you're only interested in the one cities attrition.
If you plan to perform a search for an entire state, you might consider buying one of their reports. They may be cheaper now, I haven't checked since the late 90's. My trick has worked good for me for over 12 years.

This may not help, but, I've actually used a home warranty as my property manager. If they have a problem, I call the warranty company and pay the deductible, give them the tenants name and number and forget about it.
Of course, when it comes time to market and re-rent the property, you'll have to get involved until it's rented again.
I hope I'm not too far off base with my comment.

I have a liability statement that allows me to use one of my tenants as a handyman. It's only allowed for the plex he is in and he's pretty good at general maintenance. We work out an amount to be credited for each job and he gets the credit off the next months rent.
Last summer I had him paint the entire outside of the building, he didn't pay rent for almost 6 months.