All Forum Posts by: Robert Leonard

@Tim B. this is currently your tenant's problem more than anybody else's. They are the one who has to deal with the fallen tree. Are they willing to relay a message to the neighbor on your behalf to help get the tree removed? I would ask the tenant to relay those same messages I mentioned to the neighbor.

You could even email it to the tenant and ask them to give the message to the neighbor. Ask the tenant to ask the neighbor to call or email their response back to you and you then create a written record of the events. I would file that away in case the neighbor claims you stole his firewood.

Hi @Nichole Cardillo where in LA is your client? Lafayette is my home market, but I'm also investing in several other cities. Let me know if I can help?

Robert

@Tim B.

I think you just came up with your easy approach for the neighbor. "Would you like the wood for firewood?" If he says yes, "well just make sure you have somebody insured come to cut it and you can have it."

If he says no, then let him know you have a quote to cut and remove it and "it's going to cost $XXXX, can you offer anything to help with that cost?" He doesn't owe you anything, but it won't hurt to ask. You have nothing to lose by asking.

@James Marks Only options are to find another agent or get your own license if you don't agree with what or how fast the agent you are working with is providing. Agents get comps from the MLS, the same place that appraisers get them. The only exception is if you find private sales that happen "off market" (not through listings). You can find those at the tax assessor's website (or county records office) depending on how fast yours updates "most recent sales" information.

Other than digging through those other sources, SOLD comps from the MLS are the best information for values on SFR properties.

@Ana Cherm you haven't said why you want to sell your rental. Is it no longer generating positive cash flow with the HELOC? Sounds like you already took out your equity with that? The HELOC does not affect your expired capital gains tax exemption that existed if you lived in the property for 2 out of the last five years.

You could 1031 exchange the property for another one to defer paying the capital gain until later. Capital gains taxes are pretty low IMO and unless you have a really large gain, I think they are only likely to increase from where they are now.

NOTE: I'm just talking ideas and strategies to consider - no tax or financial advice given. :-)

@Jeremy Gervasini

@Jeremy Gervasini

@Jeremy Gervasini

@Jeremy Gervasini

@Jacek Czaplicki Hence the name "bandit" signs. I can't help but laugh (not at you) when people who know they are illegal whine about people taking down their bandit signs. I even read one comment of how "unprofessional" another person was for putting up a bandit sign in front of their bandit sign. Too funny.

J Scott makes lots of good forms available for the price of your name and email address at his web site 123flip.com . I am not affiliated with him or his site. I just like the information that he shares for free and he is pretty well-respected here on BP.

Welcome to BP @Clark Johnson!

If you haven't already, you should join The RING. It is the Baton Rouge REIA you can find on meetup.com. They have a very active group of investors that meets on the second Tuesday of every month. I'm a buy/hold investor and I'm looking to start investing in the BR market as soon as I find the right deal. My son is a Freshman at LSU and I may buy the condo that he is currently renting. I look forward to seeing you around BP and meeting you at one of the meetings. See you soon,

Robert

How long has the LP (limited partnership?) owned the properties? Have they filed a tax return since owning them? That's what any lender is going to look at besides any income statements you or an accountant creates. The bank statements will tell a story all by themselves if your cash flow is going into a bank.

You need to come up with a system that allows you to compensate for the PMs lack of administrative skill. Maybe a 15 day report or an envelop batch of receipts to go to whoever keeps your books to keep track of receipts? Are you in the same town? You have to make the process easy to follow and establish a habit of submitting expenses to whoever keeps the books to get a good accounting of expenses. Times like now when you need to borrow or at tax time can be a pain if you don't have good records.

This is a commercial type of loan that you will need and you will not likely find 30 year fixed. You are much more likely to find 20 year amortization, with a 5 year balloon. Think of it as 5 year adjustable rate loan. The banks don't want to be locked in at today's low rates any longer than 5 years when there's a pretty high probability that rates will be a good bit higher 5 years from now.

@Brian Hosier if you would like a little advice from a real pro, check out Ken McElroy at:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/01/09/bp-podcast-052-raising-millions-ken-mcelroy-rich-dad/

I'll save you a bit of reading and clicking through to get his "example due diligence checklist" and other forms at:

http://www.kenmcelroy.com/resources.html

All for the price of your name and email address at his website.

Hope this helps!

Robert