All Forum Posts by: Ronda R.

@Travis Lauchman I know this is long past the point but personally, I would leave the condolences in if you actually feel for the families loss. Be true to who you are. If you don't really care, then leave it out. I think the letter is well written and you sound like, yes, you would like to buy the house but if they decide to go a different route you can assist them in that journey as well.

That being said, how did it work out for you? (and thank you for sharing.)

I got a call from my property manager that the lockbox was missing from one of my properties. He looked around nothing was missing. Later that day we realized that all the copper pipes were missing. I thought at first it was one of my contractors that had been working on the house. After talking to the police and the locksmith, there has been a rash of break ins on houses with lockboxes. They cut the box off and then go somewhere else to smash it open, come back and use the key. Unfortunately none of the neighbors noticed anything and for some reason I didn't have theft on that policy. They probably got $50.00 for the copper but it cost me $1,800.00 to have it re-plummed. I am just grateful they didn't take the new stainless appliances.

Has anyone had a wall mounted, push button lockbox opened? I am wondering it that would be a safer route.

@Meghan McCallum I really enjoyed this podcast! I listened to it while I was cleaning out my shed so got a lot done but missed a few things. I am going to write down, and then add, some of the things you talked about should be in the lease. Also you mentioned Brene' Brown's book and I thought, Gee that name sounds familiar. When you said the title I realized it was on my nightstand, 1/3 of the way read. I guess I'd better get back to it.

Finally, the part about finding someone to do the things you don't like to do or aren't good at is exactly where I am at. I am looking for a good bookkeeper to get a system in place for me before I buy another property. That currently is my "One Thing!"

Best of luck to you and thank you for sharing.

@Thomas Alexander is it legal to offer housing to section 8 veterans only? It seems like you could not stipulate those requirements.

@Chris Da What kind of damage? Is it the same offenders all the time? Are you talking about the HUD Vash program or something else? I want to know because I am really considering doing this.

@Gail K. When you say one bedroom, does that include one bedroom in a multiple bedroom home?

@John Moore good point.

I just read a post by a California investor investing out of state. They said that when people found out they were from California the price always seemed to go up. I was running into the same thing. One of my contractors always told me "Don't tell anyone you don't live here! They are going to charge you more."

Solution: I got a google voice number with the area code of my investment properties. I am in California, my properties are in Ohio. My google number forwards to my cell phone and always announces itself that I have a caller calling from my google number. I can then choose to answer or let it go to voice mail.

You can also download a google voice app and then you can call out from that same google voice number. It's free. Most of you probably already know about it but I hope it helps someone.

@Chris Martin As far as the capital gains, couldn't he do a 1031 exchange? He has held more than a year. 

You could always do the German smear look with mortar smeared on top with brick peaking out. A lot of people love exposed interior brick. Depends on the color and condition though. If it is orangey, paint it. If it is appealing, work around it. If it needs repair you could smear it.

@James Wise Thank you very much!

Thanks @Ryan Arth

@Zachary Wolf Did you find one? You may want to go to a local REI meeting and ask around in person. Might be a good place to network.
@John Daley and sometimes those pain in the butt investors gain some knowledge and become great repeat customers that were worth the effort. You just have to show them where to look for the information they need.