All Forum Posts by: Ron Rohrssen

Mike, do you have access to FilePlace under Tools? When you search in there you can find more than one move-in/out inspection report.

If you don't there are several available online. Here's a link to one at HUD: https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=90106.PDF

Wow. That's an interesting idea. While I like the idea of a free market competition, this leaves me questioning the vetting process. 

As Rentberry says in their pitch to landlords: "We strive to maximise your rental price by allowing tenants to submit custom offers and compete in the bidding process."

The article says that tenants can even overcome a bad credit score by increasing their rent offer. Hmmm... I've never accepted someone with poor credit by enforcing a higher rent. That seems kind of counter intuitive. But, maybe that's just me.

So, until I see something like this play out a bit in the market, I'd pass!

Kevin,  thank you for your service to our country. 

It sounds like you have come a long with this first property.  That's a great feeling, especially since you already have an interested tenant.

You can certainly save money by handling the property management aspects while you're in town. It sounds like you hired at least some of the rehab work. So, I'm assuming that you had those costs factored into your decisions thus far. Did you also factor in the costs of a property management company? Hopefully, making the decision to use a PM is only a question of a little less ROI instead of the difference between making and losing money.

The tenant screening tools will help. It's definitely money well spent in my opinion and experience. But, there are no perfect tenants, just like there are no perfect people. The tenant screening tools give you information about past history, not future.

I'm thinking of your situation more from the perspective of handling an emergency repair situation, needed maintenance, or even the occasional drive by to see if things appear normal.

I want to pose some questions as possible other ideas for you.

1. Is there a property management company that would consider managing the property for only the portion of the time when you are out of the country? Perhaps it isn't their standard operating procedure. If you explain the situation, and perhaps be willing to compensate them slightly higher than normal, maybe they would consider covering you.

2. Have you networked with any other military members with similar real estate investing goals that might consider covering the emergency phone call, maintenance, and keeping an eye on the property occasionally?

3. Are there any PMs in your area that offer discounts for active military?

Eventually you may run into a lease that expires while you're deployed. In that case working with a property manager is going to be very helpful. That might be a good reason to begin a relationship with one now so that you each have some history established.

I agree with others that have said the septic system needs to be pumped on a semi-annual basis. But, that depends on the type and size of the septic system, your local climate, and the number of people using the system. Remember, it's not just the people on the lease, you may need to account for visitors as well if the tenants entertain a lot.

The best way to know what you are getting into is check with the company that currently services the septic system. They keep great records on the cleaning cycle, condition of the system, etc. They may even be able to tell you the location of the leach field, depth, etc. It's important to know where that is to prevent damage from above ground vehicles (like parking on the yard as is common in a lot of rural areas). The location of the leach field and the septic tank can also be useful in knowing if there are trees nearby that may have root systems potentially damaging the septic tank or disrupting the leach field. 

For a quick overview of a septic system, WIKI has a fairly decent page on the most common systems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septic_drain_field

Lastly, regarding your concern over the pump/private well...

A SFH with a their own well is different than a shared "private" well used by 2 or more homes. So, I'm assuming that you mean a private well in the sense that it serves only the house you are considering.

Generally, private wells are very reliable. Most likely you have a local company that services the well or perhaps even installed it. The county offices may have records of the original installer if the current owner does not know who that is. Or there may be a metal service tag hanging on the well cap. It's worth a little investigating to contact the local service company and inquire about service records.

Well pumps have a variable service life. The industry claims 8-10 years, but many last longer than that based on overall water usage and quality. For example, a pump operating in water with a lot of sand, rust or mineral content is likely to wear out sooner.

By far the more expensive repair is having to move the well. If a well is not performing, it may require lowering the pump in the well (simple), or digging the well deeper which will mean boring a hole somewhere else on the property to a greater depth or simply a fresh bore hole. This is a multi-thousand dollar expense. I would think that the local company can give you much more accurate date for the particular area where your potential home is.

Also, check with the county health department. They may have requirements on the frequency of testing the water for contamination. It's a simple and inexpensive test, but it can save you and your tenants a lot of problems.

@Glenn McCrorey I just saw this post about REI meetings in CR. I'm interested in these also. Can you PM Julie's number to me also?

Hello,

I currently have 2 rental properties and I'd like to acquire 8 more within 10 years.

The market here seems very good with prospects continuing to look good. 

I'm looking for advice or information on how to leverage equity and cash to acquire additional properties.