All Forum Posts by: Sam Hopkins

@Tecsia Evans sell and get your $400,000 and invest in a S&P fund and get 8% a year on that.

@Tikka Koti in my opinion this is a material breach of the contract by the seller (it is the seller even though it was the agent as they represent the seller). A material breach was generated because they misrepresented an item that had a large financial impact on the value of the property (the land being 40% smaller). It’s not like they misrepresented the age of a hot water tank.

@Jacqueline Blue Yes, you want multi year leases. When someone moves, it costs you money while the place sits vacant to re-rent and also to rehab it for the next tenant. You want to avoid moves at all costs. This is why commercial leases are multi-year. Even if you have a two year lease, you can still evict. There is no downside to you unless you are in a market where rent increases by hundreds of dollars a year.

@Hank Olken I offer my rentals at below market rate.

Hello everyone!

Could you tell me what types of insurance you have for your rental business? Obviously, everyone would have liability insurance on the properties for slip-and-falls, etc, but do you have E&O insurance or something similar? I tend to be heavy on insurance and was looking to see what others are doing in the industry.

@Carmichael Lewis what I learned is that with single family homes they will appreciate based on property values. For multi-family, the price of the building only appreciates based on the rent. Where I live people only pay so much for rent, and then just buy.

This is why when I buy a duplex that is not split, I split them. I am splitting one right now. I had to split electricity, HVAC, and hot water tanks. It's a pain, but once it's done you never have to worry about craziness like this.

Hi Everyone!

I purchased a house from a Sheriff sale in PA a few days ago. One of the lien holders is the local water company. They were paid $16,000 of my bid. Can I write that $16,000 off this year since it was for utilities? Or would it be part of my biases for the house?

Thank you!

Sam

@Rick Bassett I just read a post that made a small mention to something I think it awesome. If someone skips and owes you money, forgive their debt and then file a 1099-C, canceled debt, with the IRS for the person. The person now has to claim the amount they owe you as income. If they don’t report it they will get a letter from the IRS. You have to give up any chance of recovery, but that’s so low as least you get a piece of mind.

@Chuck Dangar as long as you don’t use it for other things. For instance it has to only get rental business mail, not personal mail.