All Forum Posts by: Sean Tracey

@Dave Lin 2-3k/year just for the flood insurance? Jeez... I hope the private options are much more affordable because that seems crazy. That would destroy cash flow. 

@Andrey Y. he's probably a responsible landlord that wants to keep an eye on his investments. What kind of landlord, not relying completely on a PM, wouldn't visit their properties in over a year? 

Hi @Dave Lin oddly enough I was just thinking about insurance in Lehigh Valley and here's an insurance professional lol. Thanks for sharing that valuable info. Do you have an idea of how much additional insurance might be once you start getting into the flood zones closer to the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers?

Thanks @Joe Splitrock. Those are some great tips. 

Thanks @Colleen F. I may consider hiring someone to place a tenant. I'll probably want to try it myself for the first go around, though. Hopefully I can weed out enough people with my criteria e.g. credit score, income to rent ratio etc. 

I've thought about what you're bringing up regarding tenants that just aren't the brightest. I feel like what may look good on paper as far as a clean record does not translate to someone that won't pester me for every little thing. I've read some good threads about "training" tenants, although I consider that to be a condescending way to put it. I'd hope I can set a tenants expectations accordingly and by my responses let them know whether or not they should be bringing certain things to my attention. And like you say, in the end I can choose to not renew a person's lease if I don't feel they're a good tenant. Thanks again for your input.

Thanks @Christopher Richardson. I'm considering purchasing houses that need work too, just trying to figure out financing options for that since traditional probably won't work. I'd be about 2 hours away, and my job is pretty flexible. Good to know that your friend made it work while being double the time away. Appreciate you sharing this info, it's very encouraging to read. 

Much appreciated @Brian Winn. That sounds like exactly the situation I would like to make happen for myself. Great to see you making things work from a bit of a distance. I'll need to check out J Scott's book about estimating rehab costs. I bet there'd be a lot of great info in there to help me understand the conditions of properties. I want to make sure I'm proactive about getting the place in shape, so I don't have to patch things up constantly. 

Thanks @Pam Storm. Experiences do seem to differ. Hopefully I'm able to refine the screening process, and work things out with any tenants to avoid having to constantly visit. 

@Nathan Miller thanks for chiming in and sharing some potential cons to this. When you say handy-man on retainer in the area, I assume you're not referring to a PM. I have thought about getting someone to stop by for things that need further investigation but wouldn't have to pay 10-12% of gross annual rents to. Hopefully I can work something out with an individual that would be willing to do that for a fair price.

Thanks @Russell Brazil. Do you consider your properties to be A,B or C class? Have you had tenants that have caused you to visit more than normal?