All Forum Posts by: Shane H.

Brian, your logic is missing a vital piece here. Are you forgetting that while you moved $10k over to the HELOC that the remaining 190k is still accruing interest? Not to mention that the HELOC is now also accruing interest... you say you'd rather pay $83 on the HELOC than $679 on the 1st mtg, but (even if those calculations were correct) you don't just suddenly get to stop paying the bank interest on the $190k you still owe... I don't understand why you believe you can avoid interest by moving debt from one loan to another.

So what you are trying to get away from is a 200k 1st mtg by transfering 10k to a heloc and only have 190k. but you STILL have 200k in total debt... so if you want to compare numbers, listen to JD when he broke down the numbers. 

@Rhonda Blue

Wow, glad I asked! I have tenants asking to house a nephew that I don't think will pass C&B check. Debating on what to do and how to handle. I really appreciate the follow up! :-)

Hi Rhonda, may I ask what ever happened with your situation? I have a similar situation now and I'd be curious how yours turned out.

Thanks!

One other thing to consideration would be "Would i buy this property for what I can sell it for?". I recently thought about selling the first property i purchased becase it's value has come up so much recently. But then i realized that even with the increase in value, that it's still worth buying again if I could buy it at the new value. 

We all talk about the different ratio tests and equations to run before buying a property. But I would encourage you to run the same tests before selling. For example, let's say you bought a property that met the 2% rule at the time of purchase. However now the value has increased more than your rents have over the past few years. So if you recalculated and used the new  market value/what you could sell it for and it only come in at 1.2%, should you then sell and invest those funds into a new property that meets the 2% rule? Some would say yes, others would say no. But it is another tool you can use to help you decide.

Just made it through all 48 pages! haha absolutely love this thread. I don't remember all the odd balls I had come through my small 500sf house when I first listed it 3 years ago (same tenant since then) but there were a LOT. One sticks out to me quite vividly that I remember well.

I was in the middle of showing the unit to a young couple and this guy walks in and looks around very briefly before interrupting us. He starts asking about the crawlspace and how big it is, if there are outlets and lights down there etc... he reeked of marijuana and alcohol and also kept itching and wiping his nose. 

Needless to say, I told him i was in the middle of a scheduled showing and he needed to leave and schedule a showing if he was interested. 

Unfortunately it weirded out the young couple enough that they had a noticeable drop in interest after that and took an application but never submitted it. 

Fun times!

Thanks Thomas! I am hesitant to do that though for three reasons:

1) With how we are doing it now, there is very low/little risk to me. If I pay now to replace the flooring, I could run the risk of being out additional money if she doesn't pay the amount she owes. Or even worse, damages the new flooring and still owes for the previous.

2) She is willing to prepay for the replacement. The total replacement cost will be a fixed amount, and once she get's up to $400 the plan is to have it replaced. The installer will also submit a bid at the same time for what it would've been to do carpet instead, and that's the amount she'll be responsible for. From that point whatever the small difference from $400 is vs the carpet bid will either be owed by her or paid back if the bid came in lower than $400.

3) Lastly, this is not someone that usually pays bills on time or has a ton of money. She means well, but she is frequently paying late fees on late rent and I could not just send her a bill for $376.50 and expect her to be able pay it.

I hope that adds some clarity to the situation.

Thank you!

The carpets were installed brand new before she moved in and were toast by month 6. She has an extra $160 saved up with me at this point and is constantly adding more when she can. I guess to add to my question, how should i record this extra money? Is it classified as income? what happens if she moves out before she saves up enough, do i just apply what she has saved up towards the replacement? Or would I be required to give it back? I know, it's an odd problem to have...

Thanks everyone who's chimed in so far!

I have a tenant that has been in my unit for two years and just signed another 1 year lease extension. Her dogs have chewed/torn up the carpet in the couple of rooms that were carpet instead of laminate. She has been paying me extra here and there to "save up" to replace the floors that were damaged. 

I have been putting any extra into a separate savings to let it build up until she has enough for the replacement flooring. But I am in need of opinions on the matter.

A) Carpet is definitely out for a replacement option. she needs to re-floor only about 250 SF, so we were thinking laminate would be the better option.

a) My original plan was to just ask her to save the equivalent of carpet replacement (since that is what was damaged) and then i would cover the difference in cost to upgrade to a more durable flooring. She does have a deposit on file, but that will likely be entirely eaten up with the other damages she has already (no pun intended). So this being said, should i take the risk to upgrade the flooring and likely have to replace again when she moves out due to animal scratches and tear up? 

B) She is still in the process of saving up, and on the off chance she doesn't save up enough by the time she decides to move out, how do i handle those funds? Technically speaking they are not part of her original deposit, but likely her dog's damages will be greater than her original deposit.

I know it sounds like she is a bad tenant, but i promise that given the location of this unit and the fact that it is only a 525sf house on a 600sf lot, i am ecstatic to have her as a tenant for these last couple of years. Yes her dogs have done damage, but the damage is already done and is not getting worse. So the longer she stays, the longer i have before i need to go repair it all. She is also paying a $50 a month "pet rent" each month, so again, while the repair costs are static at this point, the longer she stays there the more I will have set aside for those repairs.

Thanks everyone!

@Keazy Moto How did this turn out if you don't mind me asking Keazy? Did they accept your contingency to have a unit vacant?

Out of curiousity. Would you refrain from telling them to keep it to a professional level? Or tell them something to the effect that texts come through as emails and you will only be checking them between the hours of 9-5?