All Forum Posts by: G. Brian Davis

Quasar cost me tens of thousands of dollars. They are the worst company I've ever worked with. I hope no one else gets burned by them as badly as I did.

Oh great Sarah, glad to hear it! Feel free to reach out by direct message at any time, or to connect on Facebook.

Cheers,

Congratulations Teddy on the marriage and your first child on the way! Very exciting.

My first piece of advice would be to make your next property a small multi-unit building and house hack. We recently published a piece on house hacking, give it a read.

First, it will expand your real estate portfolio. Second, it will remove housing as an expense in your monthly budget, allowing you to put away a lot more money to further invest and expand your portfolio.

My next piece of advice is to avoid lifestyle inflation. It's extremely difficult to watch your friends out living it up, partying, eating out all the time, etc., while you eat in and drive a beater, but if you can live on half your income and invest the rest, you'll soon find you don't need that 9-5 job at all anymore, and you can live off your rental income for your modest living expenses.

Best of luck!

Brian

Congrats on getting the first property fully occupied and cashflowing!

I would consider another small (2-4 unit) multifamily home, possibly by house hacking and moving in. But only move forward if you're very confident that you'll be able to get it rented quickly. As I'm sure you discovered the hard way, having a property sit vacant for several years is a nightmare. 

I understand you have the skills necessary to do renovations, but as you found out, that doesn't mean you have the time. I would only buy a property that needs repairs if you're fully willing to hire out the work, if you find that you yourself don't have the time to move on the repairs. The last thing you want is another property that sits vacant for multiple years.

One thing we recommend in our free mini-course is looking for properties with cosmetic repairs needed, but not structural problems, for your first few deals. The ugly looks keep the price from climbing too high, but cosmetic repairs require less time and money to fix, and typically don't require permits, inspectors, etc.

Best of luck Allen!

Brian

I wouldn't advertise it until a week before you settle.

Think about it this way - would you want the kind of person who would rent a property sight unseen? It smacks of desperation on the part of the renter. 

And what happens if the deal falls through? Or gets delayed?

Take photos now, prepare the rental listing, but I wouldn't actually advertise it until a week out. Then you can schedule showings or an open house for the day after settlement.

Best of luck with this first deal, hope it's the first of many to come!

Brian

Hi Sarah, and congratulations on the first rental!

Regarding whether to have all parents fill out rental applications, I would, to be on the safe side. It's probably not necessary if only one parent is the breadwinner, but better safe than sorry.

You can use a standard rental application form for co-signers.

Once you've collected rental applications from all applicants and their co-signers, run credit reports, criminal checks and eviction reports on them. Either charge these directly to the renters, or collect application fees to cover your costs. 

Call the applicants' employers to verify their income, employment history, and likelihood of continued employment. 

Call their current and former landlords, to verify their housing history and rent payment history. 

I also like to visit applicants at their current home as well, to see how they treat it.

Also make sure you sign a comprehensive, state-specific lease agreement!

Best of luck!

Brian

Rentals are harder to use partners with than flips. 

Flips are short-term, with concrete goals. They have a fixed exit strategy. There's a lot less to disagree on, because you're just trying to get in, make some repairs, and get out.

Rentals are a different story, because there's no exit strategy (at least in many cases). There's also no pre-agreed timeframe for selling them. What happens if one person has a financial crisis and wants to sell, and the other person doesn't want to sell but can't buy out the partner? Who manages the property? How are they compensated for their efforts? Who manages the money? 

I'm not saying it can't be done, or even that it shouldn't be done, but partnerships are just much trickier with rentals.

Here's one thought - you guys could go in a flip, then take your proceeds and each go buy your own rental. You can collaborate, share notes, etc. on the rentals, but you wouldn't have to share bank accounts or deeds. Just an idea.

Best of luck!

Brian

Hi Brandon,

Most of the District itself is very competitive and expensive. Still, there are plenty of towns and neighborhoods within a one-hour radius of DC.

One thing we recommend in our course is looking for neighborhoods straddling the line between working class and middle class. Where do cops and firefighters live? Teachers? Entry-level management? Low- and mid-level bureaucrats? People who earn the median income or a little less. These tend to be stable neighborhoods with good long-term residents, where not everyone is a homeowner already. 

Just some food for thought. 

Cheers,

Brian

Glad to hear it @Steve Bringetto! Sounds like you've been around this block before and are up to the challenges. 

Best of luck!

Hi Steve,

Are you a contractor, or have experience doing renovations and working with the zoning office on permits, etc.?

If you've never worked with the local zoning office before, this may not be the best first foray. My experiences with zoning boards and city inspectors have been difficult. 

If you know a few people at the local zoning office and you're familiar with the construction/renovation work needed, that's a different story. 

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but this may not be a good entry-level project. You might consider buying an existing duplex (or even a 3-4 unit building), or a SFR as a rental. But we always encourage our students to start easier then expand gradually into bigger projects.

Best of luck!

Brian