All Forum Posts by: Steve Hall

@Account Closed If you want to stop acquiring new properties and just hold the ones you have to live off of, just be aware that as you build equity, you become a bigger target with more to lose. At that point, you need to sit down with an asset protection attorney and create LLCs and Trusts to protect your investments. You should also have your attorney review your insurance plan to ensure it is adequate.

@Kris L. How can you say the landlord "won" (in this case) and in the same sentence state that you don't know whether he recouped his attorneys fees and lost rent, totaling $14,000? You've clearly never been sued. NOBODY wins, except the lawyers.

@Nicole Grenier 

In your post last month you said that you travel for work, and you were concerned about trust issues with renting a room in your own unit. Those are VERY valid concerns that you seem to be ignoring, not just while you are away, but even more so when you are home!

I believe that anyone renting out a room in their own home is crazy. You have NO IDEA who you are renting too, and then you keep changing the tenant trying to find a bad apple... Keep it up long enough and you will find one.

It sounds like your duplex is too big for you if you have extra space to rent out in your own unit.

I suggest that you go find a tiny apartment or efficiency somewhere for yourself and then rent out the entire duplex. (As an example, if your new place cost $400/month and you could get $600/month for your upstairs duplex unit, you would net $200 and not have anyone in your own home!)

@Terri O'Brien

First: Hire a real estate agent! (If you can find a buyer's agent - even better.) You are the buyer so they're free! Trust me when I say that YOU need one. Your agent will run comps and tell you what the range is. He/she will also know what the average asking price to sales price ratio is.

Second: if this is an investment, you base your offer on the numbers, NOT on an appraisal.

Third: if you owned 20 buildings and had to sell one, would you sell your best one that makes you the most money, or your worst one?

I recommend more reading Terri...

Welcome to BP @Susan Franke Congrats on finally beginning to invest.

Go ahead and make an offer that seems fair for what you KNOW about the property. Make sure your agent gives you plenty of time on your contingencies. There is nothing wrong with putting 7 days for deposit, and 45 or more days to close. Make sure you have at least 15 days for inspection. Then, get a qualified home inspector in there. Follow him (or her!) around for 2-3 hours and tell him you want him to explain everything to you as he goes. Ask him what he looks for, what he wants to see, what he doesn't want to see.

You will pay $300-$400 for the inspection, but what you really just purchased was an education. I would do that for 3 or 4 purchases. Pretty soon, you can do the inspectors job!

Welcome @Trey Burns

So you've figured out there is more to life than Halo?

https://www.biggerpockets.com/rules

People are nice unless you ask questions that have already been answered.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/topics

@Aidan Rosenbaum Welcome to BP. You sound like a smart young man. You need a mentor.

Post what city / state you are in, ask for mentors in your area, and then learn as much as you can from their mistakes!

You will most likely have to wait until you are 18 to take full advantage of credit / contracts / etc - but that gives you quite some time to learn as much as you can.

@Benjamin Mccraken

I didn't even have to look at the report to evaluate this deal. Consider your statements:

"so honestly I have no idea if thats even close."

"I just figure with it being old and getting some love it would pop up a decent amount."

"Could definitely be wrong though."

This is what I call "Pay and Pray". Not the smartest way to invest in Real Estate.

Read more books, listen to more podcasts, watch more videos, and find a mentor.

@Haley Bray

Don't let your personal preferences get in the way of purchasing an investment property. If the numbers work, buy it!

A bit of unsolicited advice that you will thank me for later: make sure that you and your boyfriend each have your own holding LLC's and then buy the investment properties as a JV with each LLC owning 50% of the operating LLC.

You need intuition... If it seems to be good to be true, IT IS.

If you don't have intuition (it's a personality type, not a learnable skill) then seek the advice of someone who has it.

@Account ClosedWhen their attorney finds out you own have several free and clear properties, they sue you and win! (After all, you should have yielded to the pedestrian so obviously you must have been driving too fast.) 

You can bury your head in the sand, call it a "phenomena", and go on your way if you don't think anything like this can happen to you.