All Forum Posts by: Terrell Garren

@Lee Ripma Lee, what does it mean to add you as "additional insured, in case they trash the place" and how would you leverage it in a practical scenario?  Thanks for teaching me something. 

If you think you can take possession of tenant vehicle based on a rental contract, why not just draft the contract so you can take possession of the tenant's pet and children. Any judge worth their salt will jerk a knot in a landlord's rear end for such shannigans. A truely terrible idea. 

I've used USAA for 35+ years for personal property and 8 years for SFR rentals. Earlier this year, I moved the rentals under an LLC for liability protection. USAA told me that didn't offer commercial insurance that would cover an LLC. I used a local broker and landed on American Modern. Ther are probably 25% more expensive and 50% less customer service. I miss USAA. Do let me know if anyone ever figures out how to use USAA for an LLC.

@Mary Joe Not meaning to be a smart ***, but if you are looking for passive, low return, risk averse, long term investments, what not just invest in a few good income (dividend paying) blue chip mutual funds?

@Jay Hinrichs Damn, that was a good answer for the average investor like me. Buy'em, fixe'em, maintain'em, pay'em off and live of the cash flow. My experience is REI is hard, fun work and a good diversification play. REI is about as passive as a heat attack.

Regarding doing your own PM, I would start off with property incurrence and umbrella policy. At the point you have over say $500K in owned assets, I would form an LLC. YouTube has some very good videos on why and how to regarding LLCs.

I love the smell of pet urine in a house for sale. 

Insurance at a decent rate got more difficult for me to find after I moved my properties under an LLC. American Modern was the best of many poor choices for me. I previously used USAA; however, they would not cover LLCs. I use maximum deductibles and ACV instead of replacement costs to keep the premiums a littler lower. I also carry an umbrella policy over the properties as well. Let me know if you find good options.

@Joe Splitrock provided simple, good advice.  Certainly, if you move frequently or live in a hyper cost area, the guidance may not hold.  But after 60 years life experience, my take is live in a moderate house that is lower than the cost of renting and provides you the satisfaction of ownership.  Invest the rest and use smart leverage.  Stupid me bought a $350K house at 35 and a vacation home at 45.  Sure my family enjoyed both but the smart play play would have been buy a $150K house and invest.  No way I would have wanted to rent for 30+ years.

I think Dave Ramsey provides good counsel to people with low financial skills or deep in bad debt. I grimace when Dave advices someone to sell a cash flowing property to be debt free or to save cash to buy the first investment debt free.   There is a sweet spot between no debt and maximum leverage that each person needs to find based on their personal risk profile.