All Forum Posts by: Jeff G.

Cragilist... driving for dollars and public records. Don't just target the obvious CL ads, go after the indirect indications that there is a house to sell, such as an estate sale.

@Kyle Krason you might want to look around for a flat rate eviction lawyer. In my area, I can get one for 400-500 bucks per eviction. Evicting them won't be cheap, but that might save some money.

Also, please remember to get a judgment against them for the outstanding balance. See if your lawyer can help you with the collections follow-up. Judgments are renewable and you can do things like levy their bank accounts to get the money back (plus interest and legal fees too, I think) if you do it right.

What @Brandon Mattila said is quite correct, you'll have higher vacancy rates. Now, there are a few ways to counter this:

Have your tenants sign a lease that has a joint and several liability clause. This means if you have 5 tenants and 1 drops, the other four are required to pick up the slack. A good lawyer will be able to help you with this part.

You may want to experiment with making the parents co-signers on the leases. If not so little Johnny stops paying (and hasn't learned to give a damn about his credit yet) his parents might. That said, it's the Flint area, it's a lot more of a crap shoot than it should be. At least you have someone with (theoretically) deeper pockets to go after in the event of a tenant default.

Do yourself a favor and require all your tenants to have tenant insurance and keep it current as a condition of occupancy. College students can be tough on rental units and some can be very accident prone. If a tenant accidentally starts a fire in the kitchen, his tenants policy should help you recoup your damages. Not all tenants policies are the same, a good insurance agent can help you here. You can require specific coverage.

@Mike Cumbie is correct, you're obligated to follow the lease. That said, you can negotiate with the tenant. If the current rents are as low as you imply you might try a cash for keys approach. What that means is you basically ethically bribe the tenant to accept a few thousand bucks from you in exchange to get out in 30/60 days instead of riding out the lease.

You'll have to do the cost benefit analysis though: are the rents so low that waiting 6 months isn't the better option? If you offer cash for keys, what are the chances the tenants get pissed and damage your property on the way out he door? You get the idea.

Why Grayling, MI?

@Brock Hoffman, ex-Detroiter here, have you considered metering units individually?

The best thing you could do is show up at a REIA and ask around. Most people want to help others succeed in my experience.

Hello @Carl M.,

Check out Yellow Letters Complete, they do post cards in addition to yellow letters. They "computer generate" handwritten messages on the post cards. You can provide a CSV (spreadsheet) file and accomplish this just fine.

Go to the nearest Home Depot or Lowes 15 minutes before they open. Wait and see which contractors show up over the course of the next hour or so, those are the ones you want to talk to. Even if they are tapped out personally, as you say it's their busy season, they can probably point you in the right direction. Try to get at least 5 cards, more if you can. 

Bring a friend to sit with you so you're not alone, just to be safe.

Welcome to BP Amy. I have some good friends in Richmond, VA. Did you get a good view of the eclipse over there?

Go to your local REA, get everyone's card. There will be promoters at various tables some of whom will be hard money lenders, get their cards and the flyers with their info.

Be prepared to partner on deals until you have a proven track record of 5 deals or so, then the hard money folks will talk to you. Every REA has some "class" they pitch for 4k - 10k (or much, much more) to "show you the ropes." Ignore the hype, save your money, and build the relationships.