All Forum Posts by: Troy Ramey

Hi everyone,

I have a situation happening with my rental, and since I'm new at this, I don't know what to do. I'll try and explain in detail:

Signed a 1 year lease with male/female (let's call them Jack and Jill) friends on March 29th, 2018. Both tenants have good references and great credit scores. Jill has a full time job making well over 3 times the rent. Jack is in graduate school with little to no income, but enough in savings to pay his share without any issue. Rent is up to date and the property looks great so far.

Jack calls and says he needs to move north for school/job/whatever. He says that Jill intends to stay and honor the lease by herself. She's more than qualified alone. 

Do I need to start a new lease with just her? Should the two tenants make some sort of agreement together?  I have a Change in Terms of Lease Addendum. Should I use that? 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to make sure I cover my bases. Thanks! 

Hi Michael,

I have a few signs with my company name, number and website on them. I always post them in the yard of a rehab whether it's for a rental or a flip. I put them out day one and keep them out until they are rented or sold.I generally see an increase in traffic while it's up and I do receive phone calls looking for other properties, so it's working in some way. 

Where I live you have to pay by 4pm that day with a cashiers check or money order. They don't allow loans as the homes are already behind on payments and taxes. If you had to wait another 30 to 45 days to get a mortgage, there would be significant issues. I'm assuming this is true for your county or state as well. 

Hi Boris,

My personal opinion is, yes it's worth it. If you can cover 70% of the mortgage and it's cheaper than whatever your current rent/mortgage payment is now, then you are saving that much extra each month (make sure you factor in maintenance and vacancies into these equations too). Stay in a good a neighborhood and since you said you're handy in regards to repairs and upgrades, I'd buy something that needs some work. Sweat equity can be an excellent way to increase your income on properties. 

Investor friendly agents can be very helpful in a lot of situations. Less experienced investors may find having an agent around to help find deals and run comps, etc. Out of state investors can also benefit greatly from working with an agent. Having "boots-on-the-ground" in an area that the investor is unfamiliar with is vital to the process. 

Hi Blaid, 

Have you served in the military? If so, you're likely eligible for a VA loan, which may be a good option. If not, I would look into an FHA loan or a conventional loan. With an FHA loan, you can get a much lower down payment but you'll end up paying PMI each month. You can get away without paying PMI charges each month if you have 20% down for the conventional loan. It really comes down to how much you have saved and how much you'd like to keep in the bank vs pay out each month.

Property taxes are evaluated each year and will likely change in 2019, but not when you purchase the property. You should be eligible for a homeowners tax exemption of some sort. Here in Texas, we have a Homestead Deduction you can claim if the property is your personal residence. Your grandmother likely had a different exemption geared toward people in retirement, so your taxes are likely going to be higher. However, I would try and get someone from CA on here familiar with the exemptions to make sure. 

Hope this helps!

Welcome Paul. You're in good company here. 

I mail letters, call their phones and put ads on facebook/IG . The majority of calls I make do not end in any meaningful negotiations, but I imagine it's a numbers game and I will make a significant contact at some point. To be clear though, I don't "attack" them with constant calls and I don't text their phones. I'll call once and talk with them (or leave a VM), and then I'll again later if I didn't reach them the first time. 

The majority are nice on the phone and simply say that they are not willing to sell. You will get some angry people here and there, but try not to take it personal. Either way, I would definitely make calls in conjunction with your mailer campaign.