All Forum Posts by: Thomas Williamson

The biggest issue I have at the moment is with Craigslist.  Every time I post a property for rent on Craigslist I get all these wholesalers contacting me wanting to know if I want to sell. I gave the last one a crazy astronomical price and he went away, only to e-mail me again later wanting to know if I wanted to sell.  They spam so many people they forget who they've sent e-mails and texts to.

As far as post cards and yellow letters, I get a few a month.  I've called two of them back but they never returned the calls.  I was hoping to network a little, but no return calls.  Ups and downs of the job I guess.

I didn't read one thing in every page of the thread.  The only interesting thing, and funny that made it worth it was the GIF's by @Account Closed Keep em coming.  :)

I've used "My Smart Move" by Trans Union for years.  It's easy, and free for you.  Best of all there's no need to meet with the tenant to get them to fill out anything to fax or e-mail back to a company.  It's quick to set up, and when I have a tenant that wants to start the application process, I simply go into the Trans Union account (free) that I have and put the tenants e-mail address in and Trans Union does the rest.  As soon as the tenant fills out the info, you get an e-mail from Trans Union immediately that shows you the tenants credit score, credit report, criminal history, and gives you a recommendation about whether to rent to the perspective tenant or not.  It's very fast and can be done in minutes.  

https://www.mysmartmove.com/

If I were in your shoes, I would just be concerned with getting them out and taking possession of the house.  I could be wrong, but once the notice is left on the door tack and mail, it doesn't matter if the wife is personally served or not.  Tack and mail will suffice as service.  In GA you can request personal service for an eviction, but it's not necessary.  If they don't answer the summons, then my experience has been you can request a "Writ of possession" after the first seven business days after the notice has been posted at the property.  

If either the husband or wife files and answer within the seven day period, then you'll have a court date.  My experience in Newton and Walton counties thus far has been the judge explains to everyone in the courtroom prior to the proceedings that if they haven't paid the rent, then they have to vacate regardless of repair issues, loss of job etc.

Your case is somewhat different given they were the homeowners and you bought it at auction.  I would imagine all still applies and the eviction process will remove them.  It's a personal decision, and I don't know how much they owe etc, but again at this point I would just concentrate on getting them out and taking control of the property.  Good luck, stick with it.  The longer you stay in this business, the more you'll have situations like this, but keep pressing on!  

Yes you absolutely need the sheriff involved in GA.  My advice is keep doing what you're doing and use the court.  You just have to be patient at this point and let the system work. The sheriff will not get involved in the eviction process if there's any question of the legality of the order or a question about who in the home is to be evicted.  Once you have another hearing, or actually get the writ of possession with or without a hearing (depending upon what the people in the home do as far as filing an answer) then you should be able to go forward.  Once the judge issues the order for the husband and any and all others in the home, they will remove them by force if necessary.  

But, don't do anything on your own without the courts permission at this point.  Trust me it could be a lot worse.  I'm finally going to start collecting on a judgement here in GA that I've been trying to collect on for a year and half!  Hang in there, they'll move on soon enough.

I spent a week in Austin last year looking a properties all over Austin, Round Rock, Buda, Kyle, etc.  I knew to stay away from downtown, just because of the prices, so I went many miles in every direction and found little to nothing.  The only house that even came close was a small (and I mean small) 3/2 that was listed for 140,000.  The home was a little over ten years old, but worn down pretty good.  It was in a decent neighborhood near Hutto, but the rent was only 1,000 a month.  It quickly made me realize that Atlanta (where I live and invest) still has much more potential (even now) than most of the "hot" markets.  I love Austin, but it would be difficult to invest in S/F there and get the numbers to work.  

@Ali Boone I have a beautiful home in Gwinnett County, in one of the best school districts. It's 4 beds 2 baths, fenced in yard, great neighborhood and fully remodeled. I listed it below other 4 bedrooms in the same area, and in three weeks I've got one call. The monthly rent is set at 1300.00 which is a bargain for Snellville, but to my surprise I'm not generating any traction. I'm running ads daily, I have a YouTube video, signs in the yard, and it's listed on the MLS. I believe you're correct, there's an over abundance of rental homes right now, and a shortage of quality tenants.

Barrow County is small enough that that it should not be a problem for the Sheriffs Office to deal with, and if it's within the city limits of Winder, that would be even better.  Smaller city police departments tend to be more pro-active and not as overwhelmed as larger departments.  

On a side note if I were you, I would call whatever jurisdiction it happens to be in and tell them you're thinking about moving there and just ask them general questions about the complex.  Ask for crime stats there as well.  Larger departments such as neighboring Gwinnett can give you call stats for any address going back multiple years.  May be a good thing for you to know, especially if you live out of state.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-mom-hiding-kids-s...

The 9-1-1 call is amazing, it should really get you thinking

This occurred a couple of miles from my house in GA.  You don't need a concealed carry to have guns in your home, but it drives home the point of having protection and knowing how to use it, even if it's inside your own house.  I'm a police officer and firm believer of law abiding citizens being able to carry guns (as most police officers believe).  I've been to multiple homicides where the bad guy was stopped because someone had a weapon and wasn't afraid to use it to protect themselves or someone else.  As an investor, I carry a lot when I'm working on my homes day or night.  Some of my homes haven't been in the best areas.  Hope this helps someone.  Good comments.

Me personally, I would avoid everyone of those zip codes as well as Clayton County.  I think the crime rate is a bit higher in those middle atlanta neighborhoods, and especially in the ones in southwest Atlanta, but those same zip codes tend to merge easily into Clayton County.