All Forum Posts by: Zane Cress

I do MTR and I have found most nurses/travelers prefer to have a whole place to themselves rather than have a room with shared community space. Perhaps your market is different. I usually offer a price and then if they are traveling with a friend or find one while they are working I write them both a lease with a discounted price per person that is still higher than one persons rent. For example I may charge 1 person 1000 but I charge 2 people 1400. I mention this to them when they reach out to me so they can stack and build their own roomies. Some of these travelers are very particular. 

Space looks amazing though and I would also list on Airbnb, you would be surprised what you can get with a minimum 30 day stay, bigger crowd of people searching there than furnished finder at the moment. I source from both. 

If you plan on putting everything you have into this deal with rising rates and uncertainty of a time line on the actual upgrade of the neighborhood then I would say it's risky. If you can do the work yourself and get the property dirt cheap then maybe it's worth it, but you need a lot of wiggle room on the numbers to make it a safe first deal. But if you see the upgrade coming it could be a major win in a few years. What is your personal risk tolerance? What is the maximum mortgage that rents could support after you cash out? No point in creating a 200k property if the rents can only support a 120k mortgage. 

I think this is in your favor. Now you have two empty sides and are free to adjust to market rent as you see fit. Take the opportunity to paint both sides and do any work that can boost rent values. Sucks they were dishonest in a way but you are free to do what you want now without having to follow their lease. I prefer to buy things without tenants or at the end of a lease. 

You gave notice, that's what the lease says you have to do. She has to accept notice. You got keys, go show the place and get someone else locked in. Just be careful if she has loose pets running around. She may also leave it in a messy condition which could deter some people. 

Good idea. Might be able to keep a few for cash flow. Just make sure local zoning still permits them. You could buy something that is grandfathered in and then when you go to work on it the city tells you no because they want it gone. 

Short term cash flow with a risky interest only or bridge loan is a bad idea right now. The rates and general monetary policy are not in a good spot. You need to focus on a decent rate long term mortgage. Maybe you can find one of the 40 yr mortgages people talk about. Remember if you can add value and boost rents in the next few years your cash flow gets better and the rate stays the same. What if you raised rents but then your short term "cheap" monthly loan gets refinanced into a more expensive payment. Right back to step one.

File stolen items with the cops, but they probably won't do much. Understaffed and they probably have 100 other cases just like it. Could go to small claims court as well since you have the tenants info, but that will drag out and they probably won't ever show up. Really these people are going to be more trouble than they are worth and this is a character building moment in your RE journey. Will be a great story to tell other investors when you are rich and sipping drinks on the beach. Buy used appliances to replace them and get a new tenant in there right away to start paying rent. These people aren't worth your time, the money is a drop in the bucket.

I would say any cleaning service that focuses on pet hair removal, dander, basic clean up to protect people that might move in with allergies is going to cost $200. Even renting a carpet cleaner and replacing all the air filters and wiping down baseboards, etc etc is going to cost $200. So your non refundable pet cleaning fee is used for that. The house cleaning comes out of the refundable cleaning fee. The two are separate expenses, especially if the lease states they are. If the pet destroyed stuff that comes out of the pet fee and if that doesn't cover it then the rest comes from the regular cleaning fee. 

But each state and city has different tenant rights and rules, so you have to follow those first, if they are fairly loose rules then it is your personal judgement.

Usually an agent will go walk if you can't be there. But make sure you call that inspector when they go out there and talk about your main concerns. Agent could even face time you while the inspection is going on so you can be a part of it and see any issues with your own eyes. If this is your first deal be as thorough as you can be, and don't be afraid to ask a lot of people during your DD period because this first deal could set you back years if it goes poorly. 

I've been told that the market is too variable and they still run numbers based off long term average lease numbers for the area. Cities could erase your entire business model by banning STRs and that is a big liability for a bank to take on, especially in the current monetary climate.