*** Official Real Estate Forum *** (2 Viewers)

1. She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent. No exceptions.

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That is the coolest thing I've ever heard. Going to call my banker today.As for Idaho, I can't speak to the specifics of the market, but I can attest to the fact that certain parts are doing very, very well. There's companies around here that cater to "investors" who buy homes sight unseen in Idaho - they can (or at least could last year) buy a home, throw a tenant in it, and get a monthly cash flow right away - and they've done pretty well, with no time or expertise involved at all. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that - but yes, Idaho has been kicking ### lately - and eastern WA is also expected to do really, really well this year - link. I'm thinkin about heading over there for a weekend and looking around. Wenatchee's only a couple hours away from me.

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She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental. Then she has the tenant added to the policy. Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST. Then they can call her.

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk in case a tenant sues for whatever....

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk incase a tenant sues for whatever....

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk in case a tenant sues for whatever....

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My Rental Dwelling policy had liability coverage up to something like $300,000.

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She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental. Then she has the tenant added to the policy. Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST. Then they can call her.

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I'd like to share an experience I had with homeowner warranties.A tenant called to tell me of a badly leaking hot water heater. I told them to shut off the valve and I'd get somebody over there to fix it pronto.

I call the warranty people, and they tell me there is no one within twenty miles on their list, but that if I just get any plumber and have him go out to the property and come up with a reasonable estimate, they'll cover it.

So I called up every single plumber in a ten mile radius, and NOT ONE of them was willing to do warranty work! Why not? The answer was always "Because it takes at least two months of constant badgering to get paid any money."

Finally I found a plumber 15 miles away that would help me. Three months later I get a bill from him for $20 and a note saying "The warranty co. made me wait 10 weeks to pay me and decided I was $20 too expensive even though they approved the estimate the day I did the work."

Lesson learned...

Never buy a homeowner warranty without first checking with the local contractors as to wether they will work with that particular company.

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pics of the flip

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I HATE to paint wood, but time is money, and I would paint the cabinets out in a GLOSS white (Like Dover White in Gloss from Sherwin Williams). will do

Is that the "fake wood" style counter top? yes, and that and the fake wood backsplash are soon to be gone.

Dear god lose that and put in a Hard material. You know your flip, but rip up the counter top, screw down Backer board, and use a Nice 12"x12" ceramic/stone tile.

The plan is to just put in a new laminate countertop, but I will check the price difference on the corian (or similar) countertop. Personally, I think tile countertops look dated.You know your Flip, and laminate could be just fine. I LOVE putting in 12x12 Granite squares as a counter top.

The biggest thing to know is that this is a Cheap, easy, down and dirty way to get it done, and it looks GREAT! Just spend the extra to get the Counter top corners. You will never match it up right, and this product "wraps" the exposed corner, and makes it easy. It will seem expensive, but it is worth every single last penny.

Dear god, please scrap off that border at the top of the room. Please! In the plans. Matter of fact, all wallpaper is comming off. What is the Flashlight in the foreground on? Whatever that is, it looks very weird.

This is the "countertop" between where the stove and refridgerator were. Rip it out, it looks out of place without a cabinet under it. Or put a Cabinet under it, but it will be hard to match, and could be costly. Rip it out.

I assume the floor is VCT?? The floor will come up and be replaced with ceramic.

I haven't looked at any other pictures yet, I'll comment as I go.

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What the HECK is that "Shelf" in free space on the left? That is wild out of place, rip that out if it doesn't do something important. Its going, and the appliances are going to be put back where they belong.

The Ceiling fan has seen better days, and is sagging. Replace it, trust me, people will notice it. If it were your Home or Rental, ONLY buy a Hunter fan. They are the best without question. As a Flip, put in anything cheap that looks good. in the plan.

Is the paneling behind the cabinets, the cheapest way is to paint it with GLOSS white and be done with it. I think we're going to remove it.

I like Dover White in GLOSS from Sherwin Williams. There are other ways. If you really want to look sharp, use the tile from the counter top to create a backspash. I think we're just going to go with painting the drywall here. I would buy the matching short laminate backsplash to match, and go Drywall the rest of the way up to the cabinets. It will look very weird to a buyer without a Backsplach of some sort.

The Wainscoting in the "Dinning area", what is that made of? I think you're referring to the area below the chair molding, its just a light purple paint.

That doesn't look right

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The wall paper border HAS to go. Scrape it off. I have a Wall paper remover that uses steam, and is Awesome. You can rent one from the hardware store for maybe $30 a day at max, and they work great. Looking into the corner, on the left hand side, is there a Hole there? Does that need a "grate", or am I seeing it incorrectly? Its an airvent with the cover over it. Weird angle, you can see right through it. We're replacing all vent covers.

Looks like a Black and a Red stain on the carpet. The black you can get out, the red you will not be able to. Don't bother wasting money on a Cleaner guy if you have a red stain. All carpet is comming out. It smells and is not salvagable. And on the first floor, its all hardwood underneath! OK, I have a Fast and easy way to make Hardwood look great, but it takes more time than I have right now as my wife is already all over me to eat dinner. PLEASE remind me about how to do a Hard wood floor cheaply late in the thread.

The light fixture is OK. Visit your local ReStore to see if you can go spectacular for a reasonable price. It's basic, and common, but what a great place to make a statement if you can do it cheaply. We're planning on replacing all light fixtures. This one isn't in bad shape, but I think we're going to go with all silver colored hardware and fixtures.

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Nothing to see here, move along.

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Nothing to see here, move along. However, IF you were renting, NEVER do the Ceiling in a GLOSS. It shows, no highlights, every single imperfection in the drywall work, and is a Pain going forward. We're repainting all cielings. And c'mon thats the punch list on the floor!

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Did Some SOB Cable guy really just punch a Cable through the HARD WOOD FLOOR and forget about it to save himselfsome time and ruin your floor? Seriously, they legalize murder, and I am going after Dish and Cable guys first. They are the lowest of scum. (There is a HUGE post here, but I don't have the energy tonight, someone remind me later, lots of Legal FCC stuff I can comment on for Dish and the such. Certainly how the LL can avoid being taken advantage of using the law on your side). Anyway, at this point, you need to cap the line off in the corner of the floor, and put in a plate that future lines can be screwed in to. You want a clean look, and for a couple of bucks, you can get rid of the line out in the room, plate it off, and it will look professional. If you can't do this yourself, post back, and I will walk you through it, or just have a professional do it. Brother is all over this, thanks. Comment to him that he can just drop it down into the basement and coil it, screw in a Faceplate to the end, and screw it to the floor instead of cutting it. Professionally, you would cut it, but this way is easy and simple, and doesn't require a crimper. He will understand.

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What is the "Line" coming down at the bottom of the window in the center of the window? Not sure, shadow?, stain?

PLEASE get rid of that Wallpaper boarder. That stuff hurts you more than you think. You think, "hey, it's in good shape, no big deal, heck it adds". Really, if the woman buying doesn't like it, it will kill your deal. Neutral as you can, let the next buyer put in that tacky crap. Exactly the plan

If that is a Florescent light over the mirror, consider going to "make-up" lighting". That is the strip with a ton (Say 5, 7, 9) 25 watt light bulbs. Looks better, and is useful. Also the plan.

Fluorescent lighting in the bath and kitchen is not the play. You want to dominate those two areas. Totally agree.

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GUT and START OVER. yep, my brother is going to start in here and not come out until its done. I am sure he has it, and not trying to say anyone can't do it, just make sure you use "green" board here instead of regular drywall. I am sure he already has it planned.

If you are doing it yourself, feel free to post as you go on this project, and I can assist. I do this type of gut at least once a month as units add to the empire, and units come open that need it where I just didn't deal with it last time around. If this is not your area, hire it out, just understand you need to start over, The Tub MIGHT be salvageable, but that is the ONLY thing in this picture you MIGHT save, tear it all out, and start over. We are going to try to save the tub.

Hire it out, but if you attempt it yourself, please use this thread as your ongoing daily diary so I can help get you through it. I seriously have done an entire bathroom gut and rebuild with my own hands every single month for some 18 months running. I get one at least every month.

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I can't help you with the Ugly as sin Mongoloids in the picture. That said, take a look at that ceiling fan, something is wrong, as it is "off" but I can't pull out the problem in two dimensions. Look at the bulb.

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What the heck room is this? The house is a story and a half, this is the upstairs loft.

It reminds me of a 3rd floor with a railing. If it is a second floor, I can assume that you have a "foyer" for the second floor? Looking all the way back, is that a room over a Garage with a badly slopped room ceiling? Its the green bedroom.

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What a freaking mess. You will need a darker color to get over that blue in as few of coats as possible. My Color for this situation is "Squirrels Tail" from Sherwin Williams. While I am here, go into Sherwin Williams and tell them you are a Land Lord, and they will set up an account for you and give you a standard 20% discount, mine is 30 days net. Everyone should do that if you are a LL or not, anyone in the RE business qualifies for a standard 20% discount from SW. My discount is actually 35%, so haggle. Excellent advice.

Anyway, this room is a mess, and you will need to cover it. I would keep the shelves on the far wall if they are even close to professionally installed. I think they add alot, but if they are attached in a tacky way, lose them. We're all on the fence with the shelves. I will tell you what I did in a space EXACTLY like this one. It cost more, and I am NOT saying to follow this advice like a Mantra, but I took a space EXACTLY like this one and built a custom "Desk" on the far wall. Kitchen cabinets on the bottom, where I cut off the Kickplate area so it would be the right height for a chair. Then an Interior hollow core door that was not predrilled for the handel as the desk top. Space out the cabinets to match the front of the door, and put a peice of trim along the front edge. It created a Cheap "desk" in front of the window, and added storage and Shelfing. I went wall to wall. Just a thought as you think outside the box. It went over like gangbusters, and cost a couple hundred. You want to put in as little as possible, and make as much as you can, so don't begin to think this is the way to go, just offering an option.

With the Ceiling, go Eggshell finish at most, really, go flat. Should we paint all the cielings with the same paint? Are YOU doing the work or hiring it out? If Hiring it out, buy Cheap FLAT ceiling paint, give it to the guy, and forget about it. If you are doing the work, pay the extra for the Ceiling paint that goes on Pink, and turns to white. Painting a Ceiling is hard, you WILL miss spots, get the Pink to White stuff. It's worth it. If a Painter is doing it, buy CHEAP flat Paint, and forget about it.

The more the shine, the more the imperfections show up. The higher the shine, the easier it is to clean (Like for Kitchen Cabinets, but who is scrubbing a Ceiling?) Go buy a two pack of low profile light fixtures at Menard's for $10 and use one here, whatever that is on the ceiling is terrible. Keep the stained wood Floor board, don't paint it.

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Dear god, another one. You can clearly see the style of this house from the last two pictures. Carpet looks fine, and if you are going to save it, and not add the expense (I just did two big rooms of high quality carpet on Monday for $700.00 with great pad, save anything you can). So to save the carpet if it is good repair, you have to go white here. Big red stain in the middle here. Pretty sure its gone. If it is a Red stain, you are done, there is no product or way of getting out Red, Yellow, or Green stains. I look all the time, it doesn't exist. If that is red, you are done. Please don't waste any money trying to get it out, you can't

I would use "Antique White" from Sherwin Williams here, as it is darker than normal white, but still white. Is there any chance you own stock in SW? I get high quality paint at 35% off from them, I used to use Sears paint.

It will take a number of coats, but it is cheaper than replacing the green carpet. Light fixture has to be changed, use the one left over from your two pack. Wall Paper board is terrible.

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I would try and keep the floor as it is not completely terrible. Remember, you are trying to get out with the biggest profit possible. Would it be better in 12"x12" tile? You betcha, but you want to maximize profit, and I believe the floor is a pass. We ended up getting enough tile at the restore to tile both baths and this surround, and the kitchen. Like the reStore do you?

I see this room has Make-up side lights, and that is great. Here is the Quick and dirty, so you don't spend a fortune and a ton of time here. You can make this bath 1000% better in say 3 hours. Get rid of the wall paper hearts boarder. Hopefully, it is paint, and you can just go over it. The entire non Tile area of the room, Walls: Dover White in GLOSS. Now, for the Terrible Green tile with the tan accent, (I had two EXACTLY like this earlier this year, only the accent was Black). Goto Menard's, goto the Paint section. Look for the Tub and Tile paint. It comes in a Box. There are 3 Shades. Really WAY too freaking White that shows imperfections, "Bisque", and something darker that always looks dirty. You want the Middle Color called "Bisque". It will cost about $17-18. Now, if you were using it on a Tub, there is a ton of prep work, and you have to everything just right or the product will fail (Trust me, experience here), however, if you are taking out the tacky as heck green wall tile that never gets water on it, here is what you do: Open the box, there will be a Bigger can of the paint, and a smaller can of the epoxy. Open both, and mix them together. WAIT, WAIT, WAIT for say 15 minutes to let it set up. If you start painting right away, you will NOT like the result (Trust me, experience here), anyway, use a Small roller and a GOOD paint brush that you are going to just throw away. If you think you can use a Cheap Chip brush for a buck to just throw away to save money, you will not like the result, (Trust me, experience here, the epoxy pulls the cheap brush apart, and you have Paint brush strands/hairs/fibers all over your wall, use a good brush to get into corners). One box can do two entire bathroom walls, and you will have an Epoxy coated sheening white bathroom walls that won't fail as they never get water on them. I have personally done this say 20 times to get rid of that ugly Green Metal (Yes, it's tin, NOT ceramic) tiles that they used in the 50's and 60's. It works. All great stuff but the tile is plastic and put right on the drywall so its comming off. Plastic? I'll bet it's actually a thin Metal tin. That product done in that exact style was all the rage in the 50's. I'd be shocked if it was plastic. I popped it off in one kitchen, and the wall behind needed a bunch of scraping. Just understand that time is money.

Certainly you know to replace the toilet seat. I like the spongebob seat

Comes off easy. BY CODE: That plug beside the mirror should be a GFI plug. It is VERY easy to switch, if you need walking through the switch, post back, certainly don't pay anyone to do that, it is very basic electric that anyone can handle. Brother is all over this.

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I commented above. You can either make this a VERY expensive and time consuming project gutting this bathroom, or you can follow the advice above. Put that missing tile back on with Waterproof construction adhesive. Works out of a Caulk gun. If you don't have one, buy a Professionals Caulk gun with the "bars" running down the side on opposite sides, a quality cutting edge, and a reamer attached to the gun. Don't buy the cheap one that has a solid single side. The difference is $4 or so, spend the $4. Anyway, construction adhesive will put that back in place. The three that are chipped can be corrected with Bondo (Not my favorite), or Architectural Putty. I use the putty. Just rebuild it so it is smooth, (you will need to sand either product down with a Sander, oscillating orbital is better), as you will be covering the whole room with Tub and Tile Epoxy paint. Oh, make sure the area is VERY ventilated. This stuff will have you remembering your college days/haze, trust me, knock you on your but kind of stuff. The Tub spout is one of the old screw on types. You might need to go to the local plumbing supply house. You will pay more, but you might have a hard time finding what you need in a big box store. You are looking for a Front end screw on tub spout. In a Rental, I would say DO NOT ACCEPT a plastic one, as so many retro fits are plastic, but in a flip, what the hell, they LOOK good, just never put any pressure on them. You will need to Caulk the back side once it is in place as it won't be self sealing. If the Handles are dripping/leaking, post back here, that style is an easy repair, but it is very old school, and I could walk you through it.

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What is this mess? Basement, with a strong mildew smell. Mildew, GOOD man.

Only concern here is the wall on the left hand side. Is that Mildew at the bottom? Keep the wood, paint the yellow door, and clean the carpet. Easily the worst carpet in the whole house. Is this Concrete underneath? If so, pull the terrible carpet, and just paint the whole basement floor in a Grey Floor paint. DON'T let the paint guy talk you into, tack on the extra for the Flooring additive that makes it non slip. First, you won't get water on it, secondly, it's a flip. Sure it's not much money, but every single penny counts in a rehab.

It's a basement, so don't worry about it, although the light fixtures suck. Will probably replace with the cheapos from menards. Also, the cieling is stained and splattered, so we're planning on putting in a new drop cieling. Do you have enough room? In Indiana, the Code for a basement Ceiling is 7 feet from the highest part of the floor. I would hate for you spend money, drop below whatever the OH code is if there even is one, and have some slackjawed home inspector call you on it, where the buyer tryies to beat you down $500.00 on the sales price over it. ***It's a freaking basement, I would get some Fender washers, screw up any sagging areas, and paint the whole thing with "Killz" paint, and be done with it. Be alot cheaper.

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OK, we all know it is Mildew now. Say it with me, it is never M#LD, it is ALWAYS Mildew. M#LD is NEVER even in your vocabulary. You don't know the word, practice NEVER saying it. EVERYTHING is Mildew. Period. What is the smell of the carpet? I would want to save the carpet. Say it with me, YOU NEED to install and provide a Dehumidifier. As big as you can get. The other choice is to spend a ton of money and time Fixing whatever it is that caused this issue. A big Dehumidifier would solve this problem just as well, and be under $200. Hopefully you have a Utility room, and you can hard drain it right into the sump pump or whatever. You DON'T WANT to take on the solve of this issue, you just want to keep it from happening. I couldn't sleep at night knowing I just make it look good, but it would happen again, I am not out to screw anyone. You can solve with a Big Dehumidifier for under $200, and it will stop the problem. Great idea

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Like I said, a Big hopefully Hard Wired but absolutely Hard plumbed Dehumidifier for under $200 solves the water issue. Hit everything with Bleach like you were a Ghost-buster. Screw back up the sag in the Ceiling with a Drywall screw in a "Fender" Washer and paint. Never know the difference. Get a Good gray floor paint for the Floor. It's a Basement, make it not look scary, forgettaboutit after that.

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I hate Vinyl Siding for the obvious reasons, but I LOVE the look of this house, GREAT curb appeal!!!!! Just needs a little landscaping, and we were thinking of changing the red trim to white, opinions?

Watch the branches touching the roof if there are any, they can tear up the shingles on the roof in a big storm. Some shingles need replaced, and some branches trimmed

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Very, Very nice Curb appeal. I think you did well here with the Property. I couldn't begin to comment on your price in your area, but the house itself could be a fast, cheap, and easy flip if you go about it right. We got it 25k below current appraised value. It sold 4 years ago for 10k more than current appraisal. We've got alot of room to work.

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I ask the same questions of a bunch of intelligent people and see if the anwsers are the same etc....)

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Jeff (or whoever else).....a few questions as I am about to buy a new construction condo for investment purposes...(Ive talked with my mortgage broker and a few real estate agents, but I always like to do extensive research before spending big bucks, so I ask the same questions of a bunch of intelligent people and see if the anwsers are the same etc....)

1. Should I use a real estate agent to deal with the builder? We have always built new homes for personal residences, and never used a realtor. I found I was able to negociate the price down myself, but always wondered if as realtor could do better?

As a Realtor, where my Wife is a Realtor, If the builder is using an in house agent, or has no agent, I would believe you are honestly better not having an agent. However, if the builder is using an outside agent, and his expense of an agent is already built into the price, it would be foolhardy not to have an agent. 99% of the time, you will be fine, but if someone else is paying, and they are paying no matter what (outside agent), then an Agent of your own could help immensely. There are pitfalls you will never see coming, and remember that every single person in the process is a RE profession EXCEPT you. If it is going to PERSONALLY cost you extra, I would think that you would be just fine without one. No buyer should EVER pay for an agent. And remember, I am an agent telling you this. ***Disclaimer: I am trying to comment my personal thoughts and feelings on a Fantasy Football message board. These are my personal thoughts. I am not a Lawyer, and not offering legal advice in any way, nor am I offering professional Real Estate advice in any way. If anything, consider my posts in this thread a personal blog for my personal use at a later date. (It's a shame the world has gotten to the point you have to post that every so often)

2. I know (and this may get complicated, sorry) that new construction condos are non warrantable (this is building 14 of about 50, so builder is still in control) so a mortgage may be more difficult. Anyway, is it even worth the trouble, or should I look at existing condos instead? Ummm.... HUH???

3. Anyone else have any advice....this is my first time into rental property. We will be setting up a seperate management company (s-corp) to manage the property, but my wife and I will be the owners of both. Anyway, any landlord, mortgage, or general advice is appreciated!

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Went to a local real estate group (if you haven't gone to one - go).

Kendra Todd was there.

Yes, that Kendra Todd - from The Apprentice.

I'm guessing you can tell from my Avatar that I watch that show.

Anyway, she was promoting her RE career and biz and her new book, but she said a few things that were rather interesting (that's what I go for, really.  Any tidbits of info for free are worth it).

She was talking about what states and areas of the country are growing fastest.

I'd love to hear from any FBGs on the board that are from these areas.  (I know, likely spinoff thread - I'll do that next).

First, states that are growing the fastest:

1.  Nevada  (LV is still growing fast)

2.  Arizona (Phoenix, Tuscon, Scottsdale)

3.  Idaho. 

Seriously.  Idaho.

Who knew.

Then again, 2 guys walking into Idaho may boost it 1%.

4. Was Florida, and I think 5th was NC.

More to follow.

BnB, we may need to discuss some things.....

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Ok, let's get back to this.I actually had a nice conversation with Kendra last Wednesday evening. She's quite nice and has done well for herself both before and after the Trump experience.

Still wondering about that Boise Idaho thing.

Since that meeting, I've seen multiple people talking up both Florida and North Carolina, in particular Asheville. There was a recent thread in the FFA on Asheville, I'll add the link if I can find it.

Asheville, NC.

Ok I'm getting good at the searches.

Back on track.

Kendra spoke about what her approach is to investing in RE. She buys from builders either at the "pre-construction" phase or at the "builder close-out" phase. Both make sense to me.

In the "pre", the builder needs to sell lots of units to get their financing. They know that investors are some of the first to come to the table, so they cater to them and cut deals.

In the "close-out", they want to clear their books and move on. Holding costs add up, especially if inventories are high. That's starting to happen in certain places.

Kendra also targets properties under $300K that can "cash-flow". Her definition of cash flow was pretty loose IMHO, as she was talking about properties that just barely broke even if you put 20% down. But, she's buying in appreciating markets and plans to hold for 7-10 years. She figures with rents increasing in those same areas and values increasing, the property will cash flow better in a few years, and the builder incentives will cover her costs to start out. Not a bad theory.

Back to Adam's question about buying property and managing them. She recommends two things, and I'd like to hear Mike's opinion. I've heard the ideas more than once, but the repetition is starting to have it sink in.

1. She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent. No exceptions.

I would think that would help, as for one thing deadbeat tenants often don't even HAVE bank accounts. Some of you know what I'm talking about.

2. She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental. Then she has the tenant added to the policy. Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST. Then they can call her.

3. She also has 2 handymen companies for any repairs.

4. She buys new units so that in the first 7-10 years the repairs / maintenance are low, if any.

So I'm looking for comments / feedback about the markets (especially Idaho), and I probably need a new thread for that.

As for Adam, I'd negotiate directly with the builder, but you don't have the buying power a RE brokerage company may have if they buy 20-30 at a time for resale to investors.

I'd do the homework on what is a good price, then set out after it. Ask around and ask local RE clubs if the area is a good one or not. Savvy local investors know.

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1.  She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent.  No exceptions.

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That is the coolest thing I've ever heard. Going to call my banker today.As for Idaho, I can't speak to the specifics of the market, but I can attest to the fact that certain parts are doing very, very well. There's companies around here that cater to "investors" who buy homes sight unseen in Idaho - they can (or at least could last year) buy a home, throw a tenant in it, and get a monthly cash flow right away - and they've done pretty well, with no time or expertise involved at all. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that - but yes, Idaho has been kicking ### lately - and eastern WA is also expected to do really, really well this year - link. I'm thinkin about heading over there for a weekend and looking around. Wenatchee's only a couple hours away from me.

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1.  She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent.  No exceptions.

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That is the coolest thing I've ever heard. Going to call my banker today.As for Idaho, I can't speak to the specifics of the market, but I can attest to the fact that certain parts are doing very, very well. There's companies around here that cater to "investors" who buy homes sight unseen in Idaho - they can (or at least could last year) buy a home, throw a tenant in it, and get a monthly cash flow right away - and they've done pretty well, with no time or expertise involved at all. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that - but yes, Idaho has been kicking ### lately - and eastern WA is also expected to do really, really well this year - link. I'm thinkin about heading over there for a weekend and looking around. Wenatchee's only a couple hours away from me.

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I could show you 10 homes tonight where you could buy them right now, already have a tenant, and cash flow from day one in the Fort. Hot markets act like this is something special.

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1.  She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent.  No exceptions.

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That is the coolest thing I've ever heard. Going to call my banker today.As for Idaho, I can't speak to the specifics of the market, but I can attest to the fact that certain parts are doing very, very well. There's companies around here that cater to "investors" who buy homes sight unseen in Idaho - they can (or at least could last year) buy a home, throw a tenant in it, and get a monthly cash flow right away - and they've done pretty well, with no time or expertise involved at all. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that - but yes, Idaho has been kicking ### lately - and eastern WA is also expected to do really, really well this year - link. I'm thinkin about heading over there for a weekend and looking around. Wenatchee's only a couple hours away from me.

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I could show you 10 homes tonight where you could buy them right now, already have a tenant, and cash flow from day one in the Fort. Hot markets act like this is something special.

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Merry Xmas.I went and took a quick look, and this jumped out fast without trying.

1228 Stophlet St

It's within my greater area, although 2 blocks south of what I am actively working on, but no problem. I personally live 8 blocks north, and 5 blocks east of this.

$43,900 asking, currently bringing in $820 a month. Do the math. Completely remodeled, all Electric, where each tenant pays their own water, so ZERO utilities to the owner.

These are all over the place in the Fort.

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk incase a tenant sues for whatever....

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Kendra also targets properties under $300K that can "cash-flow". Her definition of cash flow was pretty loose IMHO, as she was talking about properties that just barely broke even if you put 20% down. But, she's buying in appreciating markets and plans to hold for 7-10 years. She figures with rents increasing in those same areas and values increasing, the property will cash flow better in a few years, and the builder incentives will cover her costs to start out. Not a bad theory.Back to Adam's question about buying property and managing them. She recommends two things, and I'd like to hear Mike's opinion. I've heard the ideas more than once, but the repetition is starting to have it sink in.1. She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent. No exceptions.I would think that would help, as for one thing deadbeat tenants often don't even HAVE bank accounts. Some of you know what I'm talking about.2. She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental. Then she has the tenant added to the policy. Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST. Then they can call her.3. She also has 2 handymen companies for any repairs.4. She buys new units so that in the first 7-10 years the repairs / maintenance are low, if any.So I'm looking for comments / feedback about the markets (especially Idaho), and I probably need a new thread for that.

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk incase a tenant sues for whatever....

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I my opinion it's a waste of time and you're much better served by spending the money of additional insurance. If you want the protection, you'll have to set up one for each property. In this stare, that's an additional $250 filing fee each year plus the paperwork prep. $250 buys a bunch of insurance.

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pics of the flip

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I HATE to paint wood, but time is money, and I would paint the cabinets out in a GLOSS white (Like Dover White in Gloss from Sherwin Williams). will do

Is that the "fake wood" style counter top? yes, and that and the fake wood backsplash are soon to be gone.

Dear god lose that and put in a Hard material. You know your flip, but rip up the counter top, screw down Backer board, and use a Nice 12"x12" ceramic/stone tile.

The plan is to just put in a new laminate countertop, but I will check the price difference on the corian (or similar) countertop. Personally, I think tile countertops look dated.You know your Flip, and laminate could be just fine. I LOVE putting in 12x12 Granite squares as a counter top.

The biggest thing to know is that this is a Cheap, easy, down and dirty way to get it done, and it looks GREAT! Just spend the extra to get the Counter top corners. You will never match it up right, and this product "wraps" the exposed corner, and makes it easy. It will seem expensive, but it is worth every single last penny.

Dear god, please scrap off that border at the top of the room. Please! In the plans. Matter of fact, all wallpaper is comming off. What is the Flashlight in the foreground on? Whatever that is, it looks very weird.

This is the "countertop" between where the stove and refridgerator were. Rip it out, it looks out of place without a cabinet under it. Or put a Cabinet under it, but it will be hard to match, and could be costly. Rip it out.

I assume the floor is VCT?? The floor will come up and be replaced with ceramic.

I haven't looked at any other pictures yet, I'll comment as I go.

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What the HECK is that "Shelf" in free space on the left? That is wild out of place, rip that out if it doesn't do something important. Its going, and the appliances are going to be put back where they belong.

The Ceiling fan has seen better days, and is sagging. Replace it, trust me, people will notice it. If it were your Home or Rental, ONLY buy a Hunter fan. They are the best without question. As a Flip, put in anything cheap that looks good. in the plan.

Is the paneling behind the cabinets, the cheapest way is to paint it with GLOSS white and be done with it. I think we're going to remove it.

I like Dover White in GLOSS from Sherwin Williams. There are other ways. If you really want to look sharp, use the tile from the counter top to create a backspash. I think we're just going to go with painting the drywall here. I would buy the matching short laminate backsplash to match, and go Drywall the rest of the way up to the cabinets. It will look very weird to a buyer without a Backsplach of some sort.

The Wainscoting in the "Dinning area", what is that made of? I think you're referring to the area below the chair molding, its just a light purple paint.

That doesn't look right

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The wall paper border HAS to go. Scrape it off. I have a Wall paper remover that uses steam, and is Awesome. You can rent one from the hardware store for maybe $30 a day at max, and they work great. Looking into the corner, on the left hand side, is there a Hole there? Does that need a "grate", or am I seeing it incorrectly? Its an airvent with the cover over it. Weird angle, you can see right through it. We're replacing all vent covers.

Looks like a Black and a Red stain on the carpet. The black you can get out, the red you will not be able to. Don't bother wasting money on a Cleaner guy if you have a red stain. All carpet is comming out. It smells and is not salvagable. And on the first floor, its all hardwood underneath! OK, I have a Fast and easy way to make Hardwood look great, but it takes more time than I have right now as my wife is already all over me to eat dinner. PLEASE remind me about how to do a Hard wood floor cheaply late in the thread.

The light fixture is OK. Visit your local ReStore to see if you can go spectacular for a reasonable price. It's basic, and common, but what a great place to make a statement if you can do it cheaply. We're planning on replacing all light fixtures. This one isn't in bad shape, but I think we're going to go with all silver colored hardware and fixtures.

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Nothing to see here, move along.

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Nothing to see here, move along. However, IF you were renting, NEVER do the Ceiling in a GLOSS. It shows, no highlights, every single imperfection in the drywall work, and is a Pain going forward. We're repainting all cielings. And c'mon thats the punch list on the floor!

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Did Some SOB Cable guy really just punch a Cable through the HARD WOOD FLOOR and forget about it to save himselfsome time and ruin your floor? Seriously, they legalize murder, and I am going after Dish and Cable guys first. They are the lowest of scum. (There is a HUGE post here, but I don't have the energy tonight, someone remind me later, lots of Legal FCC stuff I can comment on for Dish and the such. Certainly how the LL can avoid being taken advantage of using the law on your side). Anyway, at this point, you need to cap the line off in the corner of the floor, and put in a plate that future lines can be screwed in to. You want a clean look, and for a couple of bucks, you can get rid of the line out in the room, plate it off, and it will look professional. If you can't do this yourself, post back, and I will walk you through it, or just have a professional do it. Brother is all over this, thanks. Comment to him that he can just drop it down into the basement and coil it, screw in a Faceplate to the end, and screw it to the floor instead of cutting it. Professionally, you would cut it, but this way is easy and simple, and doesn't require a crimper. He will understand.

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What is the "Line" coming down at the bottom of the window in the center of the window? Not sure, shadow?, stain?

PLEASE get rid of that Wallpaper boarder. That stuff hurts you more than you think. You think, "hey, it's in good shape, no big deal, heck it adds". Really, if the woman buying doesn't like it, it will kill your deal. Neutral as you can, let the next buyer put in that tacky crap. Exactly the plan

If that is a Florescent light over the mirror, consider going to "make-up" lighting". That is the strip with a ton (Say 5, 7, 9) 25 watt light bulbs. Looks better, and is useful. Also the plan.

Fluorescent lighting in the bath and kitchen is not the play. You want to dominate those two areas. Totally agree.

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GUT and START OVER. yep, my brother is going to start in here and not come out until its done. I am sure he has it, and not trying to say anyone can't do it, just make sure you use "green" board here instead of regular drywall. I am sure he already has it planned.

If you are doing it yourself, feel free to post as you go on this project, and I can assist. I do this type of gut at least once a month as units add to the empire, and units come open that need it where I just didn't deal with it last time around. If this is not your area, hire it out, just understand you need to start over, The Tub MIGHT be salvageable, but that is the ONLY thing in this picture you MIGHT save, tear it all out, and start over. We are going to try to save the tub.

Hire it out, but if you attempt it yourself, please use this thread as your ongoing daily diary so I can help get you through it. I seriously have done an entire bathroom gut and rebuild with my own hands every single month for some 18 months running. I get one at least every month.

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I can't help you with the Ugly as sin Mongoloids in the picture. That said, take a look at that ceiling fan, something is wrong, as it is "off" but I can't pull out the problem in two dimensions. Look at the bulb.

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What the heck room is this? The house is a story and a half, this is the upstairs loft.

It reminds me of a 3rd floor with a railing. If it is a second floor, I can assume that you have a "foyer" for the second floor? Looking all the way back, is that a room over a Garage with a badly slopped room ceiling? Its the green bedroom.

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What a freaking mess. You will need a darker color to get over that blue in as few of coats as possible. My Color for this situation is "Squirrels Tail" from Sherwin Williams. While I am here, go into Sherwin Williams and tell them you are a Land Lord, and they will set up an account for you and give you a standard 20% discount, mine is 30 days net. Everyone should do that if you are a LL or not, anyone in the RE business qualifies for a standard 20% discount from SW. My discount is actually 35%, so haggle. Excellent advice.

Anyway, this room is a mess, and you will need to cover it. I would keep the shelves on the far wall if they are even close to professionally installed. I think they add alot, but if they are attached in a tacky way, lose them. We're all on the fence with the shelves. I will tell you what I did in a space EXACTLY like this one. It cost more, and I am NOT saying to follow this advice like a Mantra, but I took a space EXACTLY like this one and built a custom "Desk" on the far wall. Kitchen cabinets on the bottom, where I cut off the Kickplate area so it would be the right height for a chair. Then an Interior hollow core door that was not predrilled for the handel as the desk top. It created a Cheap "desk" in front of the window, and added storage and Shelfing. I went wall to wall. Just a thought as you think outside the box. It went over like gangbusters, and cost a couple hundred. You want to put in as little as possible, and make as much as you can, so don't begin to think this is the way to go, just offering an option.

With the Ceiling, go Eggshell finish at most, really, go flat. Should we paint all the cielings with the same paint? Are YOU doing the work or hiring it out? If Hiring it out, but Cheap FLAT ceiling paint, give it to the guy, and forget about it. If you are doing the work, pay the extra for the Ceiling paint that goes on Pink, and turns to white. Painting a Ceiling is hard, you WILL miss spots, get the Pink to White stuff. It's worth it. If a Painter is doing it, buy CHEAP flat Paint, and forget about it.

The more the shine, the more the imperfections show up. The higher the shine, the easier it is to clean (Like for Kitchen Cabinets, but who is scrubbing a Ceiling?) Go buy a two pack of low profile light fixtures at Menard's for $10 and use one here, whatever that is on the ceiling is terrible. Keep the stained wood Floor board, don't paint it.

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Dear god, another one. You can clearly see the style of this house from the last two pictures. Carpet looks fine, and if you are going to save it, and not add the expense (I just did two big rooms of high quality carpet on Monday for $700.00 with great pad, save anything you can). So to save the carpet if it is good repair, you have to go white here. Big red stain in the middle here. Pretty sure its gone. If it is a Red stain, you are done, there is no product or way of getting out Red, Yellow, or Green stains. I look all the time, it doesn't exist. If that is red, you are done. Please don't waste any money trying to get it out, you can't

I would use "Antique White" from Sherwin Williams here, as it is darker than normal white, but still white. Is there any chance you own stock in SW? I get high quality paint at 35% off from them, I used to use Sears paint.

It will take a number of coats, but it is cheaper than replacing the green carpet. Light fixture has to be changed, use the one left over from your two pack. Wall Paper board is terrible.

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I would try and keep the floor as it is not completely terrible. Remember, you are trying to get out with the biggest profit possible. Would it be better in 12"x12" tile? You betcha, but you want to maximize profit, and I believe the floor is a pass. We ended up getting enough tile at the restore to tile both baths and this surround, and the kitchen. Like the reStore do you?

I see this room has Make-up side lights, and that is great. Here is the Quick and dirty, so you don't spend a fortune and a ton of time here. You can make this bath 1000% better in say 3 hours. Get rid of the wall paper hearts boarder. Hopefully, it is paint, and you can just go over it. The entire non Tile area of the room, Walls: Dover White in GLOSS. Now, for the Terrible Green tile with the tan accent, (I had two EXACTLY like this earlier this year, only the accent was Black). Goto Menard's, goto the Paint section. Look for the Tub and Tile paint. It comes in a Box. There are 3 Shades. Really WAY too freaking White that shows imperfections, "Bisque", and something darker that always looks dirty. You want the Middle Color called "Bisque". It will cost about $17-18. Now, if you were using it on a Tub, there is a ton of prep work, and you have to everything just right or the product will fail (Trust me, experience here), however, if you are taking out the tacky as heck green wall tile that never gets water on it, here is what you do: Open the box, there will be a Bigger can of the paint, and a smaller can of the epoxy. Open both, and mix them together. WAIT, WAIT, WAIT for say 15 minutes to let it set up. If you start painting right away, you will NOT like the result (Trust me, experience here), anyway, use a Small roller and a GOOD paint brush that you are going to just throw away. If you think you can use a Cheap Chip brush for a buck to just throw away to save money, you will not like the result, (Trust me, experience here, the epoxy pulls the cheap brush apart, and you have Paint brush strands/hairs/fibers all over your wall, use a good brush to get into corners). One box can do two entire bathroom walls, and you will have an Epoxy coated sheening white bathroom walls that won't fail as they never get water on them. I have personally done this say 20 times to get rid of that ugly Green Metal (Yes, it's tin, NOT ceramic) tiles that they used in the 50's and 60's. It works. All great stuff but the tile is plastic and put right on the drywall so its comming off. Plastic? I'll bet it's actually a thin Metal tin. That product done in that exact style was all the rage in the 50's. I'd be shocked if it was plastic. I popped it off in one kitchen, and the wall behind needed a bunch of scraping. Just understand that time is money.

Certainly you know to replace the toilet seat. I like the spongebob seat

Comes off easy. BY CODE: That plug beside the mirror should be a GFI plug. It is VERY easy to switch, if you need walking through the switch, post back, certainly don't pay anyone to do that, it is very basic electric that anyone can handle. Brother is all over this.

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I commented above. You can either make this a VERY expensive and time consuming project gutting this bathroom, or you can follow the advice above. Put that missing tile back on with Waterproof construction adhesive. Works out of a Caulk gun. If you don't have one, buy a Professionals Caulk gun with the "bars" running down the side on opposite sides, a quality cutting edge, and a reamer attached to the gun. Don't buy the cheap one that has a solid single side. The difference is $4 or so, spend the $4. Anyway, construction adhesive will put that back in place. The three that are chipped can be corrected with Bondo (Not my favorite), or Architectural Putty. I use the putty. Just rebuild it so it is smooth, (you will need to sand either product down with a Sander, oscillating orbital is better), as you will be covering the whole room with Tub and Tile Epoxy paint. Oh, make sure the area is VERY ventilated. This stuff will have you remembering your college days/haze, trust me, knock you on your but kind of stuff. The Tub spout is one of the old screw on types. You might need to go to the local plumbing supply house. You will pay more, but you might have a hard time finding what you need in a big box store. You are looking for a Front end screw on tub spout. In a Rental, I would say DO NOT ACCEPT a plastic one, as so many retro fits are plastic, but in a flip, what the hell, they LOOK good, just never put any pressure on them. You will need to Caulk the back side once it is in place as it won't be self sealing. If the Handles are dripping/leaking, post back here, that style is an easy repair, but it is very old school, and I could walk you through it.

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What is this mess? Basement, with a strong mildew smell. Mildew, GOOD man.

Only concern here is the wall on the left hand side. Is that Mildew at the bottom? Keep the wood, paint the yellow door, and clean the carpet. Easily the worst carpet in the whole house. Is this Concrete underneath? If so, pull the terrible carpet, and just paint the whole basement floor in a Grey Floor paint. DON'T let the paint guy talk you into, tack on the extra for the Flooring additive that makes it non slip. First, you won't get water on it, secondly, it's a flip. Sure it's not much money, but every single penny counts in a rehab.

It's a basement, so don't worry about it, although the light fixtures suck. Will probably replace with the cheapos from menards. Also, the cieling is stained and splattered, so we're planning on putting in a new drop cieling. Do you have enough room? In Indiana, the Code for a basement Ceiling is 7 feet from the highest part of the floor. I would hate for you spend money, drop below whatever the OH code is if there even is one, and have some slackjawed home inspector call you on it, where the buyer tryies to beat you down $500.00 on the sales price over it. ***It's a freaking basement, I would get some Fender washers, screw up any sagging areas, and paint the whole thing with "Killz" paint, and be done with it. Be alot cheaper.

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OK, we all know it is Mildew now. Say it with me, it is never M#LD, it is ALWAYS Mildew. M#LD is NEVER even in your vocabulary. You don't know the word, practice NEVER saying it. EVERYTHING is Mildew. Period. What is the smell of the carpet? I would want to save the carpet. Say it with me, YOU NEED to install and provide a Dehumidifier. As big as you can get. The other choice is to spend a ton of money and time Fixing whatever it is that caused this issue. A big Dehumidifier would solve this problem just as well, and be under $200. Hopefully you have a Utility room, and you can hard drain it right into the sump pump or whatever. You DON'T WANT to take on the solve of this issue, you just want to keep it from happening. I couldn't sleep at night knowing I just make it look good, but it would happen again, I am not out to screw anyone. You can solve with a Big Dehumidifier for under $200, and it will stop the problem. Great idea

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Like I said, a Big hopefully Hard Wired but absolutely Hard plumbed Dehumidifier for under $200 solves the water issue. Hit everything with Bleach like you were a Ghost-buster. Screw back up the sag in the Ceiling with a Drywall screw in a "Fender" Washer and paint. Never know the difference. Get a Good gray floor paint for the Floor. It's a Basement, make it not look scary, forgettaboutit after that.

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I hate Vinyl Siding for the obvious reasons, but I LOVE the look of this house, GREAT curb appeal!!!!! Just needs a little landscaping, and we were thinking of changing the red trim to white, opinions?

Watch the branches touching the roof if there are any, they can tear up the shingles on the roof in a big storm. Some shingles need replaced, and some branches trimmed

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Very, Very nice Curb appeal. I think you did well here with the Property. I couldn't begin to comment on your price in your area, but the house itself could be a fast, cheap, and easy flip if you go about it right. We got it 25k below current appraised value. It sold 4 years ago for 10k more than current appraisal. We've got alot of room to work.

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Kendra also targets properties under $300K that can "cash-flow". Her definition of cash flow was pretty loose IMHO, as she was talking about properties that just barely broke even if you put 20% down. But, she's buying in appreciating markets and plans to hold for 7-10 years. She figures with rents increasing in those same areas and values increasing, the property will cash flow better in a few years, and the builder incentives will cover her costs to start out. Not a bad theory.

Back to Adam's question about buying property and managing them. She recommends two things, and I'd like to hear Mike's opinion. I've heard the ideas more than once, but the repetition is starting to have it sink in.

1. She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent. No exceptions.

I would think that would help, as for one thing deadbeat tenants often don't even HAVE bank accounts. Some of you know what I'm talking about.

2. She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental. Then she has the tenant added to the policy. Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST. Then they can call her.

3. She also has 2 handymen companies for any repairs.

4. She buys new units so that in the first 7-10 years the repairs / maintenance are low, if any.

So I'm looking for comments / feedback about the markets (especially Idaho), and I probably need a new thread for that.

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I guess Trumpy would fire me...1) As Mike mentioned, this is a horrible idea. Like he said, a $5 deposit by the tenant and your court case just got thrown out for another month.

2) Home warranties are pretty much a waste, especially on newer properties. I may do one the first year to cover anything the previous owner was hiding. The problem is you're getting stuck with a $50 to $75 deductible. I can get a service call for this price most of the time. Also read the fine print...there's a lot of stuff they don't cover.

3) Not sure want the point is here.

4) I pretty much agree with this statement.

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Mike, Jeff, and crew,

After reading Mikes extensive post on our flip, I'm actually rethinking replacing the windows. We originally budgeted to replace the windows but I'm now thinking that may not be the best way to go. They actually do need to be replaced, but should I do that or let the buyer do it? FYI, they will cost $3900.

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Some things we will do without a doubt:

1. Require proof of renters insurance

I actually write the policy at lease signing for my renters, and collect the money to give MY agent, making sure that I am named on THEIR policy. If they have a policy, I make sure I am named on it.

2. Perform credit check (thats what the $30 app fee is for)

We use Youcheckcredit.Com and are very happy with the service.

3. Require security deposit up front (50% of monthly rent)

HUH? 50% of the months rent? Why so low? I do $25.00 either under or over a months rent, as I don't want it to equal a months rent, so the tenant doesn't think of the deposit as the last months rent. I certainly go up to even 1.5 times the rent if the place is all stained woodwork and hardwood floors, I am going to protect myself. I can't understand half a months rent?

4. Unit is smoke-free, and will reuqire signed disclourse of such

5. $50 extra per month for a pet (limit one per condo rules)

I like the direct withdrawal idea....Ill look into that......saves trips to the bank...

There are pitfalls here. I had EVERY tenant on direct deposit 5 years ago, I have moved away from it some. This isn't the holy grail.

As far as non warrantable....(copied from another website, but a good overview)

Non warrantable condo's are deemded so for several reasons. Chances are, you have a buyer interested in a new construction or a conversion project... rehabs are tougher to get through than new construction.

Basically, the main reason why so many projects are non warrentable is becuase the developer is in control of the home owners association. So, there's an insurance issue plus no homeowners can take control diplomaticaly. But, several projects do not hand over the HOA for 1 or 2 years... until the occupancy ratio is established.

Main reasons why a property is non warrantable:

1) The HOA is in control of Developer.

2) Common areas are not completed

3) Certificates of Occupancy on hold

4) Most Important in Most Cases for New Construction- Occupancy Ratio. What is the OO versus NOO. Several lenders will accept 70% OO or under contract for OO.

5) If one person owns 20% of the units. If you are dealing with a 50 unit building... not much of a problem.

There are usually hits to the rate for Non Warrantable deals but by only .50 or so.

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Dear god, please scrap off that border at the top of the room. Please!
What is the Flashlight in the foreground on? Whatever that is, it looks very weird.
What the HECK is that "Shelf" in free space on the left? That is wild out of place, rip that out if it doesn't do something important.
Did Some SOB Cable guy really just punch a Cable through the HARD WOOD FLOOR and forget about it to save himself some time and ruin your floor? Seriously, they legalize murder, and I am going after Dish and Cable guys first. They are the lowest of scum.
GUT and START OVER.
What the heck room is this?
What a freaking mess.
Dear god, another one.
This stuff will have you remembering your college days/haze, trust me, knock you on your but kind of stuff.
What is this mess?
Hit everything with Bleach like you were a Ghost-buster.

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She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental.  Then she has the tenant added to the policy.  Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST.  Then they can call her.

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I'd like to share an experience I had with homeowner warranties.A tenant called to tell me of a badly leaking hot water heater. I told them to shut off the valve and I'd get somebody over there to fix it pronto.

I call the warranty people, and they tell me there is no one within twenty miles on their list, but that if I just get any plumber and have him go out to the property and come up with a reasonable estimate, they'll cover it.

So I called up every single plumber in a ten mile radius, and NOT ONE of them was willing to do warranty work! Why not? The answer was always "Because it takes at least two months of constant badgering to get paid any money."

Finally I found a plumber 15 miles away that would help me. Three months later I get a bill from him for $20 and a note saying "The warranty co. made me wait 10 weeks to pay me and decided I was $20 too expensive even though they approved the estimate the day I did the work."

Lesson learned...

Never buy a homeowner warranty without first checking with the local contractors as to wether they will work with that particular company.

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk incase a tenant sues for whatever....

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk incase a tenant sues for whatever....

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Adam,If you are RENTING, you want an LLC. The advantages of an LLC in RENTING over an S-Corp are greater with the big picture.

That said, I have an LLC, and it's a pain. If I had it to do over, I would just keep them in my name, and carry a million Umbrella (Which I do anyway). The only advantage an LLC has over insurance is Mold and Lead protection. There is nothing else of value, and MUCH MUCH more work.

I posted about this in detail at some point in this thread.

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk in case a tenant sues for whatever....

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My Rental Dwelling policy had liability coverage up to something like $300,000.

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I'm not an attorney, but if you get a $5M suit against you and your policy stops at even $1M, the $4M goes beyond that to the owner - hopefully not you but a company.

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She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental.  Then she has the tenant added to the policy.  Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST.  Then they can call her.

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I'd like to share an experience I had with homeowner warranties.A tenant called to tell me of a badly leaking hot water heater. I told them to shut off the valve and I'd get somebody over there to fix it pronto.

I call the warranty people, and they tell me there is no one within twenty miles on their list, but that if I just get any plumber and have him go out to the property and come up with a reasonable estimate, they'll cover it.

So I called up every single plumber in a ten mile radius, and NOT ONE of them was willing to do warranty work! Why not? The answer was always "Because it takes at least two months of constant badgering to get paid any money."

Finally I found a plumber 15 miles away that would help me. Three months later I get a bill from him for $20 and a note saying "The warranty co. made me wait 10 weeks to pay me and decided I was $20 too expensive even though they approved the estimate the day I did the work."

Lesson learned...

Never buy a homeowner warranty without first checking with the local contractors as to wether they will work with that particular company.

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Yes, the do kind of suck, but I liked the concept. It is also reassuring to the renter.I would think that if you approached a local handyman company and ask them for a policy, that might be a decent way to go. Then again, I couldn't then use them for non-warranty work because they'd never say anything was covered.

Have to think on that one.

Did I mention how I feel about rentals?

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I finally get WHY you almost always want a buyer's agent when buying a house. I think you said the exception might be when approaching someone who is selling their house FSBO. I'm looking at such a house on Monday, and this is the first house we've looked at, so we don't have a relationship with a buyer's agent yet. Should we find one and take one with us Monday?

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Mike, Jeff, and crew,

After reading Mikes extensive post on our flip, I'm actually rethinking replacing the windows. We originally budgeted to replace the windows but I'm now thinking that may not be the best way to go. They actually do need to be replaced, but should I do that or let the buyer do it? FYI, they will cost $3900.

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What kind of windows are they? This makes a difference in my thought. Explain them the best you can, how do they operate? Some I know how to rebuild.

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pics of the flip

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I HATE to paint wood, but time is money, and I would paint the cabinets out in a GLOSS white (Like Dover White in Gloss from Sherwin Williams). will do

Is that the "fake wood" style counter top? yes, and that and the fake wood backsplash are soon to be gone.

Dear god lose that and put in a Hard material. You know your flip, but rip up the counter top, screw down Backer board, and use a Nice 12"x12" ceramic/stone tile.

The plan is to just put in a new laminate countertop, but I will check the price difference on the corian (or similar) countertop. Personally, I think tile countertops look dated.You know your Flip, and laminate could be just fine. I LOVE putting in 12x12 Granite squares as a counter top.

The biggest thing to know is that this is a Cheap, easy, down and dirty way to get it done, and it looks GREAT! Just spend the extra to get the Counter top corners. You will never match it up right, and this product "wraps" the exposed corner, and makes it easy. It will seem expensive, but it is worth every single last penny.

Dear god, please scrap off that border at the top of the room. Please! In the plans. Matter of fact, all wallpaper is comming off. What is the Flashlight in the foreground on? Whatever that is, it looks very weird.

This is the "countertop" between where the stove and refridgerator were. Rip it out, it looks out of place without a cabinet under it. Or put a Cabinet under it, but it will be hard to match, and could be costly. Rip it out.

I assume the floor is VCT?? The floor will come up and be replaced with ceramic.

I haven't looked at any other pictures yet, I'll comment as I go.

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What the HECK is that "Shelf" in free space on the left? That is wild out of place, rip that out if it doesn't do something important. Its going, and the appliances are going to be put back where they belong.

The Ceiling fan has seen better days, and is sagging. Replace it, trust me, people will notice it. If it were your Home or Rental, ONLY buy a Hunter fan. They are the best without question. As a Flip, put in anything cheap that looks good. in the plan.

Is the paneling behind the cabinets, the cheapest way is to paint it with GLOSS white and be done with it. I think we're going to remove it.

I like Dover White in GLOSS from Sherwin Williams. There are other ways. If you really want to look sharp, use the tile from the counter top to create a backspash. I think we're just going to go with painting the drywall here. I would buy the matching short laminate backsplash to match, and go Drywall the rest of the way up to the cabinets. It will look very weird to a buyer without a Backsplach of some sort. Here's the plan for that area. We're going to move the fridge there, put in a lazy suzan in the corner, and put a new cabinet above the fridge. Should be able to get something close in style to those cabinets.

The Wainscoting in the "Dinning area", what is that made of? I think you're referring to the area below the chair molding, its just a light purple paint.

That doesn't look right

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The wall paper border HAS to go. Scrape it off. I have a Wall paper remover that uses steam, and is Awesome. You can rent one from the hardware store for maybe $30 a day at max, and they work great. Looking into the corner, on the left hand side, is there a Hole there? Does that need a "grate", or am I seeing it incorrectly? Its an airvent with the cover over it. Weird angle, you can see right through it. We're replacing all vent covers.

Looks like a Black and a Red stain on the carpet. The black you can get out, the red you will not be able to. Don't bother wasting money on a Cleaner guy if you have a red stain. All carpet is comming out. It smells and is not salvagable. And on the first floor, its all hardwood underneath! OK, I have a Fast and easy way to make Hardwood look great, but it takes more time than I have right now as my wife is already all over me to eat dinner. PLEASE remind me about how to do a Hard wood floor cheaply late in the thread.

The light fixture is OK. Visit your local ReStore to see if you can go spectacular for a reasonable price. It's basic, and common, but what a great place to make a statement if you can do it cheaply. We're planning on replacing all light fixtures. This one isn't in bad shape, but I think we're going to go with all silver colored hardware and fixtures. Not anymore

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Nothing to see here, move along.

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Nothing to see here, move along. However, IF you were renting, NEVER do the Ceiling in a GLOSS. It shows, no highlights, every single imperfection in the drywall work, and is a Pain going forward. We're repainting all cielings. And c'mon thats the punch list on the floor!

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Did Some SOB Cable guy really just punch a Cable through the HARD WOOD FLOOR and forget about it to save himselfsome time and ruin your floor? Seriously, they legalize murder, and I am going after Dish and Cable guys first. They are the lowest of scum. (There is a HUGE post here, but I don't have the energy tonight, someone remind me later, lots of Legal FCC stuff I can comment on for Dish and the such. Certainly how the LL can avoid being taken advantage of using the law on your side). Anyway, at this point, you need to cap the line off in the corner of the floor, and put in a plate that future lines can be screwed in to. You want a clean look, and for a couple of bucks, you can get rid of the line out in the room, plate it off, and it will look professional. If you can't do this yourself, post back, and I will walk you through it, or just have a professional do it. Brother is all over this, thanks. Comment to him that he can just drop it down into the basement and coil it, screw in a Faceplate to the end, and screw it to the floor instead of cutting it. Professionally, you would cut it, but this way is easy and simple, and doesn't require a crimper. He will understand. I am going to print this entire conversation and have him read it. Believe me, he will learn alot.

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What is the "Line" coming down at the bottom of the window in the center of the window? Not sure, shadow?, stain?

PLEASE get rid of that Wallpaper boarder. That stuff hurts you more than you think. You think, "hey, it's in good shape, no big deal, heck it adds". Really, if the woman buying doesn't like it, it will kill your deal. Neutral as you can, let the next buyer put in that tacky crap. Exactly the plan

If that is a Florescent light over the mirror, consider going to "make-up" lighting". That is the strip with a ton (Say 5, 7, 9) 25 watt light bulbs. Looks better, and is useful. Also the plan.

Fluorescent lighting in the bath and kitchen is not the play. You want to dominate those two areas. Totally agree.

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GUT and START OVER. yep, my brother is going to start in here and not come out until its done. I am sure he has it, and not trying to say anyone can't do it, just make sure you use "green" board here instead of regular drywall. I am sure he already has it planned.

If you are doing it yourself, feel free to post as you go on this project, and I can assist. I do this type of gut at least once a month as units add to the empire, and units come open that need it where I just didn't deal with it last time around. If this is not your area, hire it out, just understand you need to start over, The Tub MIGHT be salvageable, but that is the ONLY thing in this picture you MIGHT save, tear it all out, and start over. We are going to try to save the tub.

Hire it out, but if you attempt it yourself, please use this thread as your ongoing daily diary so I can help get you through it. I seriously have done an entire bathroom gut and rebuild with my own hands every single month for some 18 months running. I get one at least every month.

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I can't help you with the Ugly as sin Mongoloids in the picture. That said, take a look at that ceiling fan, something is wrong, as it is "off" but I can't pull out the problem in two dimensions. Look at the bulb.

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What the heck room is this? The house is a story and a half, this is the upstairs loft.

It reminds me of a 3rd floor with a railing. If it is a second floor, I can assume that you have a "foyer" for the second floor? Looking all the way back, is that a room over a Garage with a badly slopped room ceiling? Its the green bedroom.

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What a freaking mess. You will need a darker color to get over that blue in as few of coats as possible. My Color for this situation is "Squirrels Tail" from Sherwin Williams. While I am here, go into Sherwin Williams and tell them you are a Land Lord, and they will set up an account for you and give you a standard 20% discount, mine is 30 days net. Everyone should do that if you are a LL or not, anyone in the RE business qualifies for a standard 20% discount from SW. My discount is actually 35%, so haggle. Excellent advice.

Anyway, this room is a mess, and you will need to cover it. I would keep the shelves on the far wall if they are even close to professionally installed. I think they add alot, but if they are attached in a tacky way, lose them. We're all on the fence with the shelves. I will tell you what I did in a space EXACTLY like this one. It cost more, and I am NOT saying to follow this advice like a Mantra, but I took a space EXACTLY like this one and built a custom "Desk" on the far wall. Kitchen cabinets on the bottom, where I cut off the Kickplate area so it would be the right height for a chair. Then an Interior hollow core door that was not predrilled for the handel as the desk top. It created a Cheap "desk" in front of the window, and added storage and Shelfing. I went wall to wall. Just a thought as you think outside the box. It went over like gangbusters, and cost a couple hundred. You want to put in as little as possible, and make as much as you can, so don't begin to think this is the way to go, just offering an option.

With the Ceiling, go Eggshell finish at most, really, go flat. Should we paint all the cielings with the same paint? Are YOU doing the work or hiring it out? If Hiring it out, but Cheap FLAT ceiling paint, give it to the guy, and forget about it. If you are doing the work, pay the extra for the Ceiling paint that goes on Pink, and turns to white. Painting a Ceiling is hard, you WILL miss spots, get the Pink to White stuff. It's worth it. If a Painter is doing it, buy CHEAP flat Paint, and forget about it. My wife is actually an experienced painter. Her and her sister spent many summers during HS/college on the paint crew for her school system.

The more the shine, the more the imperfections show up. The higher the shine, the easier it is to clean (Like for Kitchen Cabinets, but who is scrubbing a Ceiling?) Go buy a two pack of low profile light fixtures at Menard's for $10 and use one here, whatever that is on the ceiling is terrible. Keep the stained wood Floor board, don't paint it.

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Dear god, another one. You can clearly see the style of this house from the last two pictures. Carpet looks fine, and if you are going to save it, and not add the expense (I just did two big rooms of high quality carpet on Monday for $700.00 with great pad, save anything you can). So to save the carpet if it is good repair, you have to go white here. Big red stain in the middle here. Pretty sure its gone. If it is a Red stain, you are done, there is no product or way of getting out Red, Yellow, or Green stains. I look all the time, it doesn't exist. If that is red, you are done. Please don't waste any money trying to get it out, you can't

I would use "Antique White" from Sherwin Williams here, as it is darker than normal white, but still white. Is there any chance you own stock in SW? I get high quality paint at 35% off from them, I used to use Sears paint.

It will take a number of coats, but it is cheaper than replacing the green carpet. Light fixture has to be changed, use the one left over from your two pack. Wall Paper board is terrible.

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I would try and keep the floor as it is not completely terrible. Remember, you are trying to get out with the biggest profit possible. Would it be better in 12"x12" tile? You betcha, but you want to maximize profit, and I believe the floor is a pass. We ended up getting enough tile at the restore to tile both baths and this surround, and the kitchen. Like the reStore do you? Absolutely. Gonna try to make it down tomorrow am.

I see this room has Make-up side lights, and that is great. Here is the Quick and dirty, so you don't spend a fortune and a ton of time here. You can make this bath 1000% better in say 3 hours. Get rid of the wall paper hearts boarder. Hopefully, it is paint, and you can just go over it. The entire non Tile area of the room, Walls: Dover White in GLOSS. Now, for the Terrible Green tile with the tan accent, (I had two EXACTLY like this earlier this year, only the accent was Black). Goto Menard's, goto the Paint section. Look for the Tub and Tile paint. It comes in a Box. There are 3 Shades. Really WAY too freaking White that shows imperfections, "Bisque", and something darker that always looks dirty. You want the Middle Color called "Bisque". It will cost about $17-18. Now, if you were using it on a Tub, there is a ton of prep work, and you have to everything just right or the product will fail (Trust me, experience here), however, if you are taking out the tacky as heck green wall tile that never gets water on it, here is what you do: Open the box, there will be a Bigger can of the paint, and a smaller can of the epoxy. Open both, and mix them together. WAIT, WAIT, WAIT for say 15 minutes to let it set up. If you start painting right away, you will NOT like the result (Trust me, experience here), anyway, use a Small roller and a GOOD paint brush that you are going to just throw away. If you think you can use a Cheap Chip brush for a buck to just throw away to save money, you will not like the result, (Trust me, experience here, the epoxy pulls the cheap brush apart, and you have Paint brush strands/hairs/fibers all over your wall, use a good brush to get into corners). One box can do two entire bathroom walls, and you will have an Epoxy coated sheening white bathroom walls that won't fail as they never get water on them. I have personally done this say 20 times to get rid of that ugly Green Metal (Yes, it's tin, NOT ceramic) tiles that they used in the 50's and 60's. It works. All great stuff but the tile is plastic and put right on the drywall so its comming off. Plastic? I'll bet it's actually a thin Metal tin. That product done in that exact style was all the rage in the 50's. I'd be shocked if it was plastic. I popped it off in one kitchen, and the wall behind needed a bunch of scraping. Just understand that time is money. After further review, we are going to give what you suggested above a shot.

Certainly you know to replace the toilet seat. I like the spongebob seat

Comes off easy. BY CODE: That plug beside the mirror should be a GFI plug. It is VERY easy to switch, if you need walking through the switch, post back, certainly don't pay anyone to do that, it is very basic electric that anyone can handle. Brother is all over this.

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I commented above. You can either make this a VERY expensive and time consuming project gutting this bathroom, or you can follow the advice above. Put that missing tile back on with Waterproof construction adhesive. Works out of a Caulk gun. If you don't have one, buy a Professionals Caulk gun with the "bars" running down the side on opposite sides, a quality cutting edge, and a reamer attached to the gun. Don't buy the cheap one that has a solid single side. The difference is $4 or so, spend the $4. Anyway, construction adhesive will put that back in place. The three that are chipped can be corrected with Bondo (Not my favorite), or Architectural Putty. I use the putty. Just rebuild it so it is smooth, (you will need to sand either product down with a Sander, oscillating orbital is better), as you will be covering the whole room with Tub and Tile Epoxy paint. Oh, make sure the area is VERY ventilated. This stuff will have you remembering your college days/haze, trust me, knock you on your but kind of stuff. The Tub spout is one of the old screw on types. You might need to go to the local plumbing supply house. You will pay more, but you might have a hard time finding what you need in a big box store. You are looking for a Front end screw on tub spout. In a Rental, I would say DO NOT ACCEPT a plastic one, as so many retro fits are plastic, but in a flip, what the hell, they LOOK good, just never put any pressure on them. You will need to Caulk the back side once it is in place as it won't be self sealing. If the Handles are dripping/leaking, post back here, that style is an easy repair, but it is very old school, and I could walk you through it.

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What is this mess? Basement, with a strong mildew smell. Mildew, GOOD man.

Only concern here is the wall on the left hand side. Is that Mildew at the bottom? Keep the wood, paint the yellow door, and clean the carpet. Easily the worst carpet in the whole house. Is this Concrete underneath? If so, pull the terrible carpet, and just paint the whole basement floor in a Grey Floor paint. DON'T let the paint guy talk you into, tack on the extra for the Flooring additive that makes it non slip. First, you won't get water on it, secondly, it's a flip. Sure it's not much money, but every single penny counts in a rehab.

It's a basement, so don't worry about it, although the light fixtures suck. Will probably replace with the cheapos from menards. Also, the cieling is stained and splattered, so we're planning on putting in a new drop cieling. Do you have enough room? In Indiana, the Code for a basement Ceiling is 7 feet from the highest part of the floor. I would hate for you spend money, drop below whatever the OH code is if there even is one, and have some slackjawed home inspector call you on it, where the buyer tryies to beat you down $500.00 on the sales price over it. ***It's a freaking basement, I would get some Fender washers, screw up any sagging areas, and paint the whole thing with "Killz" paint, and be done with it. Be alot cheaper. After further review, we are going with your suggestion to paint the ceiling.

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OK, we all know it is Mildew now. Say it with me, it is never M#LD, it is ALWAYS Mildew. M#LD is NEVER even in your vocabulary. You don't know the word, practice NEVER saying it. EVERYTHING is Mildew. Period. What is the smell of the carpet? I would want to save the carpet. Say it with me, YOU NEED to install and provide a Dehumidifier. As big as you can get. The other choice is to spend a ton of money and time Fixing whatever it is that caused this issue. A big Dehumidifier would solve this problem just as well, and be under $200. Hopefully you have a Utility room, and you can hard drain it right into the sump pump or whatever. You DON'T WANT to take on the solve of this issue, you just want to keep it from happening. I couldn't sleep at night knowing I just make it look good, but it would happen again, I am not out to screw anyone. You can solve with a Big Dehumidifier for under $200, and it will stop the problem. Great idea

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Like I said, a Big hopefully Hard Wired but absolutely Hard plumbed Dehumidifier for under $200 solves the water issue. Hit everything with Bleach like you were a Ghost-buster. Screw back up the sag in the Ceiling with a Drywall screw in a "Fender" Washer and paint. Never know the difference. Get a Good gray floor paint for the Floor. It's a Basement, make it not look scary, forgettaboutit after that. Can you still advertise a "finished" basement without carpet? Does it really matter?

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I hate Vinyl Siding for the obvious reasons, but I LOVE the look of this house, GREAT curb appeal!!!!! Just needs a little landscaping, and we were thinking of changing the red trim to white, opinions?

Watch the branches touching the roof if there are any, they can tear up the shingles on the roof in a big storm. Some shingles need replaced, and some branches trimmed

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Very, Very nice Curb appeal. I think you did well here with the Property. I couldn't begin to comment on your price in your area, but the house itself could be a fast, cheap, and easy flip if you go about it right. We got it 25k below current appraised value. It sold 4 years ago for 10k more than current appraisal. We've got alot of room to work.

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Just finished up our first first day. I'm freaking exhausted, we closed at 2:30, ate lunch, and was in the house working by 3:30. Reevaluated alot of what we were going to do and per Mikes advice we are going to attempt to follow more of his above suggestions. I'm tired and will reply to your post tomorrow.

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1. Automatic withdrawal. LOTs of positives here, but it comes down to your state as there are pitfalls. I could do this in IN, and I have done this in IN. However, this state is VERY pro-LL, and I can get away with more than most.

Wow, lots of things here. You set up direct deposit. Now, remember, this means your tenants have you account numbers. You need to use a Bank where you can work online, and for 7 days before, and seven days after the first, you need to log in every day and take all the money out of your account. You make a Holding account that you rob out nightly. DO NOT leave any money in there. Take every thing out as often as you can.

Now, as for deposits, you don't know who deposited what if you have 6 properties all at $600 a month. So you make them $600.01, $600.13, $600.07, $600.04, and so on. You need a way to see who was who.

Here is the only real down side. IF you live in a state where any rent accepted puts off the eviction, wouldn't you just feel stupid if the Tenant, who knows the Account number, goes and deposits $5.00 the day before you are in front of the judge? Know your state laws here. The tenant could show that you "accepted" $5.00 as they deposited it, and you would have to start the entire eviction process over.

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Kendra also targets properties under $300K that can "cash-flow".  Her definition of cash flow was pretty loose IMHO, as she was talking about properties that just barely broke even if you put 20% down.  But, she's buying in appreciating markets and plans to hold for 7-10 years.  She figures with rents increasing in those same areas and values increasing, the property will cash flow better in a few years, and the builder incentives will cover her costs to start out.  Not a bad theory.

Back to Adam's question about buying property and managing them.  She recommends two things, and I'd like to hear Mike's opinion.  I've heard the ideas more than once, but the repetition is starting to have it sink in.

1.  She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent.  No exceptions.

I would think that would help, as for one thing deadbeat tenants often don't even HAVE bank accounts.  Some of you know what I'm talking about.

2.  She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental.  Then she has the tenant added to the policy.  Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST.  Then they can call her.

3.  She also has 2 handymen companies for any repairs.

4.  She buys new units so that in the first 7-10 years the repairs / maintenance are low, if any.

So I'm looking for comments / feedback about the markets (especially Idaho), and I probably need a new thread for that.

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I guess Trumpy would fire me...1) As Mike mentioned, this is a horrible idea. Like he said, a $5 deposit by the tenant and your court case just got thrown out for another month.

2) Home warranties are pretty much a waste, especially on newer properties. I may do one the first year to cover anything the previous owner was hiding. The problem is you're getting stuck with a $50 to $75 deductible. I can get a service call for this price most of the time. Also read the fine print...there's a lot of stuff they don't cover.

3) Not sure want the point is here.

4) I pretty much agree with this statement.

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See? This is why we post here. I like this "hole" a deadbeat tenant can crawl through being pointed out here. So many people don't want to ask questions because they might look stupid. I'll take stupid with still all my money left over having a bad property and tenant and less money and REALLY looking stupid.

Ask questions people. Info = $$.

I am starting to agree on the warranty. I've had one before (came with the house) and they were awful.

I will say that the first year in a house this can be VERY worth it. It is cheap insurance. Get service contracts in place for your HVAC for example. Found a cracked heat exchanger on my personal residence - would have been $5K IIRC - $100.

You WILL find out problems if they exist in a year more often than not. Will it be worth $300-400? Probably. For me, in my own house I sleep better the first year with that policy, knowing that I can work it to its full benefit for that first year.

Regarding (3) - if she's not local and a handyman bails on her (can't find them, deadbeats, whatever) she has a Plan B.

So overall, we:

1. Like new / young construction for the first 10 years

2. Don't like home warranties in general, but they can work out in the first year

3. HATE the auto-withdrawal option.

So on that last one - what do you think of this, BnB, Mike, or anyone?

Give your tenants deposit slips for an account you set up to receive rent. All they have to do is deposit the money into the account by the 5th.

Frankly for me chasing a $600 renter each month is a big Pain in the ###. I'll pass on that in favor of a commercial tenant that pays more per month and has longer leases, AND who has part of their business associated with their address.

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1.  She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent.  No exceptions.

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That is the coolest thing I've ever heard. Going to call my banker today.As for Idaho, I can't speak to the specifics of the market, but I can attest to the fact that certain parts are doing very, very well. There's companies around here that cater to "investors" who buy homes sight unseen in Idaho - they can (or at least could last year) buy a home, throw a tenant in it, and get a monthly cash flow right away - and they've done pretty well, with no time or expertise involved at all. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that - but yes, Idaho has been kicking ### lately - and eastern WA is also expected to do really, really well this year - link. I'm thinkin about heading over there for a weekend and looking around. Wenatchee's only a couple hours away from me.

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I could show you 10 homes tonight where you could buy them right now, already have a tenant, and cash flow from day one in the Fort. Hot markets act like this is something special.

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Merry Xmas.I went and took a quick look, and this jumped out fast without trying.

1228 Stophlet St

It's within my greater area, although 2 blocks south of what I am actively working on, but no problem. I personally live 8 blocks north, and 5 blocks east of this.

$43,900 asking, currently bringing in $820 a month. Do the math. Completely remodeled, all Electric, where each tenant pays their own water, so ZERO utilities to the owner.

These are all over the place in the Fort.

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Mike, we may need to talk about doing some business...you ready to manage a property or two for a fellow FBG.

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Kendra also targets properties under $300K that can "cash-flow".  Her definition of cash flow was pretty loose IMHO, as she was talking about properties that just barely broke even if you put 20% down.  But, she's buying in appreciating markets and plans to hold for 7-10 years.  She figures with rents increasing in those same areas and values increasing, the property will cash flow better in a few years, and the builder incentives will cover her costs to start out.  Not a bad theory.

Back to Adam's question about buying property and managing them.  She recommends two things, and I'd like to hear Mike's opinion.  I've heard the ideas more than once, but the repetition is starting to have it sink in.

1.  She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent.  No exceptions.

I would think that would help, as for one thing deadbeat tenants often don't even HAVE bank accounts.  Some of you know what I'm talking about.

2.  She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental.  Then she has the tenant added to the policy.  Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST.  Then they can call her.

3.  She also has 2 handymen companies for any repairs.

4.  She buys new units so that in the first 7-10 years the repairs / maintenance are low, if any.

So I'm looking for comments / feedback about the markets (especially Idaho), and I probably need a new thread for that.

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I guess Trumpy would fire me...1) As Mike mentioned, this is a horrible idea. Like he said, a $5 deposit by the tenant and your court case just got thrown out for another month.

2) Home warranties are pretty much a waste, especially on newer properties. I may do one the first year to cover anything the previous owner was hiding. The problem is you're getting stuck with a $50 to $75 deductible. I can get a service call for this price most of the time. Also read the fine print...there's a lot of stuff they don't cover.

3) Not sure want the point is here.

4) I pretty much agree with this statement.

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See? This is why we post here. I like this "hole" a deadbeat tenant can crawl through being pointed out here. So many people don't want to ask questions because they might look stupid. I'll take stupid with still all my money left over having a bad property and tenant and less money and REALLY looking stupid.

Ask questions people. Info = $$.

I am starting to agree on the warranty. I've had one before (came with the house) and they were awful.

I will say that the first year in a house this can be VERY worth it. It is cheap insurance. Get service contracts in place for your HVAC for example. Found a cracked heat exchanger on my personal residence - would have been $5K IIRC - $100.

You WILL find out problems if they exist in a year more often than not. Will it be worth $300-400? Probably. For me, in my own house I sleep better the first year with that policy, knowing that I can work it to its full benefit for that first year.

Regarding (3) - if she's not local and a handyman bails on her (can't find them, deadbeats, whatever) she has a Plan B.

So overall, we:

1. Like new / young construction for the first 10 years

2. Don't like home warranties in general, but they can work out in the first year

3. HATE the auto-withdrawal option.

So on that last one - what do you think of this, BnB, Mike, or anyone?

Give your tenants deposit slips for an account you set up to receive rent. All they have to do is deposit the money into the account by the 5th.

Frankly for me chasing a $600 renter each month is a big Pain in the ###. I'll pass on that in favor of a commercial tenant that pays more per month and has longer leases, AND who has part of their business associated with their address.

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk incase a tenant sues for whatever....

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I my opinion it's a waste of time and you're much better served by spending the money of additional insurance. If you want the protection, you'll have to set up one for each property. In this stare, that's an additional $250 filing fee each year plus the paperwork prep. $250 buys a bunch of insurance.

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Some things we will do without a doubt:

1.  Require proof of renters insurance

I actually write the policy at lease signing for my renters, and collect the money to give MY agent, making sure that I am named on THEIR policy.  If they have a policy, I make sure I am named on it.

2.  Perform credit check (thats what the $30 app fee is for)

We use Youcheckcredit.Com and are very happy with the service.

3.  Require security deposit up front (50% of monthly rent)

HUH?  50% of the months rent?  Why so low?  I do $25.00 either under or over a months rent, as I don't want it to equal a months rent, so the tenant doesn't think of the deposit as the last months rent.  I certainly go up to even 1.5 times the rent if the place is all stained woodwork and hardwood floors, I am going to protect myself.  I can't understand half a months rent?

4.  Unit is smoke-free, and will reuqire signed disclourse of such

5.  $50 extra per month for a pet (limit one per condo rules)

I like the direct withdrawal idea....Ill look into that......saves trips to the bank...

There are pitfalls here.  I had EVERY tenant on direct deposit 5 years ago, I have moved away from it some.  This isn't the holy grail.

As far as non warrantable....(copied from another website, but a good overview)

Non warrantable condo's are deemded so for several reasons. Chances are, you have a buyer interested in a new construction or a conversion project... rehabs are tougher to get through than new construction.

Basically, the main reason why so many projects are non warrentable is becuase the developer is in control of the home owners association. So, there's an insurance issue plus no homeowners can take control diplomaticaly. But, several projects do not hand over the HOA for 1 or 2 years... until the occupancy ratio is established.

Main reasons why a property is non warrantable:

1) The HOA is in control of Developer.

2) Common areas are not completed

3) Certificates of Occupancy on hold

4) Most Important in Most Cases for New Construction- Occupancy Ratio. What is the OO versus NOO. Several lenders will accept 70% OO or under contract for OO.

5) If one person owns 20% of the units. If you are dealing with a 50 unit building... not much of a problem.

There are usually hits to the rate for Non Warrantable deals but by only .50 or so.

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Do you guys personally own the properties?

Or do you setup Corporations/S-Corps or LLCs that own the properties?

I'm thinking of setting up an s-corp to limit my risk incase a tenant sues for whatever....

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I my opinion it's a waste of time and you're much better served by spending the money of additional insurance. If you want the protection, you'll have to set up one for each property. In this stare, that's an additional $250 filing fee each year plus the paperwork prep. $250 buys a bunch of insurance.

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And How Buckwheat!I completely agree with Bass on this.

I DO have a Number of LLCs. I wish I didn't, but they are in place, and it would be costly and foolish to kill them. I will never place another property in an LC, and I have some 13 properties floating outside of any corporate structure.

Everything I add going forward will be without an LC.

Just get an Umbrella Policy.

The only thing I can think of that an LC protects you against that you can't get reasonably with insurance is Lead.

I deal in 100+ year old properties, and honestly, I am not afraid of lead, I can deal with that. That given, there is no reason for an LC.

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Kendra also targets properties under $300K that can "cash-flow".  Her definition of cash flow was pretty loose IMHO, as she was talking about properties that just barely broke even if you put 20% down.  But, she's buying in appreciating markets and plans to hold for 7-10 years.  She figures with rents increasing in those same areas and values increasing, the property will cash flow better in a few years, and the builder incentives will cover her costs to start out.  Not a bad theory.

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pics of the flip

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I HATE to paint wood, but time is money, and I would paint the cabinets out in a GLOSS white (Like Dover White in Gloss from Sherwin Williams). will do

Is that the "fake wood" style counter top? yes, and that and the fake wood backsplash are soon to be gone.

Dear god lose that and put in a Hard material.  You know your flip, but rip up the counter top, screw down Backer board, and use a Nice 12"x12" ceramic/stone tile.

The plan is to just put in a new laminate countertop, but I will check the price difference on the corian (or similar) countertop.  Personally, I think tile countertops look dated.You know your Flip, and laminate could be just fine.  I LOVE putting in 12x12 Granite squares as a counter top.

The biggest thing to know is that this is a Cheap, easy, down and dirty way to get it done, and it looks GREAT!  Just spend the extra to get the Counter top corners.  You will never match it up right, and this product "wraps" the exposed corner, and makes it easy.  It will seem expensive, but it is worth every single last penny. 

Dear god, please scrap off that border at the top of the room.  Please! In the plans.  Matter of fact, all wallpaper is comming off.  What is the Flashlight in the foreground on?  Whatever that is, it looks very weird.

This is the "countertop" between where the stove and refridgerator were.  Rip it out, it looks out of place without a cabinet under it.  Or put a Cabinet under it, but it will be hard to match, and could be costly.  Rip it out.

I assume the floor is VCT??  The floor will come up and be replaced with ceramic.

I haven't looked at any other pictures yet, I'll comment as I go.

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What the HECK is that "Shelf" in free space on the left?  That is wild out of place, rip that out if it doesn't do something important. Its going, and the appliances are going to be put back where they belong.

The Ceiling fan has seen better days, and is sagging.  Replace it, trust me, people will notice it.  If it were your Home or Rental, ONLY buy a Hunter fan.  They are the best without question.  As a Flip, put in anything cheap that looks good.  in the plan. 

Is the paneling behind the cabinets, the cheapest way is to paint it with GLOSS white and be done with it. I think we're going to remove it.

I like Dover White in GLOSS from Sherwin Williams.  There are other ways.  If you really want to look sharp, use the tile from the counter top to create a backspash.  I think we're just going to go with painting the drywall here. I would buy the matching short laminate backsplash to match, and go Drywall the rest of the way up to the cabinets.  It will look very weird to a buyer without a Backsplach of some sort.

The Wainscoting in the "Dinning area", what is that made of?  I think you're referring to the area below the chair molding, its just a light purple paint.

That doesn't look right

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The wall paper border HAS to go.  Scrape it off.  I have a Wall paper remover that uses steam, and is Awesome.  You can rent one from the hardware store for maybe $30 a day at max, and they work great.  Looking into the corner, on the left hand side, is there a Hole there?  Does that need a "grate", or am I seeing it incorrectly?  Its an airvent with the cover over it.  Weird angle, you can see right through it.  We're replacing all vent covers.

Looks like a Black and a Red stain on the carpet.  The black you can get out, the red you will not be able to.  Don't bother wasting money on a Cleaner guy if you have a red stain.  All carpet is comming out.  It smells and is not salvagable.  And on the first floor, its all hardwood underneath!  OK, I have a Fast and easy way to make Hardwood look great, but it takes more time than I have right now as my wife is already all over me to eat dinner.  PLEASE remind me about how to do a Hard wood floor cheaply late in the thread.

The light fixture is OK.  Visit your local ReStore to see if you can go spectacular for a reasonable price.  It's basic, and common, but what a great place to make a statement if you can do it cheaply.  We're planning on replacing all light fixtures.  This one isn't in bad shape, but I think we're going to go with all silver colored hardware and fixtures.

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Nothing to see here, move along.

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Nothing to see here, move along.  However, IF you were renting, NEVER do the Ceiling in a GLOSS.  It shows, no highlights,  every single imperfection in the drywall work, and is a Pain going forward. We're repainting all cielings.  And c'mon thats the punch list on the floor!

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Did Some SOB Cable guy really just punch a Cable through the HARD WOOD FLOOR and forget about it to save himselfsome time and ruin your floor?  Seriously, they legalize murder, and I am going after Dish and Cable guys first.  They are the lowest of scum.  (There is a HUGE post here, but I don't have the energy tonight, someone remind me later, lots of Legal FCC stuff I can comment on for Dish and the such.  Certainly how the LL can avoid being taken advantage of using the law on your side).  Anyway, at this point, you need to cap the line off in the corner of the floor, and put in a plate that future lines can be screwed in to.  You want a clean look, and for a couple of bucks, you can get rid of the line out in the room, plate it off, and it will look professional.  If you can't do this yourself, post back, and I will walk you through it, or just have a professional do it.  Brother is all over this, thanks.  Comment to him that he can just drop it down into the basement and coil it, screw in a Faceplate to the end, and screw it to the floor instead of cutting it.  Professionally, you would cut it, but this way is easy and simple, and doesn't require a crimper.  He will understand.

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What is the "Line" coming down at the bottom of the window in the center of the window?  Not sure, shadow?, stain?

PLEASE get rid of that Wallpaper boarder.  That stuff hurts you more than you think.  You think, "hey, it's in good shape, no big deal, heck it adds".  Really, if the woman buying doesn't like it, it will kill your deal.  Neutral as you can, let the next buyer put in that tacky crap.  Exactly the plan

If that is a Florescent light over the mirror, consider going to "make-up" lighting".  That is the strip with a ton (Say 5, 7, 9) 25 watt light bulbs.  Looks better, and is useful.  Also the plan.

Fluorescent lighting in the bath and kitchen is not the play.  You want to dominate those two areas.  Totally agree.

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GUT and START OVER. yep, my brother is going to start in here and not come out until its done. I am sure he has it, and not trying to say anyone can't do it, just make sure you use "green" board here instead of regular drywall.  I am sure he already has it planned.

If you are doing it yourself, feel free to post as you go on this project, and I can assist.  I do this type of gut at least once a month as units add to the empire, and units come open that need it where I just didn't deal with it last time around.  If this is not your area, hire it out, just understand you need to start over, The Tub MIGHT be salvageable, but that is the ONLY thing in this picture you MIGHT save, tear it all out, and start over.  We are going to try to save the tub.

Hire it out, but if you attempt it yourself, please use this thread as your ongoing daily diary so I can help get you through it.  I seriously have done an entire bathroom gut and rebuild with my own hands every single month for some 18 months running.  I get one at least every month.

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I can't help you with the Ugly as sin Mongoloids in the picture.    That said, take a look at that ceiling fan, something is wrong, as it is "off" but I can't pull out the problem in two dimensions.  Look at the bulb.

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What the heck room is this? The house is a story and a half, this is the upstairs loft.

It reminds me of a 3rd floor with a railing.  If it is a second floor, I can assume that you have a "foyer" for the second floor?  Looking all the way back, is that a room over a Garage with a badly slopped room ceiling? Its the green bedroom.

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What a freaking mess.  You will need a darker color to get over that blue in as few of coats as possible.  My Color for this situation is "Squirrels Tail" from Sherwin Williams.  While I am here, go into Sherwin Williams and tell them you are a Land Lord, and they will set up an account for you and give you a standard 20% discount, mine is 30 days net.  Everyone should do that if you are a LL or not, anyone in the RE business qualifies for a standard 20% discount from SW.  My discount is actually 35%, so haggle.  Excellent advice.

Anyway, this room is a mess, and you will need to cover it.  I would keep the shelves on the far wall if they are even close to professionally installed.  I think they add alot, but if they are attached in a tacky way, lose them.  We're all on the fence with the shelves.  I will tell you what I did in a space EXACTLY like this one.  It cost more, and I am NOT saying to follow this advice like a Mantra, but I took a space EXACTLY like this one and built a custom "Desk" on the far wall.  Kitchen cabinets on the bottom, where I cut off the Kickplate area so it would be the right height for a chair.  Then an Interior hollow core door that was not predrilled for the handel as the desk top.  It created a Cheap "desk" in front of the window, and added storage and Shelfing.  I went wall to wall.  Just a thought as you think outside the box.  It went over like gangbusters, and cost a couple hundred.  You want to put in as little as possible, and make as much as you can, so don't begin to think this is the way to go, just offering an option.

With the Ceiling, go Eggshell finish at most, really, go flat. Should we paint all the cielings with the same paint?  Are YOU doing the work or hiring it out?  If Hiring it out, but Cheap FLAT ceiling paint, give it to the guy, and forget about it.  If you are doing the work, pay the extra for the Ceiling paint that goes on Pink, and turns to white.  Painting a Ceiling is hard, you WILL miss spots, get the Pink to White stuff.  It's worth it.  If a Painter is doing it, buy CHEAP flat Paint, and forget about it.

The more the shine, the more the imperfections show up.  The higher the shine, the easier it is to clean (Like for Kitchen Cabinets, but who is scrubbing a Ceiling?)  Go buy a two pack of low profile light fixtures at Menard's for $10 and use one here, whatever that is on the ceiling is terrible.  Keep the stained wood Floor board, don't paint it.

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Dear god, another one.  You can clearly see the style of this house from the last two pictures.  Carpet looks fine, and if you are going to save it, and not add the expense (I just did two big rooms of high quality carpet on Monday for $700.00 with great pad, save anything you can).  So to save the carpet if it is good repair, you have to go white here.  Big red stain in the middle here.  Pretty sure its gone.  If it is a Red stain, you are done, there is no product or way of getting out Red, Yellow, or Green stains.  I look all the time, it doesn't exist.  If that is red, you are done.  Please don't waste any money trying to get it out, you can't

I would use "Antique White" from Sherwin Williams here, as it is darker than normal white, but still white. Is there any chance you own stock in SW?   I get high quality paint at 35% off from them, I used to use Sears paint.

It will take a number of coats, but it is cheaper than replacing the green carpet.  Light fixture has to be changed, use the one left over from your two pack.  Wall Paper board is terrible.

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I would try and keep the floor as it is not completely terrible.  Remember, you are trying to get out with the biggest profit possible.  Would it be better in 12"x12" tile?  You betcha, but you want to maximize profit, and I believe the floor is a pass. We ended up getting enough tile at the restore to tile both baths and this surround, and the kitchen.   Like the reStore do you? 

I see this room has Make-up side lights, and that is great.  Here is the Quick and dirty, so you don't spend a fortune and a ton of time here.  You can make this bath 1000% better in say 3 hours.  Get rid of the wall paper hearts boarder.  Hopefully, it is paint, and you can just go over it.  The entire non Tile area of the room, Walls:  Dover White in GLOSS.  Now, for the Terrible Green tile with the tan accent, (I had two EXACTLY like this earlier this year, only the accent was Black).  Goto Menard's, goto the Paint section.  Look for the Tub and Tile paint.  It comes in a Box.  There are 3 Shades.  Really WAY too freaking White that shows imperfections, "Bisque", and something darker that always looks dirty.  You want the Middle Color called "Bisque".  It will cost about $17-18.  Now, if you were using it on a Tub, there is a ton of prep work, and you have to everything just right or the product will fail (Trust me, experience here), however, if you are taking out the tacky as heck green wall tile that never gets water on it, here is what you do:  Open the box, there will be a Bigger can of the paint, and a smaller can of the epoxy.  Open both, and mix them together.  WAIT, WAIT, WAIT for say 15 minutes to let it set up.  If you start painting right away, you will NOT like the result (Trust me, experience here), anyway, use a Small roller and a GOOD paint brush that you are going to just throw away.  If you think you can use a Cheap Chip brush for a buck to just throw away to save money, you will not like the result, (Trust me, experience here, the epoxy pulls the cheap brush apart, and you have Paint brush strands/hairs/fibers all over your wall, use a good brush to get into corners).  One box can do two entire bathroom walls, and you will have an Epoxy coated sheening white bathroom walls that won't fail as they never get water on them.  I have personally done this say 20 times to get rid of that ugly Green Metal (Yes, it's tin, NOT ceramic) tiles that they used in the 50's and 60's.  It works.  All great stuff but the tile is plastic and put right on the drywall so its comming off.    Plastic?  I'll bet it's actually a thin Metal tin.  That product done in that exact style was all the rage in the 50's.  I'd be shocked if it was plastic.  I popped it off in one kitchen, and the wall behind needed a bunch of scraping.  Just understand that time is money.

Certainly you know to replace the toilet seat.  I like the spongebob seat

Comes off easy.  BY CODE:  That plug beside the mirror should be a GFI plug.  It is VERY easy to switch, if you need walking through the switch, post back, certainly don't pay anyone to do that, it is very basic electric that anyone can handle.  Brother is all over this.

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I commented above.  You can either make this a VERY expensive and time consuming project gutting this bathroom, or you can follow the advice above.  Put that missing tile back on with Waterproof construction adhesive.  Works out of a Caulk gun.  If you don't have one, buy a Professionals Caulk gun with the "bars" running down the side on opposite sides, a quality cutting edge, and a reamer attached to the gun.  Don't buy the cheap one that has a solid single side.  The difference is $4 or so, spend the $4.  Anyway, construction adhesive will put that back in place.  The three that are chipped can be corrected with Bondo (Not my favorite), or Architectural Putty.  I use the putty.  Just rebuild it so it is smooth, (you will need to sand either product down with a Sander, oscillating orbital is better), as you will be covering the whole room with Tub and Tile Epoxy paint.  Oh, make sure the area is VERY ventilated.  This stuff will have you remembering your college days/haze, trust me, knock you on your but kind of stuff.  The Tub spout is one of the old screw on types.  You might need to go to the local plumbing supply house.  You will pay more, but you might have a hard time finding what you need in a big box store.  You are looking for a Front end screw on tub spout.  In a Rental, I would say DO NOT ACCEPT a plastic one, as so many retro fits are plastic, but in a flip, what the hell, they LOOK good, just never put any pressure on them.  You will need to Caulk the back side once it is in place as it won't be self sealing.  If the Handles are dripping/leaking, post back here, that style is an easy repair, but it is very old school, and I could walk you through it.

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What is this mess? Basement, with a strong mildew smell.   Mildew, GOOD man. 

Only concern here is the wall on the left hand side.  Is that Mildew at the bottom?  Keep the wood, paint the yellow door, and clean the carpet.  Easily the worst carpet in the whole house.  Is this Concrete underneath?  If so, pull the terrible carpet, and just paint the whole basement floor in a Grey Floor paint.  DON'T let the paint guy talk you into, tack on the extra for the Flooring additive that makes it non slip.  First, you won't get water on it, secondly, it's a flip.  Sure it's not much money, but every single penny counts in a rehab.

It's a basement, so don't worry about it, although the light fixtures suck.  Will probably replace with the cheapos from menards.  Also, the cieling is stained and splattered, so we're planning on putting in a new drop cieling.  Do you have enough room?  In Indiana, the Code for a basement Ceiling is 7 feet from the highest part of the floor.  I would hate for you spend money, drop below whatever the OH code is if there even is one, and have some slackjawed home inspector call you on it, where the buyer tryies to beat you down $500.00 on the sales price over it.  ***It's a freaking basement, I would get some Fender washers, screw up any sagging areas, and paint the whole thing with "Killz" paint, and be done with it.  Be alot cheaper.

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OK, we all know it is Mildew now.  Say it with me, it is never M#LD, it is ALWAYS Mildew.  M#LD is NEVER even in your vocabulary.  You don't know the word, practice NEVER saying it.  EVERYTHING is Mildew.  Period.  What is the smell of the carpet?  I would want to save the carpet.  Say it with me, YOU NEED to install and provide a Dehumidifier.  As big as you can get.  The other choice is to spend a ton of money and time Fixing whatever it is that caused this issue.  A big Dehumidifier would solve this problem just as well, and be under $200.  Hopefully you have a Utility room, and you can hard drain it right into the sump pump or whatever.  You DON'T WANT to take on the solve of this issue, you just want to keep it from happening.  I couldn't sleep at night knowing I just make it look good, but it would happen again, I am not out to screw anyone.  You can solve with a Big Dehumidifier for under $200, and it will stop the problem.  Great idea

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Like I said, a Big hopefully Hard Wired but absolutely Hard plumbed Dehumidifier for under $200 solves the water issue.  Hit everything with Bleach like you were a Ghost-buster.  Screw back up the sag in the Ceiling with a Drywall screw in a "Fender" Washer and paint.  Never know the difference.  Get a Good gray floor paint for the Floor.  It's a Basement, make it not look scary, forgettaboutit after that. 

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I hate Vinyl Siding for the obvious reasons, but I LOVE the look of this house, GREAT curb appeal!!!!!  Just needs a little landscaping, and we were thinking of changing the red trim to white, opinions?

Watch the branches touching the roof if there are any, they can tear up the shingles on the roof in a big storm.  Some shingles need replaced, and some branches trimmed

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Very, Very nice Curb appeal.  I think you did well here with the Property.  I couldn't begin to comment on your price in your area, but the house itself could be a fast, cheap, and easy flip if you go about it right.  We got it 25k below current appraised value.  It sold 4 years ago for 10k more than current appraisal.  We've got alot of room to work.

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Just finished up our first first day. I'm freaking exhausted, we closed at 2:30, ate lunch, and was in the house working by 3:30. Reevaluated alot of what we were going to do and per Mikes advice we are going to attempt to follow more of his above suggestions. I'm tired and will reply to your post tomorrow.

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So anyway, I'll announce it here:

After 13 months of trying, my Wife is Pregnant with my first Child, and it has Absolutely slowed my RE growth as I need to take the winter off and "be there". My first child is due basically on Christmas. This is one of the big reasons I am not buying right now, and I see all these great deals, and I have to pass.

Cash is KING!

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Frankly for me chasing a $600 renter each month is a big Pain in the ###. I'll pass on that in favor of a commercial tenant that pays more per month and has longer leases, AND who has part of their business associated with their address.

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For Mike:

PLEASE remind me about how to do a Hard wood floor cheaply late in the thread.

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The description: Wood framed, single pane (with a removable interior second pane). Kitchen windows crank, all others slide (both up and down). Not sure what else to say here.

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Kendra also targets properties under $300K that can "cash-flow".  Her definition of cash flow was pretty loose IMHO, as she was talking about properties that just barely broke even if you put 20% down.  But, she's buying in appreciating markets and plans to hold for 7-10 years.  She figures with rents increasing in those same areas and values increasing, the property will cash flow better in a few years, and the builder incentives will cover her costs to start out.  Not a bad theory.

Back to Adam's question about buying property and managing them.  She recommends two things, and I'd like to hear Mike's opinion.  I've heard the ideas more than once, but the repetition is starting to have it sink in.

1.  She has all tenants have automatic withdrawal from their accounts for the rent.  No exceptions.

I would think that would help, as for one thing deadbeat tenants often don't even HAVE bank accounts.  Some of you know what I'm talking about.

2.  She gets a homeowner warranty on each rental.  Then she has the tenant added to the policy.  Her first line of management is that they have to call the warranty company if there is a problem FIRST.  Then they can call her.

3.  She also has 2 handymen companies for any repairs.

4.  She buys new units so that in the first 7-10 years the repairs / maintenance are low, if any.

So I'm looking for comments / feedback about the markets (especially Idaho), and I probably need a new thread for that.

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I guess Trumpy would fire me...1) As Mike mentioned, this is a horrible idea. Like he said, a $5 deposit by the tenant and your court case just got thrown out for another month.

2) Home warranties are pretty much a waste, especially on newer properties. I may do one the first year to cover anything the previous owner was hiding. The problem is you're getting stuck with a $50 to $75 deductible. I can get a service call for this price most of the time. Also read the fine print...there's a lot of stuff they don't cover.

3) Not sure want the point is here.

4) I pretty much agree with this statement.

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See? This is why we post here. I like this "hole" a deadbeat tenant can crawl through being pointed out here. So many people don't want to ask questions because they might look stupid. I'll take stupid with still all my money left over having a bad property and tenant and less money and REALLY looking stupid.

Ask questions people. Info = $$.

I am starting to agree on the warranty. I've had one before (came with the house) and they were awful.

I will say that the first year in a house this can be VERY worth it. It is cheap insurance. Get service contracts in place for your HVAC for example. Found a cracked heat exchanger on my personal residence - would have been $5K IIRC - $100.

You WILL find out problems if they exist in a year more often than not. Will it be worth $300-400? Probably. For me, in my own house I sleep better the first year with that policy, knowing that I can work it to its full benefit for that first year.

Regarding (3) - if she's not local and a handyman bails on her (can't find them, deadbeats, whatever) she has a Plan B.

So overall, we:

1. Like new / young construction for the first 10 years

2. Don't like home warranties in general, but they can work out in the first year

3. HATE the auto-withdrawal option.

So on that last one - what do you think of this, BnB, Mike, or anyone?

Give your tenants deposit slips for an account you set up to receive rent. All they have to do is deposit the money into the account by the 5th.

Frankly for me chasing a $600 renter each month is a big Pain in the ###. I'll pass on that in favor of a commercial tenant that pays more per month and has longer leases, AND who has part of their business associated with their address.

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I don't do it because the accounting is a pain when you're pushing close to a 100 properties for others, but one good idea is to offer a discount if the rent is paid before the first. $575 before the first, $600 from the 1st to the 6th, $630 after the first. Paying the rent on time now equals two cases of beer.Personally I require rent checks to be mailed to my PO box. I guess a direct deposit would be easier but there's something cool about actually getting a check in the mail as opposed to a bill. I also don't mind going to the bank and checking up on the tightness of the slacks on the hot girl's tush...err...I mean building business relationships with someone who has money I need.

One thing I do write into all of my leases is that certified funds are required after the sixth day of the month. This prevents a bounced check from sending my account into the red.

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The description: Wood framed, single pane (with a removable interior second pane). Kitchen windows crank, all others slide (both up and down). Not sure what else to say here.

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Help me to Help you.Are they two Sashes (A Sash is what holds the "glass") So there is a "window" on the bottom and a "window" on the top. There are "two" windows, right?

Please don't go nuts until you answer this.

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