Do you know your deeds? I was talking to an investor recently that was trying to figure out how to do a deal. He was a successful flipper and wholesaler, and he had a deal that was under contract with a nice profit margin. The problem was the house needed some work. His sellers could not close for a few months and he was wanting to figure out a…
Why buy rentals? Boy, we’ve had a week — maybe more than a week. You see, it really started when Ashley’s water broke last Thursday. When that happened, I spent the following Friday trying to finish everything I possibly could. I knew our fourth baby would be here soon, and I wanted to get as much done as possible in final preparation for that impending event. And I wanted…
Death in a rental I was talking to a real good friend named Nicole recently, and she had something happen in one of her houses that she wasn’t sure how to handle. It’s a very delicate situation that you as a landlord may run into at some point. And I thought I would share her story, what she learned and what she plans to do in case you ever…
Termination of lease I would like to start off this week’s column by apologizing for missing you last week. But we had an unforeseen event take place that kept me from being able to get it done. You see, Ashley went into preterm labor. It had been a busy morning for me. I was in and out of meetings, coordinating rehabs, getting things lined up for a lease-up…
Riding the waves We’re down in the Florida panhandle at Navarre Beach this week. It has been beautiful while we’ve been here. Highs have been in the mid- to upper 80’s, and it has been mostly bright and sunny despite the forecast for thunderstorms. Don’t get me wrong: the storms are out in the gulf, but they seem to miss where we are every day aside from a few…
Is a master lease a good strategy? The very first rental property Ashley and I ever managed was a little three-bedroom, two-bath house on Kids Drive up in Dalton. At the time, we lived in Villanow, and Dalton was a place we frequented. It was also a place that we did a lot of door knocking trying to find deals, which is how we found the house on Kids…
Why rentals are better than assignment fees I read a great social media post this morning. It was from an investor who was writing to explain why long-term rentals are something wholesalers need to consider when they get houses under contract. And to support his position, he went through the numbers on a recent deal. (Now, I went back to try find you the post so that I…
Time is money more than money When I was first exposed to real estate investing, I was working for an investor down in Atlanta on his rehab crew. The guy’s name was Andy, and he had two of my friends and me doing everything on his rehabs that didn’t require a license, along with some stuff that probably should have. It was great for me. I was getting to…
Don’t get emotional when making an offer If you read the title of this column, you probably already gathered that you shouldn’t get emotional when making an offer. And that’s true — when you get emotional, you tend to make a bad deal. I’ve seen this concept play out in many ways. A newer investor will overbid on property. And since they’re excited about doing their first…
How we handled our rent increase Last week, I talked to you about the increased property maintenance costs landlords are facing on their rental properties. We showed how some repairs are now costing 50% more than they did just a year ago. And we also talked about how price increases are prevalent on both property taxes and insurances. I concluded by showing you how landlords have no other option…