Real Estate

As much as I wish rental properties stayed in tip top shape forever, this just is not the case.

As a landlord, one of your most important jobs is to maintain the property and fix things when they break. Although this can be expensive and stressful, if you budget and plan for repairs and maintenance, you will have money set aside to handle these issues. If not, you’ll need to come out with the cost from your own pocket.

But either way, the repair must be fixed.

Although repairs tend to scare new landlords, in reality most repair issues are fairly standard and easy to fix. In fact, I’ve found that 95% of the repair issues I must address are the same ten repairs, over and over again. Although you cannot predict when these issues will occur, you can predict that they indeed will.

So I give you: my 10 most common repairs and how to address them (in no particular order!).

The 10 Most Common Tenant Repair Requests

1.

(Click to read on BiggerPockets…)

P.S. looking for hard money loans in California? Be sure to check out my friends over at northcoastfinancialinc.com. They have very competitive rates, can fund within a week and specialize in fix and flip loans and other hard money loans.

“Sorry, Brandon… you are too successful.”

Okay, that’s not exactly what they said, but that was sort of the truth. The bank was turning me down for a loan because I had too many properties.

It didn’t matter that I made more money in cash flow than that banker did in his job. It didn’t matter that I had been investing for years and had a sizable net worth. It didn’t matter that the deal I needed financed was incredibly safe from an “LTV” (loan to value) standpoint.

What mattered to them was that I was a square peg, and they had a round hole. I didn’t fit.

This situation happened several years ago to me and happens every day to investors across the world. We don’t fit into their mold for an “ideal borrower.” However, unlike those who say, “I can’t do it” and give up, I asked the question, “How can I do it?” and the quest led me to an awesome solution: portfolio lenders. 

And it completely transformed my business…

(Click to read on BiggerPockets…)

P.S. looking for hard money loans in California? Be sure to check out my friends over at northcoastfinancialinc.com. They have very competitive rates, can fund within a week and specialize in fix and flip loans and other hard money loans.

[Editor’s Note: Please be aware that this material does not serve as legal advice. To safely practice wholesaling, be sure to consult Federal and State laws specific to your area before executing any deals.]

One of the more “hotly debated” topics on BiggerPockets is concerning the legality of wholesaling. In fact, one of the most popular threads on the BiggerPockets Forums right now talks about how wholesalers in Ohio are getting fined by the State for their “illegal practices.”

Scary stuff for any wholesaler!

I am not a lawyer, and laws like this are very state-specific, but allow me to share my opinion on the subject. As with any business transaction, you should consult an attorney before engaging in any kind of real estate activity.

What’s Illegal About Wholesaling?

The essence of the debate on whether wholesaling is illegal revolves around the term “brokering.”

Although each state has its own definition, a broker is someone who helps put a deal together.

(click to continue reading on BiggerPockets)

P.S. looking for hard money loans in California? Be sure to check out my friends over at northcoastfinancialinc.com. They have very competitive rates, can fund within a week and specialize in fix and flip loans and other hard money loans.

How much money does it take to invest in rental properties?

Probably not as much as you think.

In the history of the world, perhaps nothing has killed more real estate ambitions than the belief that one does not have enough money to get started.

In fact, I speak with people all the time who don’t know it’s even possible to invest in real estate without having the full 100% purchase price of a property. They look at a $200,000 property and try to do the math in their head, thinking, “Well, if I saved $200 per month from my job, I could start investing 83 years from now. But that’s never going to happen, so I guess investing in real estate is only for the privileged rich.”

Related: 12 “Hidden” Real Estate Expenses That Blindside Investors

Not so!

Enter: Leverage

(P.S. This is unrelated, but FYI – last Thursday night I did a webinar here on BiggerPockets aboutAnalyzing Rentals that had over 2,000 LIVE attendees. If you missed it, don’t worry: I’ve put the replay up until Monday night, so if you want to check it out, do so this weekend before it’s gone.Click here to check out the replay! Or to sign up for THIS week’s LIVE webinar, visitBiggerPockets.com/webinar)

Using Leverage to Reduce the Amount of Money You Need to Invest in Real Estate

While yes, it is true that some investors pay for properties in all cash, the majority of investors utilize leverage when buying rental properties.

(click to continue reading on BiggerPockets)

P.S. looking for hard money loans in California? Be sure to check out my friends over at northcoastfinancialinc.com. They have very competitive rates, can fund within a week and specialize in fix and flip loans and other hard money loans.

Two weeks ago I called six different contractors to come take a look at a small repair job on my personal house.

Every single one went to an answering machine or voicemail. Okay, understandable. They are busy working. I’ll leave a message.

In total, four of them called me back, and I scheduled four different appointments with each of them to get me an estimate. Of the four appointments, two of them never showed up.

Of the two remaining, one said he didn’t know how to do the job. The other said he would call me back with an estimate in 24 hours. It’s been a week — and now his phone is disconnected.

And I still need the repair job done.

For anyone who’s ever tried to hire a contractor or handyman for their home or business, this story probably sounds a bit familiar. It’s difficult! Of the 100+ guests we’ve had on theBiggerPockets Podcast, I would rate “finding a contractor” as the number one difficulty mentioned by investors.

Why is it so tough?

Well, there are two primary reasons I see:

(click to continue reading on BiggerPockets)

P.S. looking for hard money loans in California? Be sure to check out my friends over at northcoastfinancialinc.com. They have very competitive rates, can fund within a week and specialize in fix and flip loans and other hard money loans.