Xdrew,I appreciate your comments, though would disagree with the fact that I was crying. I walk away from far more deals than I ever proceed with, because I won't enter into a deal where the federal government (EPA), will get involved. Dealing with city government is sometimes enough to drive the normal person crazy, it's a whole new level of…[Read more]

Alex,I agree with you 110%, this report means nothing to me. I would love to be able to interview the reporter and ask them the following questions, and hear their answers.1. How did you arrive at the rental vacancy rate? In KC you mention that in the 2nd quarter of 2010, the RVR in KC was @ 17%. The issue here is, you never explained the most…[Read more]

baruchmax wrote:
Jane, I am glad you found the information useful. Good luck in your search. Make sure you do all the due diligence. Below are some of the things I consider in my purchase of investment property, I hope you find this helpful: 1) Does the property appear to be in a safe neighborhood? What is the condition of the other houses on…[Read more]

Portpirate wrote:
Just a question to the Americans. In Australia, we have a RTA. Rental tenancies authority. This is a government dept which looks after tenancy matters, disputes, etc and also holds all bonds, usually 1 months rent, until the end of the tenancy. The property manager signs off on a form that the home is undamaged, etc and the…[Read more]

lawsjs wrote:
GKCH, See, in Australia we still (mostly) live in a world where people treat people as people. It just doesn't happen like that (the US) over here. The biggest single problem with Aus guys doing business in the US is that it is based on a philosophy of 'if I rip the next guy off I have done well'. I operate in the US successfully,…[Read more]

Alex,Very well said, and I thank you again for the kind words.John

Jay & Alex,I appreciate your kind words.John

Trent,It is a great way to finish a wall and create that modern look. The technique is known as "knock-down", and if you can find a skilled sheet rock man/woman, it looks simply amazing. When done correctly, it literally makes a house look 40 years younger, when combined with ceiling fans, new carpet (or finished hardwoods) things of this nature.…[Read more]

HighIncomeProperty wrote:
KC Homes,You make some valid points – we do exactly that for our investors, we buy homes, rehab them, and resell them to local home buyers rather than to investors. The market times vary widely as far as 2011 is concerned for us – from just days up to 6-7 months. Financing is harder than it was back in the day,…[Read more]

For my 2 cents if it's wanted.The best way to eliminate "brokers", is simply to check the owner of the property, and get it from them. Most major counties in the US, have websites that are completely free so you can find out who the owner is of any property. As a side note, the state of California does NOT give out owner information on their…[Read more]

Chicago Max wrote:
John, You make some great points. I will add that one thing that every buyer must keep in mind when buying a property is the seller's motivation. Once you know the seller's motivation, that gives you a lot of leverage when it comes to negotiating deals. For this reason, when I purchase any property I deal directly with the…[Read more]

lawsjs wrote:
It wasn't quite zero down, but I paid $10k + closings for a $950k 4plex in an upmarket area of Socal last month. Assume the loan (which in this case drops from 6.25 to 3.25 next year) haggle over the money the vendor (seller) needs – it is often a lot less than you might think. Horses for courses but if you venture outside the…[Read more]

jayhinrichs wrote:
agree with the above post's.Your far to undercapitalized to be entering the business of owning rental real estate in the US.we have finally gotten some realistic and honest US post's in the last month on the site, from US companies.Investing in 30k properties in the US is very very risky and pretty much a guarantee that you…[Read more]

jayhinrichs wrote:

GreaterKCHomes wrote:
Jay,I might of mistyped that information, I am not looking for only 20% rentals, I don't want to be on a street with more than 20% boardups or just simply abandoned properties that are not be taken care of. You are correct KC has over 40% rental base, but it's not hard to find quality properties in…[Read more]

Rick,I know you didn't direct your question to me, but I will throw in my 2 cents if it means anything to you.An easy quick guide I follow is West of 71 Hwy, just be careful here, the property taxes can jump pretty quickly and kill the cashflow.South of 55th, for the most part is considered still good, there are pockets that are bad, have to do a…[Read more]

lawsjs,I guess I am a bit taken back by your attack on me…cheap salesman? I don't believe you and I have ever had the opportunity to speak, so rushing to judgement is a bit uncalled for, in my eyes. I am clearly not trying to sale anything on here, as I have never posted one property for sale, nor will I. My understanding of this "blog" was to…[Read more]

Jay,I might of mistyped that information, I am not looking for only 20% rentals, I don't want to be on a street with more than 20% boardups or just simply abandoned properties that are not be taken care of. You are correct KC has over 40% rental base, but it's not hard to find quality properties in quality areas. I look at approx. 30 houses a…[Read more]

Alex,

I could not agree with you more!

So many PM’s just completey miss the idea of actually building a relationship with tenants. Without question the most important part of the equation with income properties, is the tenant, yet to many PMs, just simply ignore it.

I develop friendships with my tenants in alot of cases, and some of my tenants…[Read more]

Scott,I appreciate the reading and comment.Your absolutely right, I have no idea what keeps these companies going with vacancy rates this high. I think it's the false appearance by investors, that since they are a LARGE company, they must be good. When in reality, it usually is the complete opposite. If these companies themselves, are not…[Read more]

Scott No Mates wrote:
From my limited knowledge in this area, the sign out the front serves a number of purposes: advertises the place is available for rent, not just for drive-bys it is for the neighbours to 'tell a friend', advertises the letting/selling agency. Sure, there may be some risk of vandalism but what's insurance for afterall?

When…[Read more]